Stadium: Old Habits Die Hard





Dino warmed up absolutely beautifully for stadium. He was locking on and attacking the schooling fences and jumping them with extreme enthusiasm. It's a shame that Becky didn't catch any of it on film, because he was jumping incredibly well! I was also feeling pretty nonchalant about the course. There weren't any crazy turns, the jumps looked small to me, and I was just not at all worried about it. After a stinky dressage test, I was ready to get out there and just jump some stuff.

I PROBABLY should have worried a little bit more, or maybe had more of a concrete plan for the course, because I totally reverted back to my old habit of "hold to the base".



Instead of riding forward and flowing out of the turns, I tried to control the canter too much without adding enough leg, which resulted in a lot of close distances. It wasn't UGLY or SCARY... just not quite as flowing and soft as we've been jumping lately. That beautiful, forward, decisive ride into the big grid in our last lesson? Yeah, this wasn't even close! Not terrible, but again, not our best. The only really BAD jump was Fence 6, before which Dino saw the long one, I saw the short one, and we totally mis-fired and bunny hopped the thing.

Thankfully my pony has springs in his feet, and he easily cleared it despite our awkward approach, and not going clear was never even something I thought about. I just assumed we'd go clear, and we did, but next time I want to do it BETTER.


This means better planning before setting foot on course. Not just thinking about where I want my turns to happen and what our track should look like, but when and how to set up that Magic Canter so that all of the fences come up out of stride, instead of me having to do damage control and manufacture a distance because our canter isn't quite right. If we can do an okay job over a 2'6" course with me hardly trying, imagine what we can do when I actually put forth effort!

Time for more coursework at home!

Comments

  1. You probably already do stuff like this at home, but putting placing poles on either side (9 feet out) helps to create the canter and distance you are looking for. My trainer likes to set these up on a related distance of maybe 5-6 strides between two jumps (they both have placing poles on either side), so that you make a plan coming in, demand the canter you want and stick to it. The placing poles on the landing side help the horse to rock back and figure out where his feet are, and the one in front helps to get a better distance. Also, Jimmy Wofford's book on gymnastics is incredible for activities like this! There's much more than just grids in there and lots of simple 3-4 jump exercises that help you to act fast and think quick. I wrote about it here: http://kisforkiki.blogspot.com/2014/07/jumping-all-jumps-and-other-adventures.html

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    1. I will definitely have to check out that book!! We do a lot of grids at home but not so much coursework, and some of it is just me needing to be more mentally present to get the right canter instead of zoning out and just plopping around!

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  2. yea i pretty much just had that lesson last night... holding to the base and pulling and other general nonsense that doesn't really help any one... i just struggle to resist the temptation to hold and pull sometimes!!! and add in competition brain fog and everything goes a little sideways (and all my training leaks out my ears)... definitely reassuring to know that the level is still easy for you and Dino even when things aren't perfectly smooth. the pictures look great too btw - nice work!!

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    1. It's such a psychological 'control' issue! That 'controlling' the distance is necessary and requires pulling on the reins haha. I've been riding much bolder and more forward & soft at home.. so I know it's in there.. sometimes it's just a matter of solidifying new skills in the show ring!

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  3. Next time I will film ALL THE THINGS! It'll be like a reality TV show except Dino.... I'll think of a catch title eventually.

    I'm still kicking myself I didn't get that oxer warm up jump!!! Such a star. Although the one warm up for XC wasn't toooo bad either ;)

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  4. Oh I've definitely never done this. :-p You know except, every single time I've shown.

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  5. Ugh yes, I got the lecture on not holding to the base as well. Maintain or more, but never less canter!

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  6. I want to be able to jump 2'6 without batting an eye lol

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