Lisa's Blog post # 47

We are right on the verge of a major break through – I can just taste it!  Since my lesson with Lesley about 3 weeks ago where I finally got the “round and connected” thing down, I have been working on jumping again.  We actually haven’t jumped since October!!   

That’s probably not the best way to train for an event but I tend to be very narrow minded when it comes to my goals – let’s just say I’m focused, or methodical – and I get kind of obsessed with finding the solution to the problem at hand.

Anyway, here is the list of “issues” I will need to deal with before I can enter a stadium competition.

Cotton:

- Bulges out on the turns – both directions

- Falls in on the turns – both directions

- Swaps leads

- Cross-canters

- Swaps leads and darts in the direction of the new lead without warning

- Anticipates where we are going and goes there (he’s always wrong)

- Lands on his forehand after his jumps

- Drifts to the right after his jumps

- Gets excited and fast

Me:

- Don’t recall ever jumping a horse with any of the above issues - much less all of them!

- Tend to jump ahead of the horse

- Rusty from not jumping a full stadium course in about 2 years

- Give abrupt aids rather than use finesse and flow – big no-no on Cotton

- Tend to zone out instead of riding every stride – another big no-no


So, with a list like that, “why do I think I’m on the verge of a major break through”, you ask? 

Well, today we practiced our turns over the flower boxes and we did pretty well!  He was a mess out in the field yesterday and I couldn’t get him to round the corner closest to the barn to save my life.  On the way home I remembered some of Lesley’s wise words so we re-loaded today and got it done.  It’s all about squaring our corners.   Turns out I should have popped him on the outside shoulder yesterday because he was being a barn sour stinker!

Also, I can handle it when he falls in most of the time – a quick position adjustment on my part prevents that or fixes it within a stride or two.  Steering with my seat and leg through the tunnel helps alleviate his anticipating where we’re going.  Landing on his forehand requires more leg.  I know how to fix drifting. 

Lesley said not to let his swapping and hopping bother me too much – but the one thing I do need to learn next is what to do when he swaps and darts.  If he wants to counter canter around a turn that’s one thing but if he darts off course…well, that just won’t do.  I also need Lesley to teach me how to ride him in the air over the jump rather than take a break and resume my job a couple of strides after he lands.

Don’t get me wrong – we still have tons of work to do!  And our first course will probably not be very pretty.  But I think I have a good idea of what needs to be done now and the puzzle pieces are starting to reveal the picture that’s on the box top – it’s me and Cotton at our first event!

Did you enjoy this article? If so, please share with your friends! Look for the share buttons on the far right side of the page. Thank you! 

 

 


0 Comments Posted Leave a comment

 

Add a comment:

Sign in to comment on this entry. (Required)

Riding Far, LLC
www.RidingFar.com
Equivont

https://www.equivont.com

Stackhouse Saddles
Stackhouse saddles

Our Sponsors!
Your ad here!