BOING BOING BOING!!!! DRESSAGE!!

Took Antsje out to Swallowfield equestrian on Saturday to do a couple of dressage tests (Unaff) and I was very brave cos not only did I do P18 but I also did N20..... our first attempt at Novice!!

Bearing in mind we haven’t done a test since Nov last year and that was at our livery yard, so I haven’t actually competed away from home for over a year......I wasn’t expecting miracles!! Since having a couple of lessons and being put back 'on track' the new work has also been a little inconsistent, so really, I had no idea how it would go lol! I hired a reader just to take that pressure off and went with a view of ME being calm and not getting in a flap

My sister, Amy and my niece all came along which was great because we all had a good laugh, which kept my nerves at bay!!

So, to cut a long story short........Anstje was a BL00DY STAR!!! When it comes down to it, she always knows when to 'switch it on' and she tried her little heart out and I couldnt have asked for anymore I made a couple of fluffs in the prelim by not preparing as well as I could, also she nearly broke in the canter so I sent her forwards a bit too much and then had a rubbish downwards trans lol!!
I went into the Novice not so under pressure as it was just a little play around at this level! So I seemed to get my head into gear a bit better and was a lot more helpful to her, I suppose because there is more to ‘do’ in a novice I really had to keep her together more whereas I think I needed to be a bit more ‘on the ball’ in the prelim lol!

They judged all prelim classes (3) and all Novice classes (3) together and in the Prelim I came 7th on 60% which I was really pleased about as there were 13 riders in all. Then in the novice I came 3rd!!! on 62% and we got a rosette!! I was just so chuffed as I think Antsje deserved something for her incredible attitude and generosity to her rider

Anyway……Vids!!!
PRELIM


NOVICE


Lots to work on I know, and I was happy with the judges comments :o) BUT…… a lot to like as well I think?? I mean…… I got 6 for canter!! HURRAH!! That’s a miracle in itself lol!

And my beautiful girl……..

VIDEO!!! YAY!!!

Got some poor sod to video me in return for a drink down the pub.....how awful hey!!! hahaha! The video-er needs training with the zoom lol! but heck, im very grateful for him doing it full stop!

I can see im still collapsing a bit esp in downward trans......
Also, when im trying too hard (lateral work / no stirrups) my arse gets tight and Im far too tense and it ruins my seat and therefore blocks Antsje. Things to think about....... ;o)

Walk to canter




Walk pirouette attmepts


Lateral Work (although not very clear angle)


Trot and right canter trans


Left Canter


NO STIRRUPS!!! lol!


As always - grateful for any comments / observations :o)

Im BACK!! bout time hey!

God Ive been bad with this blogging malarkey **hangs head in shame** lol! A quick update to get me back started again! Thanks Patti for a kick up the proverbial arse lol!!

Well we had an excellent lesson with Heather Moffett at my friends yard and its been great value as im still working on the same lines now hahaha!

I wanted Heather to help me work on greater engagement and self carriage with Antsje as although she has great paces, she still needs to take more weight behind to really start working properly – this becomes apparent when we do lateral work in trot as she tends to do her famous evasion of rushing / powering through my seat / hand to avoid the slower deeper steps ;)
So we did a lot of work on lateral work in trot, reinback to trot and even a little bit of work on ‘half steps’ at the end!

Ive put the video up but as its in the indoor school the lighting isn’t that good! But I think you can get the general idea!! At times Antsje gets against my hand as she tries to speed up in the lateral work, also as Im trying SOOOO hard I am a bit stiff and rigid at times which also doesn’t help lol! And although im a LOT fitter now, I STILL struggle to maintain my seat when Antsje tries to ‘set sail’ and therefore I use my hand more than id like…….

Things Heather got me to do that have helped LOADS are;

1.Shorten my reins and keep my elbows towards the front of my hip bones as Im having the tendency to end up with my elbows behind me and a feeling of a more backward hand!! This stems from trying so hard to keep a bend in my elbows in the past that ive completely overcorrected hahaha! Mike also reminded me of this naughty habit! This will give me a better ‘forward feeling’ contact

2.When doing lateral work, think about ‘stacked hands’ with the outside being lower than the inside hand to help with the inside flexion.

3.Try not to take my outside hand over the neck……

4.Try and maintain a rhythm in the lateral steps by counting out loud and using the leg in time with the swing of the belly, and also tapping the HQ’s with the schooling whip where necessary (partic in travers) Antsje tended to be a bit hesitant in her steps and not really stepping through properly – I could feel the difference when Heather was shouting NOW NOW NOW when I should be applying my leg! :)

Sorry about the links but Ill never get time to embed them all lol!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_NuYEbDSBo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75nQpcqOc5c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcp2g56fT6Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps29CoDiPXc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiLKDkpBeSI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3SkpFZ7R9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHQOH3vvWeM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8fVBas2R1Y

Feel free to ask questions about the video, it might jog my memory a bit!!

'prelim' type work

So to finish with I like to end the session with the more 'prelim' type frame concentrating on Antsje following the contact forwards a little more but NOT rushing! this is hard for her - and me! lol! I also like to do the canter work with this frame at the moment as I think its important she gets established with stretching over the back in canter even if it does mean she is a little on the forehand. Once she becomes more relaxed and confident then I will swing between the 'up' work and the longer frame as I do in the trot. At the minute I am confident that I can put her neck in a stretched position in trot and she will respond straight away - if I wasnt sure I could do this then I wouldnt do the work that does shorten her neck somwhat as she is naturally prone to that postion. So if at any point she wont follow the hand down, we leave the other work for a while until this is re-confirmed.

Im quite pleased with the video in general but can see ALL the points that Mike picked up in my position Gggggggrrrrrrrr!!! I AM rounding the shoulders and although not really tipped forward I have that 'feel' about me! esp in sitting trot where I really DO need to open my chest so my abs DONT collapse! I can also see what Mike means about the hands.............
Yes, they are too far 'back' now, so I MUST ocus on this and think of my elbows more towards the front of my hip bones and not the back! lol! My hands also look a bit 'dead' and as Mike says, if I shorten my reins up a bit, hold my arms a bit more forwards than it will bring some life back into my hands and our connection. Antsje is SOOOO sensitive about being jabbed or fiddled with in the mouth that as usual I have swung the pendulum too far the other bloody way! ***rolls eyes***

But lets hope now I can ***SEE*** it I will remember to do something about it!

New Moves!!

A couple of 'work in progress' videos of new stuff we are working on. Both of us get a litle tense and tight.............and co-ordinated lol lol! so there is no suprise that things are not exactly perfect - as far away as it could be in fact lol!! But heck! we all gotta start somehwere right??

Half Pass


So, I have to control the quarters a bit more on the start of the exercise but we did straighten it up somewhat by the finish!

Reverse Pirouette:


Well the first exercise is the more 'correct' one which wil give you the idea of how the exercise works. Renvers down the 3/4 line, turn the haunches around the forehand in the direction of the bend and then return back up the 3/4 line in travers! simples! hahahaha!
but watching the second part - obviously NOT! Made a right hash of this one as its the side where Antsje finds it hardest to flex around - for a start I have WAY to much angle in renvers - she likes me to do this as its more a leg yield and she doesnt have to bend through her body ;o) Secondly, because I havent got a true bend and that inside to outside connection, I am having real problems in turning her from the outside rein and she is 'stuck' on her inside shoulder and therefore her we dont make the turn properly - when she finally moves the inside shoulders its too late and we loose the position and end up coming up the long side in some mangled SI / Legyield movment, which again suits madam cos she cant possibly bend through her body! And the rider just dont seem to know where she is in the movement to do anything to assist hahahaha!!! Oh dear!

Half Steps:


Our first attmept at slowing but energising the walk to really get some 'engaged' steps / baby half steps. Its something Im not planning on doing a whole lot of, but I do think it will be useful a sprinkle in now and again.

VIDEO!!! Warm up..........

Amy did some video of me yesterday!! I did a bit of work in hand, a bit of girivolta work, some of the suppling exercises that Mike showed me on Saturday and then some of the ‘prelim’ riding which is in a more ‘open’ frame at the end.

Ill start by putting on the in hand work and the girivolta exercises as I think too many videos at once will just be a bit mind-blowing hahaha!!!

Im purposefully asking her to keep her neck released in the in hand work as her tendency is to get short in the neck. It flows better when her neck is ‘up’ but now im working on strengthening her back / neck connection so she gets a bit sticky at times. I always finish with the neck down position as again her base nature is head up and rushing through you – so I like her to keep her neck long and relaxed with her circling round me as it releases any tension of the exercise particularly after the trot as she finds it harder and gets more tense. I do this ridden too, but on writing this I realise not NEARLY as much – a bit silly really. Must keep it in mind for the future. ;o)

Giravolta ridden – again just an example of the work I do to warm up. Reins in the outside hand, whip in the inside to encourage the HQ’s to move over. It would be nice to see her relax her neck more – and she does at times, but at the minute id rather sacrifice the neck for the ‘engagement’ – the neck WILL come ;o) I don’t do this for too long at a time and walk on a long rein in-between changes of rein so we don’t build too much tension through the neck.

In hand Left


In hand Right


In hand Trot




Giravolta ridden

Walk to Canter VIDEO!! YAY!

today my daughter Amy rode her and did some jumping!! which she thoroughly enjoyed! They were getting a bit high for my nerves though and I could barely watch Eeeeek!
Afterwards Amy took a bit of video of me and Antsje as I have just started doing walk / canter transitions with her and I wanted to have a look and see what they LOOKED like as they FELT pretty good! :-D They are not quite direct yet, particularly on the right rein, but it IS helping the canter slow down a bit and therefore helping her balance
Amyway - see what you think! As always im very grateful for any input.........

Trot on both reins


Slowing and containing the trot:


Canter Left:




Canter Right:

grump grump grump................

ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! Snow stops play!!! I havent ridden for over a week now, im dreading to think how crap ill be when I get back on, coupled with the fact that Antsje has been stabled during this weather and is like tigger on crack :-0 OMG!!!!

She has been getting increasingly 'hyper-sensitive' during her confinement and Interestingly today when I touched her poll she snapped her head up JUST like she used to when I first had her. In fact, the more and more I think about it, the more I believe this is where Antsje stores 'excess tension' from whatever may be troubling her. For me this has become a barometer on her 'well being' and although I thought it was due to tension build up from ridden work and also (shamefully) over use of the hand I can now see that its not JUST due to that. Being stabled for a week has obviously caused a build up of energy and this has most definately had an effect on the relaxtion of the poll. Not much I can do about the confinement until this weather clears up, but its been an interesting observation nevertheless ;-)

And just to stop me getting too fedup about the weather and not riding I thought Id share this clip. ONE DAY I'LL SIT LIKE THIS!!!!!!!

A New Year........some NEW VIDEO!!! YAY!

Got more video yesterday!!! She was a little bit “tramming” yesterday and running through my hand a tad – especially when I was rising the trot. You can see at the end of the first video what I mean **rolls eyes** Now I know my sitting isn’t perfect by any means, but I still seem to be able to ‘hold her’ with my seat better despite this! The absorption problem still affects my hands more than id realised although she doesn’t seem terribly put out about this?? Perhaps I am still holding with the reins in sitting trot and this is why she is more contained? Although it doesn’t **FEEL** that way – and Im sure my hands don’t look as backward as the last set of videos?? Her mouth doesn’t seem overly busy / gapey which is a sure sign when im HOLDING her with my hands? So guys……………..what do you think??
I do think there is improvement from the last set of vids. Antsje trot rhythm look less disturbed than before and I do think my position looks better? BUT!! I can see Antsje still looses balance at times and I can see that I still need MORE strength through my core plus I am not absorbing the movement quite right either in sitting. I am belly dancing and still tending to tip forwards slightly. Back to the drawing board!!!!

ps - canter is still a work in progress lol!!!

RISING TROT


LEFT REIN


RIGHT REIN


SERPENTINES

WE HAVE VIDEO!!! hehehe!

So, finally got Amy to take some video of us both today - I think we have made improvements this year although I STILL need to SIT UP!!!! and also the angle in travers is way too steep but thats what video is for! My sitting trot is still woeful I rode my sisters horse tonight and was able to sit nice and tall and relaxed but I still cant get it on Antsje! Im afraid of it I reckon!!! I tense up and I BOING everywhere! plus...................I NEED TO SIT UP!!!!

First few vids are of trot and canter on both reins, then the last one is collecting and lengthening the trot with Antsje staying with me! you can see she'd rather canter! I can see on the serpentine video I am blocking her with the inside rein on the right - she still gets a bit jittery after canter work - but NO excuse for overiding the inside rein! NAUGHTY ME! But would be glad to hear what you all think............. ps - the abrubt halts after canter are a result of a 'click' and treat - not cos I yanked her head orf!!

Prelim12!!

Well as it was the final show of the season at our yard I decided to throw caution to the wind and do Prelim 12!! Amy said she would come and video us so I was really excited! But when I got my time, the class was so huge that we were not riding until 2.24pm which meant Amy couldnt make it :-( But luckily one of the girls at the yard videod my test for me which was so nice of her :-)

Well Antsje warmed up so beautifully and felt so relaxed but responsive I was really excited about doing the test lol!! As soon as we got in the arena though we lost that relaxation as Antsje was a bit 'gawky' especially at the camera man, and I got a bit of the nerves kicking in too!!
But despite this Antsje did listen to me and I tried hard not to fiddle and nag and trust her to relax into my hand - which she did at times :-) Canter was still a bit gung ho!! In these situations we are BOTH still a bit anxious of it and preparation and relaxation goes out of the window lol! In fact I think I suprised her with the right canter transition and she took off disunited! I suppose I should have stopped and restarted but I wasnt sure if this would upset her even more!
I was a bit dissapointed that we didnt go as well as in the warm up and felt the test was a bit lumpy in places - but I was mindful we hadnt done a test since June so in retrospect it wasnt awful as she had done everything I had asked :-)

When I went to find my test sheet I couldnt see my name anywhere! I looked through the pile twice, and then just happened to glance at the sheets with the rossettes attached and lo and behold they we were!!! in 5th place!! I couldnt bloody believe it hahahaha!!! we got 66% and some very nice comments. So although when looking at the video I can see lots of things to work on, I am absoloutely thrilled to have eneded the year on such a good note :-)


She has gone a bit fussy in the mouth again this last week or so, so she is having a visit by the dentist today. Im hoping all will go well and there wont be too much of an issue other than routine stuff ;-)

Right Canter! AT LAST!

Finally we 'have' right canter under saddle, dare I say 100% consistently! Up till now it certainley has been! Anyway some evidence among other stuff:



Hope there is some improvement since the last video :-)

Prelim 18.................

First the video!!! Watch and it see what you think! and then answer my countless questions at the end! hahahaha!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5jioJC4PYg

Well not quite sure how I feel about today!!

we were weak in all the areas I already knew, but I feel I achieved my goal, which was to get out there again, get our confidence back and to get a 'benchmark' of where we are.

Antsje was fairly attentive today, and although I could tell at times she was desparate to go into full friesian alert ie, head up, ear up my nose and pogo stick trot, she did really try hard to listen but the upshot was she wasnt quite relaxed enough, and I felt she could have been a little more forwards into the bridle than she was. Canter was interesting!! Not too bad onthe left! but picked up incorrect lead on the right :-( But on the whole I didnt think it was awful.

I was dissapointed with our score though - 56.67% We had a lot of 6's and 7's and one 8! but 3's for right canter which took the score down. I was also a bit dissapointed by the free walk mark but id like people to have a look at the video and out of interest see what your score would have been? Maybe Im not seeing things correctly??

The main comment was Antsje acceptance of the bit - we had not happy in the mouth and fussy in the mouth a few times :-(

So Questions..........................

1. Antsje has ALWAYS been very mouthy! doesnt matter what bit, or what kind of contact, she will fuss even on a loose rein. She was like this when I bought her and Ive never really been able to solve it fully. Some of it is how she shows anxiety, some of it is because she runs into my hands, some of it is because my hands / seat connection is not yet fully independant particularly when antsje is being resistant. So! what do I do? Put her back in the flash? Live with it? I dont know how I feel - obviously the flash has done no long term improvement as she is just as bad now as she was before.

2. The canter - I am loosing faith of my ability to crack the canter esp the right lead. Im never quite sure if she is coming up correctly and cant seem to influence this at all! Should I just give in and send her away for training? though god knows how I can afford this! but I do worry about who to send her too!! Is there ANY improvement there? PLEASE be honest ;-)

3. Another contact question, but more the working forwards into the hand - im sure the issues of Q no 1 has a bearing on this problem, but Im worried im loosing my way!! I have a seesaw problem - Antsje WILL stretch into a longer frame and work more forward into the bridle but in my opinion she easily becomes on the forehand and looses the engagement of the HQ's and it shows in downwards trans as she collapses into them as she is not properly engaged behind. When I collect her up a little, then we have beeter engagement, better upward and esp downward trans, but she is always prob about an inch shorter through the neck than I would like.

So, should I continue to work on the engagement and hope the forward into the bridle will come, or should I let her lengthen her frame and loose the HQ's? This is primarily test riding im talking about as I do work both ways when schooling - contained to start, and stretching to finish. I realise it might have helped her stretch forwards if I rose all the time - BUT - I do find it easier to contain her by using my seat in sitting trot - she may not look it, but she is very onward bound, and once she gets 'tramming' then you are DOOMED to forward and straight and handbrake turns lol!!

4. Free walk - what was so wrong about it? yes, I do realise she could be a bit more consistant, but was it sooo bad??

So - am I loosing my way? I am missing some instruction and I havent had a lesson now for 6 months!! Plus we have only been back to it in earnest for the last few weeks as we only moved to this yard mid May. We really wernt as ready as we could have been, but its easy to get stuck in 'never readiness' or at least it is for me!! Fraught perfectionist and all that hahahaha!!!

I do often wonder if ive bitten off more than I can chew with Antsje - or at least with the available recources I have to spare namely time and money. I KNOW part of my personality keeps battling with things long after I should have let it go - more then a couple of times to my detriment!! So I do worry that this is a similar situation. I know I shouldnt compare, but I look at people and see them improve and progress and I am genuinely thrilled for them - but I also feel frustrated that my own progress seems so goddam slow!! Patience is not a strongpoint of mine lol!! So, bearing in mind my limited rescources - am I fighting a loosing battle here? Am I improving at all????? Is Antsje Improving???? Or am I just fumbling about in the dark going round in ever decreasing circles? ****sigh****

Dont panic people - Im not in a real 'down;' about it! A little dissapointed yes! but Im more philosophical than fed up, just musings of my mind!! Lucky for me, I am blessed with the personality of a weeble!! I might have a wobble, but never fall down completely lol!!! So please - honest opinions would be very much appreciated ;-)

I look forwards to your comments :-)

And how it SHOULD be done!!!

I found these video clips of Bent Branderup riding some lateral movements. They have really clarified in my mind the movements that I was trying to achieve in my last lesson. I also admire the lack of tension in the horse. Although Bent does have a slightly braced lower leg!! Well thats how it looks to me anyhow! Please correct me if Im way off the mark lol!! The picture as a whole is very beautiful though ;-)

Shoulder in to Renvers



Travers



Shoulder In:

Lesson 04.01.09

Well, its took me a while to write up!! We did quite a bit of new stuff and not being able to ride since the lesson until this weekend has made it difficult to crystallise my thoughts!! I ended up asking my long-suffering instructor Mike for clarification lol!! (poor Mike!!) And as his descriptions are so more lucid than my own I have stolen them Mwaaaa haaa haaaaa!!!!

Quoted from Mike Aylmore:

We worked initially on shoulder in, 10m circle, then continue in travers. This works well as the shoulder in gives a natural position to move onto the circle and you are also in a perfect position for travers as you return to the track. The shoulder in and travers have the same bend but you are right, they engage different hind legs. I always find this makes it harder to move from one to the other without a circle in between, it just doesn't seem to flow. When we were changing between exercises on the long side we would have gone from shoulder in to renvers and counter shoulder in to travers. In lateral work, the general rule is that the hind leg that steps in front of the other is the one that is being engaged. So, on the right rein for example, shoulder in is engaging the right hind. If you change the bend, then you are in renvers position, still engaging the right hind. Likewise, counter shoulder in on the right rein (essentialy shoulder in left!) engages the left hind. Change the bend to travers position on this rein and you are still engaging the left hind. This is why I like to combine the exercises in this way. As you move from one to the other you aren't changing the hind leg that is engaging, just changing the bend. The exercises just seem to flow better. It is particularly useful for Antsje as you are stretching one side, then changing the bend and stretching the other while engaging the same hind leg. For a horse that finds it hard to reach for the contact, being able to encourage the stretch down one side, then the other, will be very useful. The other reason I want you to become familiar with the exercises is so that you find it easier to correct her when she twists in the trot work. As she finds the work harder to the right, she will probably carry her quarters to the left i.e. a natural renvers position on the right rein and travers position on the left rein. To help correct this you need to ride her in an "opposing" position. i.e. "think" travers on the right rein, and renvers on the left rein. Obviously you can only do this if you are familiar with the full range of straightening exercises. In this way, every time you feel her twist and warp and lose the connection to the contact, you can quickly apply a combination of corrections to counter-act the warp!

My thoughts!!!

Well, this was a hard lesson for me and Antsje – neither of us having done Travers or Renvers before!! It was like the blind leading the blind lol!! In actual fact I had been playing a little with travers coming out of the circle, but not having ridden the exercise before I haven’t done too much for fear I was doing it all wrong!! At times I knew I was doing more a leg yield t the wall, rather than travers DOH!!! But it seemed I was not too far away in what I was doing which helped my confidence J Antsje is familiar with moving laterally in the opposite direction to the bend as in leg yield and SI but is not quite ssure WHAT to do with her feet when asked to move laterally into the same direction of the bend as with travers and renvers!! Looking at the video it was quite amusing to see her hovering with her feet really * thinking * where to put them. She does try hard though, and like me, once she UNDERSTANDS the concept she will try her best to do what is asked J She wass getting a little ‘sticky’ at times with the movements but Im sure this will improve with her understanding and physical strength. As for me! Well, I can see I need to be far more helpful to Antsje – but again, difficult when Im learning too L Things I SHOULD be doing is keeping a better position with my seat for one. I am trying TOO HARD and it is affecting my position to the detriment GRRRRRR!!! I have to think more about a relaxed longer leg, as I am gripping up with the effort lol!! I also have to stop holding my leg away from her body for example in the travers, I am pushing with the outside leg and holding my inside leg away from her body instead of wrapping it around. I also have to learn that the energy is produced by the inside leg and the outside leg just ‘holds’ the ¼’s in position, as at the moment Im trying to push her over with the outside leg and I feel this is one of the reasons we are getting ‘sticky’ and loosing forwards.
Mike stressed to me that the exercise doesn’t HAVE to be perfect for it to have the required effect! Do you think he could tell I was trying too hard hehehe!! It was interesting watching the video how after straightening back up after the exercise how Antsje stretched into the outside rein. It is here where I need to be quicker with my reactions and allow her to come through and use the energy created by the lateral movement. I could see I was blocking this at times. *sigh * It was also encouraging to see how the trot improved when asked for directly after straightening after travers! Although my trot was horrendous as by that time my legs had gone numb lol!! I thought the activity in the hocks was much better.

So things for me to bear in mind:

· Horse and rider have to be relaxed for their bodies to function efficiently! STOP trying and let it happen! :rolls eys:
· Think stretched relaxed calf to deepen the leg & seat rather than heel down – this seems to help me stretch rather than force! STOP Trying and let it happen!!
· Keep hands, elbows and shoulder soft – STOP trying blah blah blah!!! :rolls eyes:
· Be quicker with my reactions to be able to help Antsje and get more benefit from the exercise ie, don’t BLOCK by being rigid…STOP trying blah blah blah…………
· Hips to the inside (of the school) for shoulder in and renver – hips to the outside for travers and counter shoulder in.
· Inside leg (of the bend) for bend and impulsion – outside leg for positioning.

Is there a running theme here lol!!!

So for the video:
Please note that this is just the BEGINNING – it is NOT the finished product in any shape or form * blush * I realise my riding needs improvement, particularly with relaxing my seat (but HECK it was COLD!!) but sadly I am out of practice L Also my hands are to rigid, for same reasons! So please keep your comments constructive and help retain the fragile bit of positivity I am desperately holding on to!!

SI – Circle - Travers


Travers on the right rein!


Travers showing the stretch into the rein when straightening


Trot after travers

EDIT - added links as I failed to embed the video Grrrrrr!!!

Summary of 2008!

Well, 2008 was an eventful year for me! We made a lot of progress this year and I have personally learnt a lot! The begining of the year I was terribly frustrated with my riding and my seeming inability to influence Antsje with my position. Then I made two fundamental breakthroughs with my riding this year. One was the concept of riding from inside leg to outside hand - Although I thought I was doing this correctly I really wasnt! And although many different people have tried to get me to understand this, it really didnt click until I went for a lesson with Peter Maddison Greenwell. He got me to ride one handed on a circle keeping the inside bend - I was hopeless at first but suddenly we got it!! And all of a sudden I FELT what it was like to have the horse 'in' the outside rein and turn with the inside leg and outside rein! It was AMAZING! And has made a massive difference to my riding :-)

Secondly was a comment from one of my friends who gives great critique! She noticed how I relied on my reins for balance and asked how would I ride without reins?! So I tried the 'without reins' riding and was shamed and horrified how much I relied on them :-( So the end of 2008 has been about me practising an 'independent seat'

 We have been doing a fair bit of hacking and some schooling in the field over the xmas holiday. I even got chance to hire out an arena for a proper schooling session but have to admit that both of us have lost some of the finnesse we had built up towards the end of last year **sigh** Still, I have learnt that frustration gets you nowhere other than a hiding to nothing, so I am POSITIVE that we will regain the lost time quickly as long as I remember all the things I learnt last year :-)

Here is a bit of video as a starting point for this year - I was a bit despondant when I watched it, but hey! Things can only get better right!!!

I am starting off the year in a positive way and tommorrow I have a lesson with Mike Aylmore who I have been training with for nearly 2 years now!! I get such a lot out of his lessons so be prepared for a mamoth post tommorrow lol!!!

Oh! And a BIG HELLO to my two followers Trudi and Claire :-) I can be rest assured that I will get some good feedback on my ramblings :-) Thanks guys!

Antsje the STAR!!

Always a memorable day for me was the fantastic UK Inspections in 2006 where Antsje strutted her stuff to 'STER' status!! This grade is judged on movement and conformation and is awarded to approx 20% of friesian horses, so it is a good indicator of a superb example of the friesian breed. :-D

I was so confident that Antsje would get the Star Grading but had a fit of the eeeby jeebies the night before and hoped that I wasnt being a typical 'doting mother' and not being objective enough!! Still I neednt have worried as Antsje was set to prove to the world that she was an absoloute star in no uncertain terms lol! This is so typical of her character and she is a born show off! So it was no suprise to me when she shook off her runner in irritation and then proceeded to take herself around the arena snorting and passaging until she got the applause she so rightly deserved **rolls eyes**

I knew she had performed to the best of her ability and it was just down to the judges. But luckily they also agreed and she was awarded Ster 2nd premie :-)

Just a few bits of video of her moment lol!
Super Trot!

Lap of Honour

Going it alone!

All friesians who are bred by an approved breeding stallion and a studbook mare are entered into the foalbook (veulenboek) at birth and can be given a 'premie' of 1, 2 or 3 if they are very good examples of the breed. At age 3 or over the friesian can then be graded to be entered into the studbook (stamboek). Again, if good enough the horse can be awarded a premie of 1, 2 or 3. If the horse is of a high standard of conformation and movement they can be awarded the STER status. Only horses in the studbook are eligble to breed foals that can be registered with the FPS (friesian Society) and ony foals of a good quality will make it into the studbook themselves. Friesian breeding is quite a complicated subject but for most people, buying a studbook horse gives you a certain level of confidence of the quality and movement expected by the FPS.