Orange Grove Dressage and Show Jumping Day
Saturday the horses and I were up bright and early to head to another dressage and show jumping day. I just had Coolie along to compete but Henry came to spectate. He made so many friends! He had 3 new besties by the end of the day and Coolie was jealous.
I had a very interesting time getting to pencil for a dressage judge. The judge was lovely, we had a nice chat and I learnt a thing or two. It was very hard trying to write everything down and make it legible. I think it's something I will do again in future.
I got slightly distracted getting ready for dressage and in the end probably didn't give myself enough time to warm up, but had planned on having less time anyway since he was so super last time. A quick stretch in all paces and a few laterals and we were good to go.
As per usual Coolie got tense the second we started trotting around the arena. I focused on getting him forward, and rather than stopping at the judge, let them know who I was as I trotted around. Once I had the forward, I set about establishing shoulder in in both directions and got his brain back on me. This worked really well and by the time we went in I had a reasonable horse.
The test went well, minus a few hiccups. For some reason in tests I get a bit caught up in the moment and can forget where I am going. I didn't make any errors, but a few transitions were a bit abrupt. The first canter transition was as usual above the bit and generally a bit icky, but it was more together than normal. Coolie stumbled a bit in his first extended trot, but the second felt awesome, and there was some real difference shown. Both extended canters felt lovely, and he came back nicely just from my seat. My first half 10m circle missed X, so I threw that mark away,
The tension and inaccuracy at the start of the test kept the marks down, we scored 6.5 for the first 3 movements. Our stretchy circle was lovely, and scored a 7. Our walk was also super, scoring 7, and 7.5 for the stretchy walk. Our weakest pars of the test we the transitions and the canter to the right. Canter to the left was better, and the second lengthening trot scores a 7, as did the final center line.
Overall, we didn't score lower than 6, and most marks were 6.5! I am THRILLED. I feel like I know the way forward and how we can continue to improve. I really hope Coolie and I can continue this streak this weekend at Dryandra. Coolie knows the difference between eventing and non-eventing competitions so it will be a real test.
Show jumping followed closely after dressage. We had a round at 90cm and one at 100cm. Our first round was quite nice. It flowed well and Coolie jumped nicely just having one unfortunate rail. To me it felt a bit slow but on reflection it was because he was 100% with me, and not fighting at all. The lack of pulling felt to me like we were too slow.
The 100 was too fast, and quite messy as a result. We had quite a few rails. I needed the same rhythm I had in the first round. I could have kicked myself. Somehow we managed to win both rounds though so it was a successful day out and I feel like we have made some serious progress!
I have decided to go and have some lessons with a show jump rider. I love my coach. She is wonderful but she is also an eventer. I think I need my butt kicked by a show jumper to really nail the different rhythm.
This week I have 4(!) lessons with Jonna Mclean on Thursday and Friday. Then We are off to Dryandra for our next event. I hope Coolie is feeling rested, it's going to be a busy week.
I had a very interesting time getting to pencil for a dressage judge. The judge was lovely, we had a nice chat and I learnt a thing or two. It was very hard trying to write everything down and make it legible. I think it's something I will do again in future.
I got slightly distracted getting ready for dressage and in the end probably didn't give myself enough time to warm up, but had planned on having less time anyway since he was so super last time. A quick stretch in all paces and a few laterals and we were good to go.
As per usual Coolie got tense the second we started trotting around the arena. I focused on getting him forward, and rather than stopping at the judge, let them know who I was as I trotted around. Once I had the forward, I set about establishing shoulder in in both directions and got his brain back on me. This worked really well and by the time we went in I had a reasonable horse.
The test went well, minus a few hiccups. For some reason in tests I get a bit caught up in the moment and can forget where I am going. I didn't make any errors, but a few transitions were a bit abrupt. The first canter transition was as usual above the bit and generally a bit icky, but it was more together than normal. Coolie stumbled a bit in his first extended trot, but the second felt awesome, and there was some real difference shown. Both extended canters felt lovely, and he came back nicely just from my seat. My first half 10m circle missed X, so I threw that mark away,
 |
| This stretch is a 7! |
The tension and inaccuracy at the start of the test kept the marks down, we scored 6.5 for the first 3 movements. Our stretchy circle was lovely, and scored a 7. Our walk was also super, scoring 7, and 7.5 for the stretchy walk. Our weakest pars of the test we the transitions and the canter to the right. Canter to the left was better, and the second lengthening trot scores a 7, as did the final center line.
Overall, we didn't score lower than 6, and most marks were 6.5! I am THRILLED. I feel like I know the way forward and how we can continue to improve. I really hope Coolie and I can continue this streak this weekend at Dryandra. Coolie knows the difference between eventing and non-eventing competitions so it will be a real test.
Show jumping followed closely after dressage. We had a round at 90cm and one at 100cm. Our first round was quite nice. It flowed well and Coolie jumped nicely just having one unfortunate rail. To me it felt a bit slow but on reflection it was because he was 100% with me, and not fighting at all. The lack of pulling felt to me like we were too slow.
The 100 was too fast, and quite messy as a result. We had quite a few rails. I needed the same rhythm I had in the first round. I could have kicked myself. Somehow we managed to win both rounds though so it was a successful day out and I feel like we have made some serious progress!
I have decided to go and have some lessons with a show jump rider. I love my coach. She is wonderful but she is also an eventer. I think I need my butt kicked by a show jumper to really nail the different rhythm.
This week I have 4(!) lessons with Jonna Mclean on Thursday and Friday. Then We are off to Dryandra for our next event. I hope Coolie is feeling rested, it's going to be a busy week.
congrats on the good dressage scores!! hopefully your week goes well ahead of the next event, enjoy all the lessons!
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