Dressage club

I think one of the best decisions I have made this year has been to start going to dressage club. I love it so much and have been finding it highly beneficial. I get really good coaching from a range of coaches and having a fresh perspective really helps too.

This weekend was no exception, after all our show jump training it was time for some intensive dressage with a rally on Saturday and a training day on Sunday.

Saturday I had a coach who has taught me previously and someone new! My first lesson was a group lesson, where we worked on rider position and being efficient with the aides. I have issues with my hands. They like to hold on, not give and be generally unpleasant. So that was my main focus, and I learnt that my release is really not enough!

However the lesson also gave me a good idea of what I do need to do, and Henry was so much more consistent when I was soft and allowing. Amazing, right. He was very on my aides, and nice and responsive, so the thing holding us back the most is me and my unforgiving hands. My hands are worse in a comp too, because eI get nervous and jammed up.

My second lesson was a private 20 minute session with the new to me coach. I gave her a run down and let her know I wanted to work on my hands some more, and gave her an overview of my earlier lesson.

I had the releases pretty nailed while warming up, so we progressed it on to using my body more to turn, not just my hands. I really want to pull Hen around, especially on the right, but what I should eb doing it turning with my shoulders and stepping my weight into the inside stirrup. This was really hard for me, and I almost had to push my hand forward to ensure I didn’t pull him around.

For me this new normal is a challenge between giving too much, and giving enough but still insisting Henry does what he is asked. My preference is so have no contact at all, and I prefer to open my fingers rather than move my elbow. I do feel that I am on the right track though, and we just have to keep plodding away.

Sunday I rode two training tests, The prelim 1B and Novice 2B. The prelim we have done before but the novice has sideways bits and extended bits and I have never been brave enough to try before.

Henry warmed up very well for our first test, and even ignored the medieval reenactors on the oval next to the arena. This was a pretty big deal, they were sword fighting and doing archery and shouting in full view and he just got on with it. I was very proud.

The first test went well, he stayed relaxed and I rode fairly accurately. There were a few places where I overshot the movement, and a few moments where he got a bit tense, but over all it felt more relaxed and accurate than the last few we have done. I came out smiling so that was a good sign.

We had a short break before the novice test where I went over the test a lot, and considered scratching. It was just a training test but I didn’t want to make a fool of myself, feeling like this test was a little beyond our capability.

I got Henry pumping a little more in the warm up, and he was feeling really fantastic. I asked him for a bit extra, more roundness, more spark, and he stepped up and worked wonderfully. I pressed the extended trot and canter buttons, and tried out the leg yields, and everything was there ready to go, we just had to put it all together.

I tensed up on the way to the arena, but we both relaxed as we trotted down the long side to enter at A. It was probably the fastest we have relaxed so far, so that’s a good thing. The test went so well! He was right there with me, willing and on the aides. I was so proud of the leg yields, they felt great. The extensions felt pretty good too, and I felt like I rode this test more accurately. There was still some tension, but I was way better with my hands, and I can’t expect a transformation over night, it will take time for both of us. 

Both tests scored very similar from the same judge. I was very pleased with that especially for the novice. That test wasn’t easy and he was such a good pony!