Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

If you've been following along, you're probably getting the impression that I had a rough time at the HDEC Spring Show. Quite the opposite would be the truth. I came home grinning from ear to ear, bubbling with enthusiasm. Yes, my Friday warm up brought tears to my eyes, and yes, my first test gave me a sub 60% ride, but what I learned over the weekend made up for those two tiny blips on my unhappy radar.

I've already mentioned that I spent hours watching virtually all the tests before mine, and even quite a few tests after mine. I started to notice a few things:

• Hilda warmed up by doing lots of little things. She didn't just ride circles. I could tell that she was warming up for the different elements of her test. 
• The best riders used the court's "alley" (what is that space actually called?) to school their horses one last time before starting.
• The best riders used strong aids when necessary, even during the test. I saw and heard Hilda whack Wintersnow pretty firmly with the whip a few different times. I also saw her, and several other riders, do pretty strong half halts when needed.
• Some riders rode with their hands further apart, Hilda did this, but many riders had their hands quite close together with the outside rein laying pretty firmly against their horses' necks.
• No one kept their lower leg perfectly still. All the riders, especially the good ones, used their lower legs to cue their horses.
• The best riders smiled when they were finished and praised their horses enthusiastically.

The most important thing that I observed during all that watching was that the best riders continued to ride their horses during the tests. They didn't just sit there hoping the horse knew what to do. I think I've been riding my tests hoping that Speedy G will do a good job. I decided I needed to change that mentality and start actually riding the test.

I also decided that I have not been using my warm ups to good effect. I tend to just ride straight lines and then do some circles hoping that will supple him up. For Sunday's warm up, I cut it to 15 minutes. I did what I do at home: a walking lap, and then I got to work on bending Speedy's body. I planted my inside hand and did some of Michael Schaffer's perfect circles. I made the circles quite small and moved Speedy away from my inside leg.

I also did just two of the trot to canter transition that comes after the left lead canter circle. They were smooth and respectful so I decided not to piss him off by making him do any more. I didn't even bother with a right lead canter. He never fusses with that so I left it alone. We finished the warm up with a few more small circles until he softened his neck and poll. And that was it. I walked over to the ring steward, chat her up a bit, Speedy adores visiting, and then went to the ring to wait.

The other important thing I noticed about the judge's comments from the day before was that I needed to prepare for the transitions, and she was absolutely right. Up until now, I've been so focused on simply memorizing the test: track right at C, trot circle at B, change direction at the corner, canter in the far corner, etc. 

For the first test of the second day (T-2), I began adding the word prepare as in prepare to track right at C, prepare to circle at B, prepare to change direction in the corner. 

When I entered the arena's "alley," I started working on getting Speedy focused on me right away, I bent him this way and that, moved him off my leg, worked on a straight entry and square halt, and then made sure to position him so that we could enter at A with a right bend, our better way. I couldn't believe how much work I was able to do in those few minutes before the judge rang her bell.

Although our halt, salute wasn't perfect, it was much improved, and I knew it. In fact, everything felt better. I wasn't hoping Speedy wouldn't fall apart, I was telling him what to do, and he was trying to listen. I prepared for each turn and transition and focused on keeping a bend. I knew it was a better test when I made the final canter to trot transition (score: 7). A huge smile was plastered across my face as I came down centerline and halted (score:6.5). 

The result? I scored 9 points higher than the day before. My score was 60.893% - a definite improvement! 

Part 1
Part 2
Not much to say here other than to ask, whom was the judge watching? I knew, just knew that my second test of the day was not anywhere near as “nice” as the first one had been. Training Level Test 3 was scheduled less than 30 minutes after T-2, which initially seemed like a good idea, but in retrospect, proved challenging.

With less than 30 minutes to go, I couldn’t go back to the barn and unsaddle, but I also knew that riding Speedy in the warm up for the whole time would be a colossal mistake. To compromise, I went back to the barn for a few minutes to re-read the test, and then we ambled over to the warm up ring for a bit of a stretchy walk. With 8 minutes to go, I headed over to the ring to wait. I could tell that Speedy was getting grumpy. He was pretty done with the day already, lazy boy, and kept trying to trick me into walking the short 40 yards back to the barn.

As the rider before me saluted and began her walk out, I nudged Speedy forward only to discover that I had to do more than nudge. I was right there with him. I was tired too, but I was determined to ride and knew that we could do this last ride well.

I am not sure what happened to our enter working trot, but for both tests we entered crooked and halted in anything but a square frame: 5.5. From there, I felt like I was 3 seconds behind Speedy for every movement. I kept trying to slow him down or speed him up or soften him or move him over or any other number of things.

As we came down the centerline for our halt, I knew it wasn’t our best ride, but it was the best I could do at the time. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't a standout ride either. I was happy to be done and equally happy that nothing horrible had happened.

I walked Speedy back to the trailer and un-tacked him while feeding him handfuls of cookies. I gave him lots of pats and good boys and thanked him for his effort. We zipped back over to his stall where a yummy beet pulp/rice bran/senior feed (don’t even ask) mash laced with electrolytes was waiting. Speedy knows that the mash means his work for the day is done. He looked relieved to be able to be truly done for the day.

Before checking my scores, I grabbed a cool drink and sat in the shade while he chowed down. Once I figured the class had closed, I walked on up to the show office for a peek at my score. I had already given myself a stern lecture about NOT being disappointed with the score no matter how low it was (no more tears for this girl). I knew it wasn’t my best ride, and tomorrow we had another chance to put it all together.

My goal for the weekend was to get a qualifying score for RAAC, which would also count as a USDF Rider Performance Score. I needed a 60%. My T-2 test, at 57.679%, had fallen short, which prepared me for an even lower T-3 score. Much to my surprise, we scored higher for the second test – 60.200%. Seriously?

Yep. Apparently I stink at Training Level Test 2. I am considering giving up on that test and doing just test 1 and test 3. Speedy is pretty good at that one loop serpentine in test 3. Each time he does it he gets a pretty decent score. For this go, the judge gave us a 6.5 for the first one and a 6 for the second one. We’ll take it! 

We didn’t get any 7s for this test, but we also avoided the 4 from T-2. Our stretchy trot, which I thought was hurried, earned an improved 5.5. Our left lead canter earned a 6 with the comment, obedient and then stiffening. Oh well, at least it started out well! The right lead canter also earned a 6, which is a far cry from the 4s we were earning last year.

Overall, the test felt weak but looked better to the judge. What do I know? Apparently not much! I suspect that I actually went out there and rode better, but was more aware of the errors. I think this is a very good thing as you can't improve upon what you don't know is weak.

The good news is that I earned a RAAC qualifying score and my third USDF Rider Performance Award score. Since this show had only one judge, I couldn't earn another score for RAAC or the USDF award so the pressure was truly off. 

Someone asked if this judge was particularly tough. I wouldn't say that she was unfairly tough, but she wasn't giving points away either. Day one's scores went something like this:

• four scores of 70, and two of them went to an intro rider riding a 20 year old school master (highest was 70.3957) 
• 26 scores in the 60s 
• 12 scores in the 50s (the lowest was 51.400%) 

At a show with such a high caliber rider as Hilda Gurney, those scores struck me as a bit low. When I said I was "happy" with yesterday's 57.679%, I meant it. She was a tough judge.

My score sheet is posted below. Click to enlage.

Sunday’s rides tomorrow … 

Part 1

The good news is that I have another blue ribbon to add to my collection. The bad news is that … well, there really isn’t any bad news. I didn’t score a 60% for my first ride of the day, which was my goal, but I was still satisfied with the ride. If you follow me on Facebook, you already know my score and how we did. No secrets here: my first ride of the day earned me a so-so 57.679%. The judge’s comment on the back of the test completely and accurately sums up our experience, “A very attractive horse – help him learn to accept and stretch to the bit so you can improve balance and bending.”

I actually liked how I rode this test regardless of the less than stellar score. The thing that has been getting us each time on this particular test is the transition to trot as we come out of the left lead canter at E. During my warm up ride on Friday evening, I just couldn’t get anything even remotely acceptable which was completely my fault. I still feel as though pushing his haunches out is going to fix the problem when the real problem is that his rib cage is pressed against my inside leg because his haunches and nose are already out.

The judge gave us a 5 for our left lead canter, pointing out that he was counter flexed. Seriously? Even knowing that I need to get a bend, I still am having trouble getting his nose in. For the canter circle, she scored us a 5.5 with the note that we need balance and bend. Yes, yes, I know … The happy ending to that little story is that we did get a very satisfactory 6 for the canter to trot transition. Well, hallelujah. This was not based on luck; as we came out of that canter, I pushed with my outside leg and thought forward to trot. It must have helped.

I actually thought the stretchy trot wasn’t that bad, but the judge saw otherwise. We scored our typical 4.

From that point on, we did better by earning 6s and 7s except for the right lead canter, which earned a 5 with a comment that says something about being counter flexed and evasive. It’s pretty hard to read; if anyone can decipher what it says, PLEASE comment.  

While the score doesn’t seem like one to be proud of, I was pleased with how the ride went especially since our Friday warm up was so bad. I felt like I was actually riding and addressing our issues. I worked really hard to not over-ride my horse. I didn’t feel stiff, and I felt like I was actually riding moment by moment. My rider position was the same as always, a 6, but I liked that I was having a conversation with Speedy as I rode the test. I wasn't hoping for a good ride; I was riding for a good ride. There's a big difference.

Here is the score sheet for training Level Test 2 … (Click to enlarge.)

As I sit here in my horse trailer on Saturday afternoon writing this, I am tempted to call this the Hilda Show. Not because the day was about Hilda Gurney, but it was seeing her name on the list of riders that prompted me to commit my non-riding hours to watching instead of hanging around the barns and visiting. I am so glad I did.

Hilda, riding Wintersnow at Grand Prix, was the first rider of the day. Normally when I watch a dressage test, I focus on the horse only and forget that there is even a rider on board, but not on Saturday. I made sure to focus on the rider and her aids. I already know what the horse is supposed to look like. What I need to better learn is what a good rider looks like. Hilda doesn’t make it look easy, but she does look strong. Wintersnow is a big horse and he didn’t look like he was having his best day. Even so, Hilda kept him together.

Watching that first ride sort of set the day’s tone for me. I had been expecting some dazzling score of 85% from Hilda and the rest of those top dogs, but here were no wildly high scores. Most scored in the low to mid 60s. The biggest AHA that hit me on Saturday was those riders were trying just as hard as I do. Riding Grand Prix or Prix St. George isn’t any easier than riding Training Level.

Throughout the course of the day, I saw horses that were soft and round one minute, inverted the next. There were horses that spooked in the corner; horses that didn’t have much activity, horses that didn’t lengthen; and so on. I saw some very lovely riders, especially at Fourth Level and above, and I saw some really poor riders, and surprisingly, they weren’t at Introductory Level.

Saturday was a great learning day for me. It really helped to illustrate that dressage is not easy for anyone. Every rider out there is struggling with something. I’ve had it in my mind that if I could only get through Training Level, my problems will be over. Saturday’s classes showed me that I need to change my expectations, or I will forever be disappointed. There is no promised land. As you get better, the tests just get harder. I think the trick is to always ride in the moment. Michael Schaffer, who wrote Riding in the Moment, says on the final page of his book, “Much more important than moving on at exactly the right time, or picking exactly the right exercise, or always riding just the right way, is having exactly the right attitude… Attitude Trumps Technique.” 

I think I am getting the right attitude.  More tomorrow …

Since Monday's lesson, Speedy and I have been working very hard on that left lead canter-to-trot transition. It's getting better each day. I've been reading Riding in the Moment by Michael Schaffer and happened to hit the perfect part at the perfect time. His descriptions of riding the square, the turning square, the octagon, and finally the circle helped me "get" what I need to do to make the transition work.

The square is what you would image: from a standstill, turn your belly button in, have an open inside rein, place the outside rein in front of your belly button, and use a gentle outside leg to help your horse turn in.

The turning square takes the exercise a bit further: instead of turning in from a standstill, the horse is asked to turn in and then walk forward, turn in and walk forward. As your horse becomes better at turning in, you can add an element by turning in for several steps and then move out for several steps. This exercise eventually becomes a shoulder in. (The stuff I am learning, wow!)

Once the turning square is going well, Schaffer turns the square into an octagon. In this exercise, the horse moves out for several strides and then turns in for several strides. Once that has been accomplished, the horse can now move on a circle. I really loved Schaffer's explanation of how the movement is the same on the circle as the 8-sided figure: turn in, move out, turn in, move out, but in such a subtle way that it happens at each stride.

This is essentially what JL has been teaching me, but with Schaffer's diagrams and simple explanation, the whole concept really clicked. I tried this series of exercises with Speedy G last night and was thrilled with the result. Schaffer doesn't intend for this to be done all at once, but since Speedy knows how to turn and move out, I figured I could string it all together.

I started with the turn in from the standstill and slowly progressed through each exercise. I was really pleased with how quickly Speedy was chewing the bit and how supple he started to feel. Once he was turning in and moving out nicely at the walk, I moved on to Schaffer's Perfect Circle exercise.

According to Schaffer, the Perfect Circle is one "just small enough that he has to move sightly laterally to stay on it." If done correctly, it puts the horse in a shallow shoulder in. JL calls it "letting the geometry do the explaining." I do it quite frequently with Sydney, but haven't done it much with Speedy G. When Sydney gets resistant, I make the circle quite small so that he wants to move out. As he stretches his outside and releases the tension, I allow him to spiral back out. If he tenses or braces, I spiral back in. Schaffer's explanation clarifies the purpose of the exercise. Speedy is going to be doing more of those.

JL had me do this with Speedy by planting my inside hand on my thigh, or by grabbing mane with a shortened rein. This simply helped me maintain the bend, especially at the canter. I started with a small circle and gradually widened it as he got softer. This worked great for the circle left at both trot and canter. 

The next part of Schaffer's exercise includes fixing circles. His book has an excellent section on the three main problems that arise: the horse who falls in, falls out, or runs outs. Speedy does two of them; he runs out or falls out when tracking left.

Speedy runs out the moment I exit the circle to continue down the long side. Schaffer suggests that the best "fix" is to simply stop him (even if it is abruptly), and start again. He feels that the horse will eventually "quit looking for the weak spot to burst through." This is exactly what JL had me do. But in Speedy's case, an abrupt halt wasn't enough. I also had to keep his haunches from spinning out by not letting him fall into the circle. Keeping his front end facing forward and catching the hind end as it wants to swing out is hard work.

Falling out is when 'the hollow side is on the outside of the circle.' Schaffer says that the solution for the horse who falls out is to take up more of the outside rein. That seems a bit vague, but when I combined that idea with what JL had me doing, it does work. In order for the outside rein to be effective, I have to maintain an inside bend, and I have to get his haunches back underneath him by pushing them away from the rail.

Since Speedy's inclination is to be hollow on the right side of his body, I need to stretch the right side and get those haunches to move to the left. The image on the right is cut from a larger image from Michael Schaffer's book. The diagrams in his book are excellent. It shows Speedy's body perfectly. This is why the left lead canter is so challenging. He wants to carry his nose and haunches to the right.

Now that I have a solid visual of what I am dealing with, I feel confident that I can help Speedy straighten out. We're going to be doing a lot more turn in/move out as well as Natural Circles. Both of those exercises will supple Speedy's right side and get him carrying himself with more ease. 

I am still showing tomorrow* which means you won't hear from me again until Monday. My times are great for Saturday, T-2 at 1:53 and T-3 at 2:22.  This gives me time to watch some other riders, braid Speedy G's mane, and warm up slowly. My times on Sunday are pretty late considering I have a two-hour drive home: T-2 at 11:28 and T-3 at 1:47. It's okay though; I'll make it work.

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Monday!

*uh-oh ... woke up with severe lower back spasms which is a brand new thing.  I am currently on the floor with a heating pad. We shall see ...

Guess who is going to be riding at the show this weekend.

....

No, not him, but that would be cool. Nope, it's California's very own Hilda Gurney. I am not one to get star struck; I wouldn't recognize Tom Cruise if he knocked on my front door. I am just not that into famous people or fancy cars or expensive brand names. 

I am, however, seriously into watching top riders do their thing. I hear it everywhere; watch good riders ride, and emulate what you like. I haven't found that particularly easy to do as I ride in a "non-dressagey" community, and I don't hit very many (if any) BIG shows. 

When I saw that Hilda Gurney will be somewhere that I'll be, I knew that this was my chance to watch someone who knows what she's doing. She's riding four times on Saturday, and I have each ride highlighted on my day sheet. She's riding Wintersnow, Miciah, and Gulliver. What a great opportunity to watch a great rider.

This brings me to another show-related topic that I've been mulling over. Do the big riders, such as Hilda Gurney, feel that we peon Training Level Adult Ammies are really just gumming up the works of their show day? I really hope not as I've never felt as though I wasn't anything but welcome at the rated shows (20!) that I've done over the past three years.

I bring this up because it is a well-known problem in the endurance world. There are three main echelons of endurance riders: the FEI riders that most of us never meet or interact with (kind of like the Grand Prix crowd); the 50 - 100 mile endurance riders (kind of like the Second - Fourth Level rider); and the Limited Distance crowd (kind of like the Intro, Training, and First Level people). 

For many years, there has existed a persistent "looking down upon" attitude toward the LD riders. The common idea was that anything less than 50 miles was not endurance so anyone riding distances shorter than 50 miles shouldn't refer to themselves as Endurance Riders. The AERC rule book even defines an endurance event as one that is at least 50 miles in length.

As you can image, many LD riders are offended by this interpretation of what makes an endurance rider an actual Endurance Rider. I never really cared what distance people rode as long as they followed common trail courtesy, treated their horses with respect, and followed the rules. But, I do understand the argument. I've run some 5Ks, but I've never considered myself a marathon runner. 

I'm a long time member of the Mind Your Own Business club. Who cares what everyone else is doing? is generally my motto, but I do get irritated when people put on airs or claim to be something they're not. In the endurance/LD argument, I tended to keep my opinions to myself, but overall, I felt that if you're an FEI rider who has traveled the world, woot! woot! for you. If you're like me, a Steady Edwina who finished near the back of the pack on a 50 mile course, git-R-done. And finally, if you're an LD rider, ride your 25, kick back in the afternoon, and watch the 50 milers straggle in. Toast them with your cold beer, and smile.

And what does this have to do with dressage, exactly?

Well, I am afraid that I am the LD rider of the dressage world. I feel like a dressage rider, but am I? Do I have to ride "50 milers" (compete at Third Level) before I can make that claim? 

I never profess to be more than I am, which is a low level rider on an ammie-trained horse. Even so, do those Fourth Level Riders simply tolerate the Introductory and Training Level riders? I worry that when I get to Second Level (it might happen!), I'll look around and wonder what in the hell are those Intro/Training Level riders doing?

Please don't let it be so ...

A few years ago I bought a library discard copy of Bengt Ljungquist's book, Practical Dressage Manual. My copy of the book still sports the call number (798.23) and the bar code stamped Marin Country Free Library. I don't remember what I paid for it, but this is one of the best dressage books that I own. It was first published in 1976, but my copy is from 1978.

I like to just open it to a random page and start reading. It is absolutely the easiest book to read, and it has very useful diagrams of the movements described.

I've been re-reading parts of it lately and have been amazed how much clearer it is to me since the last time I thumbed through it. SInce I've been dealing with a crooked horse, I flipped to Chapter 5: To Make the Horse Straight. No fancy language here - just a chapter designed to help me straighten my horse. Colonel Ljungquist writes:

Yep. That's Speedy G all the way. I had read this passage at least ten times before, but in the context of my most recent lesson, I had a new understanding of Speedy's resistance. It is not in his neck as I thought. I could not understand why he was so "stiff" to the left when he can easily tough his nose to his hip. His "stiffness" actually comes from the hind end: his right hind to be specific. He doesn't want to carry as much weight on that leg so he resists my inside leg to outside hand which would put more weight on his outside hind leg.

Here's what's even more interesting. Speedy is very asymmetrical in his butt cheeks. I am pretty sure I wrote about this long ago, but if not, his left butt cheek is noticeably larger than the right. We did an ultrasound when he was four and could find nothing "wrong" with him. To this day, the right cheek is simply less developed than the left cheek. 

Coincidence? I think not!

For Monday's lesson, JL came down to my arena where my dressage "court" is laid out. I wanted to run through Training Level Test 2 and get her help on our left lead canter circle. We pick up the left lead canter between C and M, do a 20-meter circle at E and then transition to trot between E and K. Making that left "turn" at E is very difficult as is the downward transition to trot because Speedy is usually running through the outside shoulder which makes my outside rein ineffective.

After watching me botch the turn and downward transition several times, JL was able to figure out precisely what the problem is. I am not getting Speedy straight as I come out of the corner. When we track left out of the corner, his haunches are still on the rail, but his forehand is on the inside track. I need to straighten him out by getting his shoulders in front of his haunches. To do this, I have to move his haunches off the rail. Doing this will give me control of the outside shoulder. If his butt stays on the rail, he runs through my outside rein, and I can't slow him down in the canter.

One exercise JL gave us is to plant my inside hand on my thigh, or use a really short rein and grab mane such that it creates a bend for me. We trot or canter the circle. When I ask for a halt, I CAN'T let him take away the inside bend or pivot INTO the circle. I ask for the halt by keeping that inside hand solid (maintain the bend), applying inside leg at the girth to keep his shoulder from falling in, and holding the outside rein firm enough to keep his nose from turning in (controlling the bend). If necessary, and it was, I even used my spur on his shoulder to push him OUT.

By keeping him from pivoting in and swinging his haunches OUT, my outside rein (right) was effective and he quit blowing through the outside shoulder. He actually came back onto his haunches for the downward transition. What I realized was that by pushing his haunches into the arena, I was actually only straightening him. It only felt as though he was traveling with his haunches in; he was no longer carrying his haunches to the right.

We ran through that part of the test again, and I was delighted with how much softer he was. My homework for the next couple of days is to keep working with my hand planted to the inside to maintain a left bend while not allowing him to swing his haunches out when I use the outside rein. When I ask for a half halt, he can't swing his nose in, and he can't pivot his whole body in to keep from working that right hind.

I hate having so much new to work on just days before a show, but it is what it is. Here's to some solid training rides over the rest of the week!

I have a show this up-coming weekend. It's a two-day show which requires an over-night. Since we lost an hour this weekend, I knew I needed to maximize my Saturday. So instead of relaxing, I got to work on my trailer.

• I swept out the old shavings.
• I loaded a fresh bale of hay.
• I filled up the truck's gas tank - it wasn't even empty and it still ran close to $70.
• I loaded three bales of shavings for Speedy's "hotel" room (no shavings come with the $130 "room" rate).
• I added new shavings to Speedy's "ride" (my trailer's floor is really slick - the shavings help absorb wet poo and urine).
• I filled my hay bags.
• I loaded Speedy's beet pulp and rice bran.
• My show clothes are in the closet. 
• I also went grocery shopping so all my "show food" is ready: mac n' cheese, soup, sammy fixins, chips, granola bars, string cheese, apples, instant oatmeal packets, apple juice, Gatorade, water, and yogurt.

I cleaned my saddle on Sunday, but it will need another wipe down on Friday afternoon. I still need to load the generator, gas can, and my other clothes, but getting most of the horse stuff loaded is a big chunk of the work done. I do need to add my braiding box and mobile saddle cart as well. I am sure there are a thousand other things I'll think of over the next few days, but the process has been started!

With the weekend's rain, the arena was just a tad bit too wet for a ride on Saturday. No worries! I saddled Speedy and rode the neighborhood thinking that a change of scenery would be good for his brain anyway.

Not more than a hundred yards from the barn, the neighbor's horse saw his chance to show off. He gave a good snort, bucked, and galloped across his small paddock. Speedy flipped his tail over his back, as only Arabs can do, and gave an answering snort. Well crap ... there went any kind of relaxing trail ride that I might have been planning.

It was all good though as I took the opportunity to work on my sitting trot (which is really weak). I also worked on moving his haunches around a little and did some serious pulley halts. As we neared the go home or go on point, I decided that Speedy's shenanigans had earned him a few more minutes on the trail so we turned left.

He was stiff to the left, as usual, so I used the trail to work on counter bending; I tipped his nose left but pushed him forward. As the dirt road widened, I planted my left hand on my knee and pushed him out, out, out around in a circle until I felt some give in his neck. We continued on down the trail.

The neighbors have kindly given me permission to ride through their 10 acres (?) which leads to the Kern River. Down where we are, the river is fairly quiet with lots of sandy beaches. This particular stretch of beach is quite large and flat. It's large enough that I realized I could easily put together several 20 meter circles.

Since the footing is sandy, the wet sand actually provided the best footing that nature can provide; it was perfect. We set to work.

Since he was still resistant to the left (someday he won't be; I just know it), I planted my hand and asked him to move his haunches. I could feel his energy building so I knew he really needed to just burn off some steam. With our recent weather, it had been several days since he'd been turned out.

So we cantered ... a lot. The whole time I focused on maintaing that left bend while pushing his rib cage out. I also focused on lifting his shoulders with the outside rein and leg. My feel in that department has really improved. I can now feel how the outside knee can almost pick up the shoulder.

After our work to the left, I changed directions and picked up the right lead canter. The first thing that I caught myself thinking was, wow, we're cantering with no bucking! Our canter departures have improved at least 100%. 

Speedy was still quite excited about the cantering on the beach thing so he was pretty strong in my hand. Instead of asking for a bend, of which he has plenty tracking right, I worked on keeping him straight, almost riding the circle with straight lines. This really helped me get control of the outside shoulder. Tracking right with a "racey" horse really helped me feel when I needed to rock that outside rein and "lift" his shoulder with my knee.

By the time we were finished, I had developed quite a lovely track on the beach. No one came out of the house to shoo me away, but I wonder what they were thinking as I ripped around that circle on their smooth, sandy beach. As an aside, the weeds grow fast on that section which requires mowing all summer so I like to think I was helping with weed control!

We had worked on the beach for at least 20 minutes. It was quite humid and Speedy's coat is still thick. I decided we'd both had enough. The next section of the trail is a spooky one for Speedy as the sprinklers have popped up on us more than once. Now, whenever we travel through there, he's on high alert listening for the phssst of the sprinkler. I used his energy  to leg yield him to the property edge.

By the time we made it back to the dirt road, Speedy was thrilled to take a small break and graze the winter grass that has finally exploded out of nowhere. I rode the last quarter mile home on a horse who seemed happily tired. 

That truly was Dressage on the Trail! 

What was I just saying about spring and summer? Forget all that, winter came back! Well, for two days anyway; we're scheduled to be back up near 80 in a day or two. But while winter was here hanging out, we got ¾ of an inch of rain which may not seem like a lot for most of you, but up until this weekend, we'd only had just over two total inches. For the WHOLE winter. Three-fourths of an inch is a lot.

We finally had some puddles around the barn. Here's Speedy G's house:

And now for the "Lucky Girl" part. What do you not see in this picture?

MUD - that's what you don't see! Speedy G has got to be the cleanest gray horse ever. I brushed him for maybe five minutes with a medium-stiff brush before I shot these photos. Note the lack of excessive gunk on the ground! What you do see came out of his feet.

Sydney, on the other hand, was a total dirt ball and required a good twenty minutes of deep brushing. No photos, but trust me, he was DIRTY!