I rode Fred today for the first time since I think Wednesday last week. The weather was just awful, rainy and in the 40s for 4 or 5 days. I feel awful for everyone who came down for Fair Hill, either to ride or spectate, because it was disgusting outside.

The several days off and drop in temperature definitely had an effect on Fred today. He was awful. I had the hardest time getting him to pay any attention to me. He was tense and very spooky today and I hardly feel like I got anything accomplished.

I was able to get some decent moments but he was just very inconsistent today. By the end of the ride I was able to get some nice swingy stretchy trot with him snorting and lop-eared. I just ended with that and called it a day. I'm going to do my best to rush over to the barn after class tomorrow so I can flat him again and hopefully have a better ride.

My last post failed to mention quite possibly the most important part of the day! Bruce Davidson was coaching a little girl who was riding right after me. I walked past him on my way back from XC and he commented that my horse was beautiful and that he looked great and asked me how my ride went. How nice is that?! I love eventers. Now I hope more than ever that I get chosen in the essay contest for his clinic. I would loveeeeeee to ride with him.

This past saturday was Radnor, Freddy's first recognized event. I had so much fun and I am super pleased with how he did.

When I arrived there saturday morning it was raining and chilly and I had managed to forget my jacket at the barn. Luckily I had a raincoat in the car so I stuck that on to go down and pick up my packet. They had changed my dressage time from 11:35 to 12:19 so that gave me time to walk my XC before dressage. I did sort of a bare minimum course walk because I was so wet and miserable with the rain. Clearly that was a bad idea because I got a little turned around when I actually got out on course (oops!). Once I was done walking I booked it back to the truck to try and dry off a bit before I had to get dressed. My parents came out to watch and show support but they didn't arrive until about 25 minutes before my dressage so I didn't have anyone to help me get ready. It's not like I need a groom but it's nice to have someone who can throw tack on the horse and keep an eye on him while I get dressed so that I don't get all dirty in the process. Anyways, by the time I got on my parents were there and I had about 20 minutes to warm up. Freddy jigged and chomped allll the way to the warmup. I just thought "oh no, this is not going to go well." As soon as we got in the warmup ring he was fine though. I walked him around on a loose rein for a few minutes then proceeded with my warmup as usual. He was all business, completely relaxed and focused on me. When it was our turn to go in the ring steward warned me that a lot of horses were spooking in my ring, especially at A, so I made sure to trot him all the way around before going in. It turns out he was fine. He put in a nice relaxed easy test. He definitely could have had a bit more impulsion, and his left lead canter depart was a little unbalanced but overall it was good and a major improvement over what he was able to put in this summer. We ended up scoring a respectable 34.7 and were sitting in 3rd out of 17 after dressage. Not bad for baby'd first recognized event!

I forgot that they were running behind so I got down to SJ way earlier than I needed to. They were on something like number 78 when I got down there and I was number 112. I watched about 7 or 8 riders go then headed over to the warmup to just trot and canter him around to get him moving again. He was getting antsy so I didn't want to make him stand around too long. He continued to be relaxed and trotted and cantered around long and low and lovely despite the fact that the ring was packed and we nearly had a head on collision with someone who cut in front of me out of nowhere. I jumped a couple fences then went out to watch a few more riders go. The course was tough and it looked like quite a few people were having rails and some refusals. The rider before me had a bunch of stops and got eliminated so I think I sort of got nervous and psyched myself out. I was worried about him being behind my leg so I sort of gunned him around the course and didn't rebalance him very well. Right at the enf of the course there was a 2 stride in and out, a square oxer to a vertical. I got in at an awkward distance to the first fence and pushed him for the long spot when we should have waited. He knocked the back rail of the oxer then sort of died in the middle and had to take off long to the vertical and took that one down too. I felt awful because it was totally my fault. I panicked and left him to figure it out himself. I'm lucky he's so honest.

After that we had to head down to XC. Because I got him so fired up he was a little silly on the walk over. There was a pile of jump rails that were ZOMG so scary that he had to fly backwards in fright. Then we passed a water trough of death and a puddle of peril and he just thought he was going to die. Of course once we got down to the warmup he was his regular sleepy self and all was well in the world. I trotted him on a long rein over the x a couple times and he stayed quiet and happy so then I cantered him a few times over the little rolltop that they had out. Again, he was great so I just decided to let him chill until it was our turn to go. I think I let him stand around a bit too long because when I got out on course he totally hesitated at the first fence. I think he thought he was done and was surprised to be jumping so I should have taken him over another fence or 2 when the ride before me went out. Oh well, live and learn. At times we got a reeeeally nice gallop going and I got a taste of what he's going to be capable of in the future. The one fence that I was a bit worried about was the drop into water because he hasn't really done one before. I decided to bring him back to a trot for that and he did hesitate a little bit but he was a good boy and stepped right off. The rest of the course felt like a breeze and I had a ton of fun riding it.

We ended up placing 7th overall but we would have been 2nd if I hadn't had a brain fart in the SJ. We will definitely work on it for next time, maybe set up some combinations and turning questions in the ring at home. Our next outing is Waredaca on the 25th and if all goes well, hello training level!

A couple pics that mom took. We definitely still need to work on getting him uphill and a little less inside rein..but it'll come.

On Sunday I went with Jac to audit a dressage clinic that her trainer was organizing up in Coopersburg. The clinician was Ulf Wadeborn, a Swedish Grand Prix rider who operates out in California. It was definitely interesting to watch and a lot of what he said confirmed what I have been working on with Fred. I didn’t get to see that many riders but what I really liked was that he emphasized the training scale. He focused a lot on getting the horse ‘aligned’, meaning even on both reins. I find that when I get Fred truly aligned that everything gets really easy. I have an easier time maintaining my position and am able to ride smoother more efficient transitions.

I was feeling inspired so I decided to give Freddy a good flat school on Monday. It went really really well! I ran through pretty much all of the training level movements and he was great. I think that I sometimes cheat a little bit and use too much hand and sort of curl him up at the beginning of my ride, and then later have to really kick him up to get him to take a real contact. This time I started out trotting on a long rein and focused on keeping my hand absolutely stock still and just riding forward and rebalancing with my seat and leg when necessary. Well wouldn’t ya know he stretched right down and started looking for my hand almost right away. I trotted him around long and low for a few minutes then did a quick canter in both directions before really putting him to work. Once I shortened up my reins and got him to where I felt like he was aligned and taking an even contact on both reins I did some transitions just to work on getting him to really push from behind. He’s getting to the point where he really jumps into the trot (or canter) when I ask, which is great. Because he was being so good with the transitions, I decided to work a little bit on getting his poll up and getting him into a bit more of an uphill balance. It’s going to be a long process before he’s strong enough to really maintain that sort of carriage but he tried for me and was able to hold it for a couple strides at a time. He feels the most uphill right after we do a transition up to the canter so I try to memorize that feeling and duplicate it elsewhere in my ride. Really the hardest thing for me is to not allow him to pull on me. When he gets tired or lazy he will try and just lay on the bit and have me carry him. Sometimes he will even dive down and really grab onto the bit and yank, which is really quite naughty. Every time he does it I know I need to boot him forward with my leg but I also have to remember to soften my hand and not give him anything to grab onto. This is especially hard when he gets crooked and starts to fall in on a circle and hang on my inside hand. I want to give with my inside rein, but if I do he just swings his head to the outside and falls in more. He does this to the left a lot which is weird because he was always weaker to the right so I focused a lot on working him in that direction and now he is being more difficult to the left.

I also practiced the stretchy circle with him in both directions and that was excellent. As long as he’s relaxed he stretches really well, but it’s when he gets distracted or tense that we can’t get it done. The other thing that I worked on a little bit was the trot lengthening. I haven’t really worked much on that with him but I think it was pretty good. I have to be careful not to let him just get quick but as long as I really pay attention to my rhythm he’s fine. He doesn’t have a very big trot so there’s only so much we can lengthen but I think it’s good enough for training level.

Yesterday when I rode I jumped him a little bit finally. I really haven’t been jumping him because his canter needed so much work, but now that the canter is better I figured his jumping would be better as well. Show jumping is really our weakest phase. Partly because the turning was difficult for him sometimes and partly because I tend to anticipate the fences a little bit and cause him to rush the last few strides and take off long. Because he’s so good, I sometimes forget that he’s only 5 and he’s green and needs me to help him sometimes. I just set up 3 fences in the ring, but I did it in such a way that I had a lot of options. I set 2 fences 3 strides apart on the far long side and then I set another fence on the diagonal on the opposite side of the ring coming off of a somewhat short turn. I started out just trotting back and forth over a little vertical just trying to do it quietly and land trotting and halt on a straight line. He was a little excited at first and didn’t want to wait. I eventually put the fence up a little bit to about 2’9” and did the same thing and he actually crashed through it one time because he tried to take off long and I wouldn’t let him. He paid much better attention after that and decided maybe I knew what I was talking about. I made up a couple of little courses and cantered him around and he was pretty good, but still wanting to rush the last 2 or 3 strides. I started counting out loud to remember my rhythm and that made all the difference. We’re only jumping novice height so really all I have to do is get a good canter and keep the rhythm the same and even if we don’t get the exact distance we want it’ll be OK because the fences are low.

I feel good about this weekend at Radnor. I was going to go to the barn early today before work and jump him around again but it was cold and rainy and windy when I woke up so I decided against it. I’ll see if I can make it out tomorrow before it gets dark and then I will flat him again on Friday and run through my test a couple of times. I am actually a little bit nervous about this weekend because I haven’t done a recognized event in so many years. I’ve already started packing my stuff because I don’t want to forget anything. Mainly I just want it to be a good confidence building experience for him so that is my only goal for the weekend. A nice quiet dressage test and clean jumping, and if we place that’s just icing on the cake.

I got to the barn just in time yesterday! Right after I finished it started POURING. I decided to bring riding clothes with me in the morning and I changed at work and went straight to the barn from there. Kate was actually there when I got there and she dropped kind of a bomb on me. She said that she is going down to aiken early this year and will be moving all of her horses out in early december so I will have to probably leave by then. Ughh, I have the worst luck with boarding I swear! I have started looking for places to move and I found one place online that is similar in distance from my apt and in price so I think I will drop them a line and see if I can go by for a visit sometime soon. It looks like a nice place and it has an indoor but the thing that makes me apprehensive is that it looks like they teach a lot of little kids there which can always be annoying. Board there is only $25 mor a month than what I'm paying now and honestly since they have an indoor it's totally worth it I think. We shall see.

I had a decent ride yesterday. Fred was a little inattentive but the dark clouds were rolling in and it was getting windy and there were ::gasp:: pinecones scattered around the far end of the ring so there were a lot of distractions. I think I might want to try riding him with my spurs one of these days just to sort of wake him up and get him a little sharper off my leg. He is just so lazy and he is constantly trying to drop behind my leg. Especially in the downward transitions. His upward transitions are getting really good but we always lose it in the downward. I think it's mostly my problem. I tend to tip forward and probably use too much hand. I try really hard to think about it but it doesn't always work. I know that I know how to ride a proper downward transition because I did millions and millions of them on Wuf back when I was at Jane's but for whatever reason I can't replicate that feeling on Fred. It's gotten much better but it's still hit or miss. Sometimes he stays balanced and sometimes we sort of flail and fall into it and it's really ugly. I ended on a good note with him yesterday as we had a really nice trot to walk transition to the left (where he has been weaker lately). Right as I dismounted it started to drizzle and by the time I got in the barn it was POURING so lucky me that I got my ride in before that started!

I entered Radnor today, Novice. Freddy's first recognized event and my first since I went prelim on Cruz in 2006. I'm not nervous because it's only novice, but I have a lot to get done before then. I have to get my boots fixed and my jacket altered (it's like 4 sizes too big).

I rode today after work and Fred decided that he felt like being a chestnut. He was just not into it at all. He was just doing his typical Freddy nonsense that he does when he doesn't feel like working. He was spooking at nothing and being really tense and stiff. We did have some good moments where I got through to him but I basically had to ride him hardddd in order to keep his attention on me. Usually when he's good I only ride him for about 30 mins on the flat because I don't want him to get bored or sour. Today I think I was on him for a solid hour and he was working the entireee time. I got a pretty good workout too lol. I just could not relax for a second or else I would lose him. Since I don't have my truck I can't trailer out to trot hills or anything but maybe tomorrow I will talk him across the street and do some fitness work in the neighbor's field that they let us use. I can do jump position and just get him out of the ring and do something different. We have been doing a lot of flat work lately.

OK, I am going to stop being lazy and get this blog going again. This summer was crazy busy so Fred and I didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted to but that's OK.

We're still plugging along though and his dressage is really coming along. My BO Kate, who is also a dressage judge, commented today on how nice his canter work looked and how relaxed soft he looked. She said that it definitely looked like training level work and not novice. I was so happy to hear that because we have been working sooooosososo hard on our dressage this summer. Honestly, we've barely been jumping at all. Show jumping is out hardest phase and I know that is all boiled down to holes in his flat work so I wanted to really get it right with that.

Sunday we really did have quite a nice ride. I was a bit surprised because I hadn't been onto him all week because the weather was just garbage and he also hadn't been getting as much turnout for the same reason. He was actually rather lazy to start out today so right away I focused on just getting him to march forward and get in front of my leg. One thing that he really likes to do is get a little spooky and looky in the ring to try and change the subject away from what I am asking him to do. As soon as I kind of got him going forward he starting looking around for things to spook at so I had to just put him right to work. I went back to the exercises that Jane gave us to use to establish a connection. I planted my outside hand and bent him a little to the outside until he softened then I used my inside leg to push him out and bend him a little to the inside. He didn't give me any attitude and stretched right into my hand so I went ahead into the trot almost right away. His transitions were reeeeally good today, right from our first transition to trot. He's getting to the point where he can really maintain the connection in his transitions. Pretty much as soon as we picked up the trot he stretched right down into my hand and started snorting up a storm lol. I just trotted him around long and low for a few minutes and did some big loopy figures while focusing on my position a little bit. One thing that I have discovered helps a lot with him (and several other horses that I've ridden) is to canter relatively early in my warmup. After the canter it just seems like he is always a bit more animated in his trot work and a little bit sharper and quicker to respond to my aids.

I went back to old faithful at the canter and did lots of canter, walk, canter transitions. I noticed today that I was relying a lot less on my hand and was able to get some nice balanced easy transitions from him just using my seat and leg. Despite the fact that I haven't really been taking many lessons at all lately, I think my position has improved this summer. I especially notice it in the canter where I am able to hold myself fairly upright and not "pump" with my upper body so much the way I used to. I think that is a big part of why the canter has improved so much actually. We also worked on some transitions within the gait at the trot, which I want to do a lot more of. The one thing that we are really missing in order to be ready for training level is a solid lengthening.

So that's basically where we're at. Our next outing is set to be on October 10th at radnor which will be his first recognized event :)