Passage

Delphi and I played at some steps of passage today in our lesson with Karen Brown. The Pumpkin is able to maintain about six to eight good steps in self carriage and on the bit. Today Karen said Delphi's hind cannon bones were parallel to the ground! How snappy!

We started the lesson schooling flying changes: in order for Delphi to jump through the change I must develop an impulsive collected canter by using more leg reinforced by whip taps as needed to create enough jump and impulsion. We schooled a couple good changes in each direction.

(We started all the "big" stuff: passage and piaffe, etceteras previously in the long lines so by the time we ask for it under saddle the horse has a glimmer of an idea of what we want.)

Unfortunately there was no camera rolling during today's lesson, but here are some stills of Delphi's first few passage steps in February 2012 (with me- Karen has schooled some steps previously) under saddle:

Karen schooling passage steps earlier 2011:

Outside Rein

Not another tired old lecture about the outside rein. This topic has become so overused in the dogma of dressage babble that one wonders if it's even useful to talk about at all.

Let me just say that for Delphi and me, especially in the challenging gate of canter, that outside rein connection is all important for a couple key reasons: 1) in the up trans from halt or walk into canter, Delphi has to be into that outside rein to maintain a balanced, through up trans; 2) to maintain an uphill balance and throughness during canter the outside rein has to be assessable and accessible. To do this I must continue cycling through asking if I can have Delphi's throatlatch both on the inside AND outside flexions, and even go so far on the outside rein to counter-flexion at times to really establish the throughness on that outside rein. And OF COURSE always remembering to GIVE (for me and Delphi at this point Karen said the give should be about 85% of the time and the "take" [or "TEST" would be the better word] the remainder) to allow self carriage.

Two older photos from the vault for illustration:

An example of what NOT to do: pulling the outside rein, with no true give in the jaw; to correct I should re-test the flexion even if I have to go all the way to counter-flexion, then give again and possibly cycle through the flexion test again followed by uberstreichen:

Here we see Delphi better into the outside rein, evidenced by a soft jaw and uberstreichen:

Thus concludes today's lecture on the Outside Rein. Thank you for tuning in.

I Learned to Canter Today

Trot work, including lateral work, extensions, collection etceteras comes very easy for both Delphi and me. We have historically struggled however with canter work, both separately and together. I had a canter breakthrough in our lesson with Karen today. At the beginning of the lesson Karen gave me some insider theory concerning how best to ride the canter. Karen's seat at all gaits is impeccable, and particularly so at canter-- other top trainers such as Lurena Bell and Jeff Moore have noted this also. So, in considering the way that she-Karen- rides the canter, she came up with a simplified version of how she sits for canter:

by pressing your elbows down toward your thighs, keeping your elbows firmly and stably attached to your torso, you create and maintain the rhythm of the canter from the balls of the feet upward by sitting in such a way that you let yourself get pulled into the saddle. Be sure to maintain the canter rhythm to prevent your seat from popping out of the saddle, and you can give and take the reins while still maintaining your elbows pressing firmly down.

Note how firmly my elbows are attached to my core:

Here we see Delphi's relative elevation improve and though my elbows remain firmly down I could sit more securely by letting myself get pulled into the saddle:

Delphi maintaining self carriage and collection and me maintaining upright posture, core, and elbows down; a true feat for us in canter!

Photos, theory, and training courtesy Karen Brown.

Gryphon Schooling December 2011

Wish List

Includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Canter pirouettes
• Piaffe
  
• Canter half pass
• Flying changes

During our lesson with Lurena Bell at Belle Terre Farm yesterday, we schooled the prerequisites for all the above. Lurena reminded me to continue strengthening and suppling the lower back by doing walk exercises such as shoulder in, pirouettes, walking turn on the forehand, etceteras to continue to teach Delphi to articulate her lumbo-sacral joint which will in turn improve all her canter work, including pirouettes and changes. We schooled half steps while keeping Delphi round yet up from the withers. We schooled large canter pirouettes by doing haunches in on a circle. We schooled canter half pass with the premium on keeping Delphi engaged, supple, and sitting over her haunches.

Asking Delphi to sit more over her haunches in canter:

Canter half pass right:

Slightly more up from the withers in canter:

Half steps:

Half steps:

A soft, happy eye at the end of the lesson:

Busy Bees

Since we have a longish break between our next show that is not until March of 2012, Delphi and I are taking this time to focus our efforts on continued, intentional training. Four rides at the Jeff Moore clinic helped us learn to "approach collection."

(When I asked Jeff to help me learn about collection, he gave me this anecdote: at the 1984 Olympics Jeff was there to watch Reiner Klimke and Ahlerich win all the medals, etceteras that they won that year. As he was coming out of the arena after his gold medal grand prix ride on Ahlerich, Dr. Klimke commented "Wow, I think I just approached collection." Jeff's point was that I shouldn't worry too much about judge's remarks on collection, for now.)

Delphi and I have the upcoming Michael Vermaas clinic here at our home base, and will be taking supplemental lessons at Belle Terre Farm with Lurena Bell as well as continuing our lessons with our trainer Karen Brown.

With the idea of "approaching collection" Karen has had me doing exercises to engage Delphi's hindquarter while keeping the forehand light: you put x amount of pressure into the reins (and x becomes less and less as the horse becomes more and more responsive) then use leg reinforced with whip where needed to activate the hindquarters. When the horse gives and the balance changes, the rider gives. Karen pointed out that if you get the horse to commit to it right off the bat at walk, then the other gaits will come easier.

During the warm up for our last lesson yesterday we were working on just that, at the walk. As Delphi became more and more engaged from behind and lighter and lighter in the forehand, I gave with the reins and continued to ask for engagement with my legs and springy seat. Out of the blue and from her own volition Delphi offered piaffe! After just a few steps I let her free walk out of it and made "big fuss." I was happy but wondered if it were repeatable: after a few minutes I asked again and voila, there it was: piaffe! When Karen arrived for the lesson I told her what happened so we schooled it a time or two more formally with the trainer walking alongside with the whip and me asking for the steps from my up-springing seat and our "collection" exercise. It is so fun when your horse offers you such a gift!

Delphi and I "approaching collection" at the trot:

Lagniappe. Reiner Klimke's and Ahlerich's gold medal winning ride at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Burbank:

Changes

Of course the best flying changes occur when there is no videographer, but here are a few of the changes we've managed to catch while the camera was rolling:

Canter Work

Delphi's canter continues to develop. The counter-canter work definitely improves her true canter:

With special cameo appearance by Prissy the Border Collie.

Delphi Beginning to Learn Half Pass

Our lesson this week focused on trot half pass and counter canter with steps of canter half pass. In counter canter along the wall I worked on bringing her haunches over toward the direction of the canter lead (as I would for canter half pass) which stood her up for a more balanced, more collected counter canter. To do this I kept stepping my weight into the leading stirrup, brought my outside (of the canter lead) leg back to ask her haunches to come in, thus standing her up. The counter canter work helped to improve Delphi's natural canter.

Here are some stills of Karen Brown schooling Delphi the previous day:

Delphi shows good relative elevation with good use of her shoulders in right canter half pass:

Delphi is still developing the required strength to maintain the bend:

"Sufficient" for third level, this reach of shoulder shows promise for improved half pass as Delphi gains strength and training:

You can see the balance still comes and goes; here she is in right canter half pass slightly on her forehand but still showing good energy and bend:

Good again with the shoulders and reach, however we expect improved collection and lower haunches as her training continues and her strength increases:

Here she is in right trot half pass; again "sufficient." Good crossing and bend but will work toward developing more impulsion:

I'd say this is "fairly good" to "good" for a third level initiate's left trot half pass. Like the energy and it has good crossing, reach, and bend.

Good crossing and from this angle we can really see the lightness of the forehand:

Again we see moments of Delphi struggling as if trying to balance with her neck. Though we wish we had more impulsion I like the crossing and bend, and we anticipate better use of the shoulder as her strength develops:

Again good crossing and lightness of the forehand. And from this angle-wowza that is one looooong body Delphi has to collect and carry:

(And no, she's NOT currently carrying a foal, just a rather large hay belly!)

Better use of the neck, and as her strength increases we will see more consistent collection; at this point the uphill tendency is consistent but there are still varying degrees of relative elevation as we see here:

And here, though with good crossing and shoulders leading the half pass:

Unfinished Business

It's true we're not quite ready to take it on the road, but with perseverance we'll definitely be ready for the 2012 show season at third level.
Witness as Delphi attempts bits and pieces of third level:



Note that Karen is riding in the outdoor arena. Dare we hope for cooler days?

Singing in the Rain

Today it POURED rain at the barn, glory be! At about nine in the morning, however, the rain hadn't started but the sky was overcast and a brisk breeze was blowing from the west. We actually got to ride outdoors today on the the dressage court in 80-something degree weather! It felt like Christmas-- it really did.

In the 20m x 60m space we schooled lots of canter-- simple trans's, counter canter, ten meter circles, trans's through trot. I focused on keeping Delphi's neck lower with her frame rounder over her back. She is definitely learning to maintain it better in canter but I could keep her even that little bit more round/deep/low especially in the medium canter and counter canter.

She is getting more consistent but I need to keep developing the tendency for Delphi to lower and relax her neck when I give toward her withers. She must be as elastic and through in the collected and the extended gaits as she is in the working gaits.

Working on canter in the outdoor arena:

32 right, 6 left, 17 right

The combination of riding a particular horse oneself, then having the opportunity to watch as someone else rides the same horse, then following up by again schooling the horse has proven extremely beneficial for both me and the horses I ride.

Two examples:
Wizard- Centerline Training's Spanish barb- and I are working toward being soft, through, and round. We achieve this in walk and trot but canter and transitions have proven more difficult. Yesterday I got to watch as Wizard's Aunt Rachel schooled him in the canter. I saw her lighten the aids immediately following the canter up transition. I considered that she gave deliberate and obvious, if big, rein aids with a return to subtle rein aids as often as needed (no knitting upon the reins did she!).
With all this in mind during my ride with Wiz today, I intentionally aided him into a very good trot that was favorable to become a very good up trans to canter. Once in canter I thought about what I had watched Rachel doing the previous day and visualized a collected, through, and soft canter. Much to Wizard's contentment I neither fiddled with the reins or got stronger in them. We were able to canter 'round smoothly with several lovely transitions, and it was repeatable in both directions.

Appassia, my barn buddy's lovely Arabian mare gave a new-to-Centerline student a lesson that I audited. This well schooled and elegant horse has a quirk in the canter up trans that if you're not prepared for can take you by surprise. Having experienced the quirk myself from the saddle, I had formed the opinion that it was rather large and alarming, akin to a buck. Watching the student school through it, however, proved to me that what felt to me strangely appalling from the saddle was actually a much smaller difficulty than I perceived.
Today when I rode Appassia I channeled all that Wiz had taught me with his excellent cantering and Appassia and I skipped through the minor difficulty with ease.

While watching others ride I often ride with them in my imagination: making corrections, adding impulsion, or straightening the horse as I follow along. It's neat to be able to follow up from the saddle on what one has learned visually.

Wizard and Rachel schooling canter:

Guest Blogger

My barn buddy and fellow adult amateur has agreed to be a guest blogger today. Also working toward her USDF medals, my friend's current projects include rehabbing from injury her eventer/foxhunter/dressage partner and campaigning her current schoolmaster at second, third, and fourth levels.

She shared this breakthrough:
"I had a great lesson on my schoolmaster this morning, which helped my trainer and me to decide that I will send in my entry for the upcoming show.

We did a great exercise for putting jump in the canter: canter half-pass to quarter-line to halt. Then, from halt, strike off into canter IN half-pass to X, etc. across the diagonal. It took some doing (and incidentally got some volunteered trot half-passes to die for; unfortunately for my schoolmaster, it wasn't what I was asking for), some halt to rein-back, but finally did it. Then ended with canter full-pirouettes in each direction that were really uphill and relaxed.

The breakthrough came while riding my injured horse. She was her normal fussy self at the beginning--didn't want to go on the bit, didn't want to walk, didn't want to do haunches-in at the walk, tail-swishing, waaa waaa waaa. I had been determined to keep my hands still (Madame De Farge casts a very long shadow, my dear), and I was getting frustrated at her shenanigans. Suddenly, I thought, 'Just ride her the way you ride the schoolmaster.' So: my half-halts became STRONG, but very clear. I got out of the reins quickly. I asked once, then demanded. And, guess what? She was delightful. hahahhaahhahaha.

Just ride the frickin' horse!! What a concept. No, my injured horse and I did no canter pirouettes. But we did a 20-m stretchy circle (at the rising trot, a first) in both directions, and a trot serpentine with real bend. On the bit. Calm. I don't know why I'm so dumb-founded, but thought I ought to share. I'll bet if you ride Delphi the way you're riding Wizard/Gryphon/Fee, etc., you'll have a similar breakthrough."

Thank you my friend for that. Point taken!

It takes a village. These folks are a few of the villagers.

Madame Defarge

The thing about riding a variety of horses is that it exposes a rider's faults that can sometimes be hidden when one rides the same horse all the time. The habit that is currently driving me nuts is the tendency to fidget the reins in a most un-dressage-like way (Jeff Moore once said of me "you have very supple wrists").

Help has come in the form of my trainer Karen's Spanish barb Wizard. My fidgety-ness drives him as crazy as it does me-- more so. He will absolutely not put up with it and exposed my less than perfect hands instantly.

With all this in mind during my ride on Wiz today I disconnected my inclination to fidget, channeled my inner Edward Gal, and quietly but deliberately and independently controlled the movements of my hands with elbows down and half halts coming from the shoulders.

Wizard unlocked something in me today: when we finally communicated it was suddenly Zen: Wizard happily went forward from a through and supple connection, and I was able to maintain it by continuing with my deliberate and independent rein aids, working with yet independent from my leg and seat aids.

Wizard just may make a dressage rider out of me yet!

Wizard the wonder pony,
and Zen master.

Canter Quarter Pirouettes-- say THAT three times fast

Karen said of Delphi today that she is now consistent enough that Karen is able to simply add to Delphi's daily training things like canter and trot half pass, single flying changes, and canter quarter pirouettes. It is very satisfying to be schooling all of these as well as watching Karen get half steps and teaching Delphi to be very tall, uphill, and maintain more consistent self carriage.

Improving Canter

Our lesson today revealed how to get a very good canter depart: it all has to do with the walk from which you depart. In walk, supple the horse 'til she is completely loose and giving then activate the hindquarters with a leg aid reinforced by a brush with the whip so that she steps well under herself with the hindquarters. From this walk, we can proceed into a beautiful canter depart- continuing to supple the canter as well.

Karen had me "canter up a hill" for as long as I could, by doing suppling exercises and activating the inside hind at canter. We then schooled medium canter with the focus, again, on keeping Delphi supple. The key is in the give-- I must not allow her to bear into my hand but rather keep her round and light. We got some fairly good medium canter and Delphi's canter is definitely improving.

Delphi "cantering up a hill" in the longlines

Of spurs and self carriage

My spurs are now part of my uniform while riding Delphi. In our lesson this week we are still working on flexion and counter-flexion at canter. When I make a deliberate GIVE (breathe, two, three, four) after a flexion, it allows Delphi to do one of two things: 1) completely fall apart onto the forehand (which means she wasn't in a good place to begin with) or 2) travel through in self carriage. Either way I must ALLOW Delphi to find her own self carriage or reveal inadequacies that can then be addressed in the next cycle of flexion-and-soften. With spurs on I do find it easier to nudge up the occasional little extra energy and when I want the spurs, they're there.
I'm currently using these stainless steel rollerball spurs with Delphi.

The Premium

Delphi is quite knattily doing her tricks and movements; her shoulder in is reliable, the change of bend to renver is getting good, and she could travel around in haunches in all day. She obediently steps away from the leg for lateral movement and she can change the bend from leg yield to half pass and back again. A nudge of the inside seatbone sends her off into an obedient canter, or just as obedient counter canter, either straight lines or bending. She can canter around in counter canter with as many simple changes as you please.

That's all well and good but not worth a darn if she's going around hollow with her snout up in the air or even flat and only tenuously on the bit. Today during our lesson Karen insisted we get round and through, especially in the canter where Delphi can be tenuous about being on the bit. We finally had to resort to relatively quick bends and counter bends; to do this one must keep the elbows down and change the bend from the rider's shoulders (that must be back!) rather than the hands alone.

More elegantly, one can do shoulder in, activate the inside hind, any lateral work, or shoulder in around a circle. The premium must be on keeping Delphi round-- deep even-- so that we push past her mediocrity zone into staying reliably through.

For the love of Pete, SIT BACK!

Refinement

In order to be a more elegant rider, one must allow the horse the element of self carriage, alignment, and lightness.

I learned an example of this in my lesson with Karen Brown this morning (where it was raining cats and dogs-- glory be!). When straightening the horse after renver (as in second level test three) allow with the inside (of the bend for renver which in this example is toward the outside of the arena) rein, then wait with what will now be the new inside rein, so that the horse's shoulders come back in alignment and the horse is then prepared to make a good bend through the corner. (As an aside, it not only makes since to finesse this movement for the sake of harmonious riding but also for the sake of one's score as it is shown twice each with a coefficient of two in this particular test.)

It's less about busy-ness on the rider's part and more about waiting for the horse and allowing the horse.

On The Double

Witness Delphinia's earliest lessons in the double bridle: