Gia - session 901 - horse trial!

 I took Gia to a new venue for a Starter level horse trial yesterday - the lovely Heather Ridge Farm!  Danielle warmed her up on the lunge line, and said she was ok - looking around at everything, but nothing too bad.  

In dressage warm up she was her usual self.  I actually expected it to be worse since we hadn't really been anywhere different in a while.  There were still things she was worried about, but no more than usual.  She was tense in warm up, despite me trying to keep just a light contact, but we did manage to work through all our movements and get into our canter work.  She did do a little bucking at the canter, but not too bad, and I was able to manage it and redirect it and ended up with some nice canter circles!

Our test was a bit messy, partly my fault, partly the wind, and partly my wild beast.  She didn't do anything specific, although I messed up the ending to the test.  She just felt a bit all over the place, and her gaits felt especially big, fast and splayed out.  We still did ok, and scored a 65.66%.

Jumping warm up felt really good!  We were able to go straight to jumping after a quick tack change, and I think that really helped.  Since she was already still warmed up, all I really had to do was put her over a few jumps.  As soon as I got her over the first one, I clicked, then gave her a treat (which she almost didn't want to stop for).  After that, she got into it, and was pretty much looking for the next jump!  We did cross country first, and she didn't balk at any of the jumps, even one where the tree branches were so low that I had to duck!  She got a click after every jump, and a treat at the end.  We did have to wait a bit for stadium, and waiting is not her strong suit.  We mostly walked around in circles or figure 8's, but whenever she did manage to stand still, I clicked and she got a treat.  Butch started out the same way at shows, but now he stands like a statue.  Her stadium round was really good!  She was very ridable, and even had fun through a "gymnastic" of a one stride to a three stride!  We finished on our dressage score and in third place, with two very solid jump rounds!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gia - session 955 - lesson at CDP

 I had a lesson with Hayley today at CDP.  Gia felt great today!  We started with a nice, crisp walk, and then moved right into a forward trot.  We worked all over the ring with changes of direction and in a good, steady tempo, we also worked on lengthening and collecting the trot.  Gia was nicely obedient to everything I asked her to do.  When I first asked for the canter, I forgot to keep my arms soft, so it didn't last more than a few steps.  But the second time, I remembered, and stayed a little off her back as well.  It started awkward, and counterbent, but as I stayed soft and following with my seat and arms, she eventually figured out what to do with her body, and started to come nicely around my inside leg.  We did the same thing in the other direction (which is usually her bad direction), but it went really well!  We decided to quite while we were ahead after that!  Hopefully, this ride will carry into this weekend for the show! 
Read more

Gia - session 956 and 957 - War Horse schooling and show

 I took Gia to the War Horse schooling and show this weekend at the Carolina Horse Park.  When I got on Saturday morning, she started out quite tense - wanting to go up in the front, and up in the back as well, but not really wanting to go forward.  I finally did get her forward, eventually, and slowly, and we made it to the stadium warm up.  After warming up with some trot, and over a few jumps, we schooled the stadium course.  She was a bit nervous, but did OK otherwise.  So, on to cross country schooling.  She felt fairly the same on cross country - a little nervous, but at least by that time, she was moving forward.  She was a bit nervous about a couple of the jumps, and some of the soggy ground.  We "discussed" it, and then she was able to get over/through it.  She felt a lot more confident by the end. On Sunday, she felt fine when I got on for dressage.  I warmed her up in the grass, near the barns, first, where she could stay calmer.  She was fairly responsive and rela
Read more

Gia - session 947 - lesson at CDP

 I took Gia to CDP for a lesson today.  She was very good with her shipping boots this morning - no drama at all!.  She was also pretty good for getting on the trailer, with me on the off side.  She did get her head a little stuck on the wrong side of the divider, but I quickly got it unstuck, and she was good to go. I warmed Gia up deep and low at the walk and trot with lots of changes of bend and direction, all over the ring.  She was a bit spooky and resistant, but we worked through it, and she started to settle down, relax, and stretch her neck out a little.  I added canter transitions, and those went fairly well.   Susan worked with us today.  She had me focus on Gia's rhythm and the timing of her footfalls at all gaits.  She also had me focus on my straightness in the saddle and my alignment with Gia, as well as Gia's straightness on the circle, and through changes of direction.  We worked through transitions between the gaits, and they gradually improved, and I felt Gia
Read more