Wow. Things have been hectic at my house. There's work of course; that keeps me very busy five days a week. There has also been a fair amount of showing of late: 6 show days over an eight week period. Hubby and I also just spent a weekend at our cabin. This was the first Saturday that I've actually been home in several months.

I would have liked to have arrived at the barn after a leisurely morning at the house, but our temperatures have breeched the 90 degree range so it's back to early morning rides when possible. I lunged Speedy in the side reins first, more about that later, but then it was Sydney's turn.

He and I had a few bleh rides this past week so I was really looking forward to getting some solid work out of him. Riding after a full work day is hard. I am not as mentally sharp as I need to be, and my body is already tired before I even step into a stirrup. All of that equaled rides that weren't as productive as they needed to be.

Since Speedy had been a bit wild and wooly on the lunge, I suspected Sydney might be feeling fresh as well so he also did some lunge line work. Nothing wild happened, but he did toss in a few bucks, and he did give a few dig-in rounds on the line before I asked him to return to a more sensible tempo. Once I knew the worst of whatever was going to happen had happened. I brought him back to a walk and gave him lots of reassuring pats and hugs. I've learned that the lunge line is a bit stressful for him. I think (know) his previous owners used the lunge line simply to work out excess energy. But that's a different topic.

My riding plan was to focus on my hand and body position to see if I could have a positive effect on Sydney's position. I kept my hands low and really encouraged him to reach to the bit with my seat and legs. We did lots of circles, changes of direction, serpentines, and trot work down the long side.

I am finding that the best way to loosen up Sydney's neck and back is to do lots of changes of directions. We've been doing a lot of serpentines over the past week or so, and I find that if I pick up the canter after a few of those, his canter is lighter, and it is easier to move his shoulders.

I am really happy with the work that he is doing for me. He can reach so nicely for the contact when he is relaxed and his canter, both to the left and right, has come a long, long way. We can now easily make the turn at A to go down the centerline and we can even do a three loop serpentine. We'll continue to do what we can to work on suppleness and will hope that he can give me at least half of what he can do at home at his next show.

I am so very glad that I stuck it out with this boy. He is a very nice horse!

It came over the weekend! Can I just say that I danced around like it was Christmas? 

Want one? You only need four scores over 60% from 4 different judges at USDF-rated shows. Sounds a lot easier than it was; it took me six USDF shows over 13 months to get the four required scores.

I’ve been using the bucking strap for a week. It has proven to be much more useful than I originally thought it would. I’ve used it while riding both boys, but for different purposes.

While Sydney is stiff, he enjoys being loosened up and gets a lovely swing through his back once he relaxes. I am finally realizing that his shape and build make dressage easier for him than for Speedy. He is built more uphill and has a better top line than Speedy does. He is also much more willing to accept contact and actually enjoys stretching out and down.

When I first get on Sydney, we always walk on a loose rein. This week, I’ve allowed the rein to be fairly loose, but I’ve tucked my fingers under the strap.  Within a minute, Sydney lowers his head and neck and walks along very relaxed. He no longer starts out with a giraffe neck. The strap helps me keep my hands low and quiet which tells him to go low and quiet.

When we pick up the trot, I also keep my fingers tucked under the strap. For the last two months, I have started out with my knuckles pressed into my thighs to keep my hands quiet as well as to encourage myself to ride with my seat and less with my hands. The strap serves the same purpose, but it allows me to keep my hands in a more natural positon.

As I feel Sydney get more relaxed, I slowly let go of the strap, but I focus on maintaining contact with it so that my hands, particularly the right one, don’t get too high. If Sydney starts to resist, flip his nose, or root, I re-establish the steady contact by slipping a finger under the strap and adding leg. As we continue our warm up, I also slowly shorten the reins. This usually causes Sydney to tense and bounce his nose, but as soon as I tuck a finger under the strap, he actually reaches and accepts the shorter rein length.

On Wednesday night, for whatever reason, Sydney had a bee in his bonnet and couldn’t relax. The strap was extremely helpful when tracking left. I tucked my left fingers under and was free to focus on slowing down the outside shoulder without losing the inside bend.  The next night I did the same thing while tracking right. The strap is really giving me a better feel as to what steady really means. 

And then there's Speedy G ...

Speedy is so heavy on the left rein that while the strap is very helpful, it is physically difficult for me to maintain my hold on the strap as he resists the left bend; he’s that heavy. JL suggested I put him in a bitting rig for a few days with a slightly exaggerated bend to let him work through the problem without fighting me in the process.

Several times this week I did just that. Speedy’s a smart boy and while he wasn’t thrilled to have his neck bent in the side reins, he didn’t fuss or throw a tantrum. It took him a bit to trust that he could go forward even though he couldn’t stretch his neck out. I tend to be overly cautious with the side reins, so I know they weren’t too short. To prove to him that he would get a release by softening his jaw and poll, I left the outside rein fairly long and shortened the inside rein to where I have been holding it with the use of the strap.

The first day we tried this exercise, he resisted the inside bend, but by the second day, I could see a little slack in the inside rein and I was able to push his body away from the whip’s tip much more easily. I paid special attention to the inside hind leg and really asked it to step up and under himself (to the best of my ability). By the third day of the exercise, the lunge line was slack as Speedy trot around me without falling in or tugging on the line. We did a series of trot to canter to trot transitions that I was really happy with. 

On Saturday, I lunged him one more time before riding. I know that it will take him a while to build up the outside hind and really learn to stretch his right side. Now that I understand his stiffness, I can help him loosen up.

I try to keep my posts original, but now and again I run across stuff written by other people who either say it better than I ever could, or, like today, answer one of my many questions.

I have been troubled by scores lately. I want higher scores like everyone else, but more than that, I need to know what the scores really mean. It is very difficult as a teacher to earn a score that I consider the equivalent of failing. In my classroom, anything less than 80% says you didn't try your best. Truly internalizing (and believing) that 60% is not a failing dressage test score has been very difficult for me. If 60% isn't failing, what is? And if 60% is passing, are all those riders who earn 70%+ scores the equivalent of the Gifted and Talented kids, equestrian geniuses if you will? 

To answer my question, I did some more Googling, which most of the time only yields more confusion than answers. In this case though, I stumbled across an interesting website with some really helpful articles. I am not sure what the site is actually called (Classical Dressage Notebook?) as there is no Home page, but here is a link to the page I am referencing.

Here's what the author, Sue Morris, has to say about scores:

"Firstly, let’s look at what is a good dressage score. As a rule of thumb we can say that:

Adequate - 50+%
Very Good - 60+%
Exceptional - 70+%"

If this is the understood breakdown of test scores, then Speedy G and I are in good shape! I've been under the impression that the hacks (like me) were scoring 60% while the real riders were getting the 70% scores. Very good sounds very good to me!

The author goes on to clarify each mark ...

"The judge scores each movement on the test sheet out of 10 and the standard definitions for these marks are:

10 Excellent------ Very rarely given. It means as good as it gets.

9 Very Good------Not often awarded; you can be very proud when they appear on your score sheet.

8 Good------------ An appropriate level of engagement for the level.

7 Fairly Good------Still a good mark, maybe a minor inaccuracy prevented an 8 being given.

6 Satisfactory----The movement was obedient and accurate, marred by outline, perhaps.

5 Sufficient--------Horse did what he should, but maybe lacking engagement or on the forehand.

4 Insufficient-----A serious inaccuracy occurred; counter bent; rough transition; head tossing.

3 Fairly Bad-------A serious problem occurred; lack of control, very late or fluffed transitions.

2 Bad---------------Now we’re talking severe disobedience; bucking; rearing; napping.

1 Very Bad---------The horse must have bolted through the movement to receive this!

0 Not Performed---Self explanatory. Horse didn’t perform any of the required movement e.g. failing to strike off in left canter and continuing on in trot."

While I have seen the scores explained before, I even have a chart here, I've never seen further comments like these. These seem right on the mark and offer more clarification. After reading this, my goal of eliminating 5s on my score sheet seems like a good one. 

It appears as if the score of 5 is where the comments begin to take on a negative quality. So it makes sense that scores in the 50 - 59% range would be considered only marginally adequate. If it is at the 6s where the positive properties begin, then 60%+ would be considered "passing." The higher your score, of course, the more passing it becomes. If 60% scores are very good, then it does ring true that scores of 70% and higher are exceptional.

This relieves some of my personal angst over my recent run of 60%+ scores. My scores in the high 50s have always felt disappointing. The problem is that my scores in the 60s haven't felt successful either. I couldn't understand how both USDF and CDS could use 60% as a baseline for awards and recognition programs if it was a failing or marginal grade. I feel much better about those 60%+ scores now. I can live with very good.

Sue Morris (read about her here)

I just received my California Dressage Society "plate" from my local chapter of CDS, the Tehachapi Mountain Chapter. I just ordered the plaque so that I'll have someplace to stick the plate. I have no idea how long it will take to arrive, but once it does, I'll be sure to post a photo of my one little plate mounted on the plaque. It won't be lonely for long though; I already have seven scores above 60% at CDS/USDF/USEF shows for this show season, which means I definitely get another plate for next year! 

As a pie-in-the-sky goal, I am hoping to have enough scores in 2013 to at least apply for the California Dressage Society's Henry Burchard Memorial Trophy which is given to the rider with the most scores above 60% for the show season. We were pretty close last year with 11 scores; the winner had 15. We may not be brilliant (I am discovering that my cute little Arab doesn't quite move with the same grace as the big boys do), but we are persistent, prolific, and fairly consistent.  

I am not sure quantity is as desirable as quality, but it's the best we can do for now!

While at the El Sueno show, I earned the final score necessary to apply for the USDF Rider Performance Award at Training Level. The award is not automatically given; the rider must apply for the award. I cut and pasted the following images from the USDF 2013 Member Guide.

I submitted my fee and application on Friday. I don't know how long it will take to receive the certificate and patch, but just knowing I finally earned it is reward enough. Now, of course, I am a bit goal-less as the next award is at First Level. It will be at least a few months or more before we start showing at that level.

Yesterday, while I was checking USDFscores.com (quite clunky to use, I might add), I saw that the award is already listed.  Maybe my certificate and patch will arrive sooner than expected!

... was a real stinker! We're still trying to get some left bend. JL liked the idea of the bucking strap, anything that I feel comfortable grabbing to hold my left hand steady works for her. She also saw the benefit of the strap as it allows me to maintain my seat. Burying my knuckles in Speedy's crest requires I ride in a two-point position.

Right off the bat, Speedy noticed a discarded lunge line on the other side of the fence. And of course, it was in the corner where he likes to pick up speed. Of course he spooked and warned, "Snake, snake! There's a giant snake approaching!" JL coiled up the line, showed it to him, and even rubbed his dorky face with it while he soaked up the non-working attention.

Since maintaining a left bend is hard work, Speedy spent the entire lesson rearing, bucking, or bolting past the place where said snake had been lurking. Each time I approached the corner, I asked him to move sideways away from my inside leg while maintaing a left bend. As that requires some work, he would instead offer some naughty form of resistance.

At places along the circle, I was able to finally get some truly connected, rhythmic sideways movement that was FUN! We had one series of steps that were like floating: he had a lovely bend and was connected from the bottom of that inside leg all the way through and over his back down into the bit. I laughed out loud.

Most of the time though, he just said no. At one point, we had an all out rodeo. I finally had to "cowgirl up" and flail my legs and yeehaw him to get his feet moving forward through the corner. Somewhere during the bucking and rearing, he slammed me into the arena fence and bruised my knee. I recognized the bump when it happened, but I didn't stop to check it out.

We finished the ride with the knowledge that we have a lot of homework to do, but I know exactly how to get it done. On my drive home, I realized how sore my knee was. I ended up needing to ice it that evening. I also decided that Tuesday would be a good day to skip the barn, which I don't do very often.

The day off proved very valuable. I accomplished a million little errands that had been piling up:

1. I did my grocery shopping at Target which also meant I picked up a dry erase board for showing and a mini notepad for the trailer.
2. I returned the blingy belt I had ordered a few weeks ago; it turned out to be way too small. I wear a size 6. How can a 32 be too small? Poorly designed product?
3. I also mailed JN the pictures I took of her in thanks for taking so many of us at El Sueno. She took much better photos than she's getting in return. I am not much of a photographer.
4. On a non-horsey front, I was also able to sit down for a few minutes and send the balance that we owe for our upcoming trip to Central America (a big woohoo for that!).
5. And while I was doling out money, I also ordered a plaque from the California Dressage Society on which to hang my "plate." More about that in the next day or two.
6. And finally, with all of my chores done, I zipped over to Fancy Nails and got a much needed pedicure.

Today, back to the barn for a ride on Sydney and if time, a quick lunge with side reins for the reluctant-to-bend Speedy G.

Or, a long list of random things that didn't fit in the first five posts. 

Gizmos and gadgets make showing a lot easier, but you don't need to bring the kitchen sink. At least that is what I remind myself of as I pack! While at HDEC a few weeks ago, I spotted a few more things that would make showing easier. I bought them and was thrilled with their application. Someone recently asked me for some showing tips. I am really not an expert, but I guess I do have a few tips to pass on.

Bale bags are a very common sight at endurance rides, but I don't think I've seen one at a dressage show. I generally load a full bale of hay in the first stall of my trailer (three-horse slant load). Once at the show grounds, I cut open the bale, and slide the bale bag over half the bale, a little like a pillow case. My bag has a very sturdy zipper over the top which keeps the hay from falling out. I haul the bag to my stall, usually in a little cart. The bag keeps the hay from being scattered around, and it keeps it out of the dirt. It also protects the hay from passing horses. 

The Gamma Seal Lid is also a great gadget. I've written about these before (the blue lid on the orange bucket). I have a bunch of these at the barn. I use this one to carry my beet pulp, rice bran, electrolytes, and horse treats. I measure out a weekend's supply of beet pulp into the bottom of the bucket. I add the rice bran in pre-filled baggies. The electrolyte container is small enough to bring the whole thing, and the cookies go in a little plastic cookie jar or in baggies.

I briefly mentioned the bucket hangers in my first post about the show. I wasn't sure how well they would work as Speedy doesn't really care for things that move or wiggle in his stall. I was surprised at how sturdy this set-up turned out to be. Speedy loved it. He drank more water at this show than he does when the buckets are down in the corner on the ground. 

For these stalls, the hangers worked great. At some shows we do, the stalls are solid wood and the only place to hang the buckets is over the door. Speedy really likes to stand at the door when that is his only "window" so I am not sure how they'll work when we go back to the traditional dutch door stall. I've seen people hang the buckets on the outside of the stall so that the horses can still stand right at the door. I might have to give that a try.

The stall chain solved so many issues. Speedy REALLY likes to put his head out so that he can see. He is not in a solid stall at home so I know he feels a bit claustrophobic with the solid stalls that are used at shows. With the chain, I can open his door so that he can still see what is going on. It also helped while trying to clean and braid. Of course, I didn't leave the door open if I wasn't standing close by as there is a risk of escape with the chain. If he wanted to, he could lift the chain and walk under it.

A few other odds and ends that make showing easier are seen here, too. I love my braiding box (red), found at Lowe's Home Improvement. It works as a storage box for all my braiding stuff and it's a great mounting block.

The portable tack hanger (purple) was also quite useful. Most of the stalls we've used don't have the open bars for hanging stuff, but I was glad to have the tack hanger for this situation.

I've seen the dry erase reminder boards before, but for this show, I realized how useful it can be to have your times written down where you are sitting and thinking. And since all four of my times changed over the course of the weekend, it would have been nice to have a quick and easy write-and-wipe board to show the updated times. I also found that friends want to know what time I am riding. If I have it written down, they can see it without me having to drag out my wrinkled and crumpled day sheet. The next time I am at Target, I am buying one of those boards.

I don't have any pictures of the riding stuff that I learned, but they're no less important. I've already mentioned that Chemain Hurtado, a local trainer, gave me some good tips. I am still working on straightening Speedy down the long side. She suggested I open my outside rein so that I give him someplace to move his shoulder. That tip proved very helpful. She also explained some of the reasons for Speedy's head tilt. She suggested I use a strap at the pommel (oh, shit! strap) to steady my hands and help me lower them. I couldn't do that at the show of course, but I did do it once we got home. I wrote about that yesterday, which is definitely getting a follow-up.

And finally ... some thoughts about success from the world's (admitted) Worst Self-Critic.

I wish an accomplished rider, trainer, or judge could give me a definitive explanation of what constitutes success in the world of dressage. I realize that this can't happen since success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. For the past three years, my goals have been to move up through the levels and to bring my scores above 60%. We've done that. If accomplishing a purpose really is the criteria for success, then I am forced to admit that I have been successful with Speedy. 

To an overly critical person, those goals seem tiny and inconsequential. What makes you truly successful? Is it rides of 70% or simply riding at a certain level? What should my goals be? I know that my goal can't be to jump to 2nd Level and win the CDS Championship. I don't work well with goals that are too large (and unrealistic). And so while I might find my goals to be small or insignificant, at the very least, they are achievable. 

So what next? This show helped me see that my next goal should be to eliminate the 5s on my score sheets. This goal serves several purposes: it will raise my scores, which is something that I am always trying to do anyway, and more importantly, it will be some sort of confirmation that we are moving through the dressage pyramid in a correct way.

Here's to success!

Except, we all know what it's really called - an Oh, sh*t! strap.

Sorry for the slightly blurred image. Sydney could not figure out what I was doing standing over his neck. I think you get the idea though. I've added my version of an oh shit! strap. I am not certain where I got the strap, but I think it was purchased as a chin strap to be used with a snaffle bit to keep the bit from sliding through the mouth. It has to be ten years old, and I don't think it was ever used for it's intended purpose. Or for anything else, until now.

To make the bucking strap, I adjusted it so that it is as wide as it will go. I attached a trigger snap to each end and clipped it to the dee rings on my saddle. It is the perfect length. As an added bonus, the bright blue color makes it very easy to see when I want to actually use it.

Rest assured, Mom, neither horse is being naughty enough for me to need it for safety's sake. In the past, yes, I might have used it as its name suggests, but for now, I am using it as a way to stabilize my hands. It was the trainer, Chemaine Hurtado, who suggested I use the strap. I've used it twice with each horse, and I can already see how beneficial it is going to be.

I used it first with Sydney. While he and I have come a long way together, there are still many things we/I need to learn. I feel like I keep my hands very quiet and steady with him, but the strap revealed the opposite. While riding, I grabbed the strap with my left pinky and was delighted with how quickly Sydney quit bouncing his nose. The more steady my hand was, the quieter and more solid his contact became. All I could think was that I was finally giving him a comfortable contact to hold.

When I shorten the reins with Sydney, he gets tense and "bouncy" with the contact. With the strap, I shortened the reins and slipped my bottom fingers under the strap. Almost instantly, he quit fussing. This tells me that my contact has not been very inviting. As we worked, I practiced letting go of the strap while striving for the same steady feel that the strap provided. I also worked on lowering my right hand so that my pinky could just graze the strap. This showed me that I do lift my right hand far too frequently.

When I rode Speedy G, the strap showed me that he is very heavy on my left rein. We have a lot of work to do there. Instead of planting my left hand in his crest as JL had me do, I maintained the left bend by hooking my fingers under the strap. With the strap, I discovered that Speedy never releases his inside jaw; he pulls on me the whole time we work. 

We did quite a few canter-trot transitions which revealed a very powerful moment. As we transitioned down to trot, Speedy tried to take the bend away during the transition. With my fingers tucked snuggly around the strap, he couldn't pull his head and neck out of the bend. JL has told me several times that he will never learn to maintain the bend if I can't show him that that door is closed. The strap is already helping me to show him that he can't take the bend away. 

The second time I rode him with the strap, he got quite fussy about the fact that he couldn't tip his nose to the outside. Thinking back to the ASK! comment on my final test from EL Sueno, I decided to really stick to my guns. I increased the bend even more and laid into him with my inside leg. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE was my reply. I also asked for more than a couple of canter to trot transitions, each time maintaining the inside bend by holding the strap. I also added a lot of inside leg as we did the transition which prevented him from falling in on the inside shoulder.

I think the bucking strap will help me tremendously with straightness as well. He really wants to tip his nose to the outside which allows his haunches to fall in. With his nose tipped out, the outside rein just sends his haunches further in like a carousel horse spinning on its pole. The strap is going to help me keep his nose pointed in the right direction which should allow me to utilize the outside rein better. 

Once I ride a few more times with the strap in place, I'll be sure to let you know what else it reveals. We have a lesson tonight. Hopefully JL can help me utilize it to the best effect.

We're cabin bound tonight so you won't hear from me again until Monday, which is probably a good thing as I have been a bit long-winded this week. I am nearly done; I swear. When I first start writing about a show, I get all excited and have a ton to say. By the time I get to the third test, I begin to get bored and don't really care anymore. By the fourth test, of which this is, I really don't care, especially since there was no grand finale. I am just trying, by this time, to get the thing written so I can move on to a new topic. 

Since this test was ridden at the show's end, my photographer was busy so you don't even get pictures. Here are the tests. Some explanation follows ...

This test was judged by a different judge. Even so, the scores were consistent. I am not surprised that we scored a little lower as I was mentally  tired, as usual. I need to find a way to keep my enthusiasm up for the duration of the show.

Not as an excuse, and I am not complaining, but simply as an explanation: I load the trailer alone. I drive alone, I unload everything alone, I camp alone, I warm up alone, and I ride alone. I reload everything alone and then drive home alone. It is tiring to do so much work with no help. I didn't pull into my barn until nearly 6:00 p.m on Sunday evening. Once there, I unloaded everything alone and then drove home where I still had to unload all of my personal stuff.

I don't mind the aloneness; I am a confident person and find it easy to meet new people. The drawback to being alone is that it can wear you out with all of the work. So ... by the time the fourth test rolls around, my enthusiasm is usually waning, and I am definitely not as sharp as I am for the first few tests. Speedy is a very smart boy and naturally picks up on my mood; he's not tired for the last test, but he gets bored easily. Throw in my fatigue, and you've got a less than sparkly performance.

If you looked the test over, you saw we had more 5.5s than earlier in the day, 4 of them to be exact,  but the 7s still made an appearance. We had three of those with the added bonus of a 7.5. There were still plenty of 6s and even one 6.5 to carry the score above 60%. And while I am delighted with four tests of over 60%, a first for me, I can see that the way to really raise my scores is to eliminate the 5s.

And of course, it must be noted that the off course error is just a stupid way to give points away. Sheesh. I know that test backwards and forwards. I just lost focus for a moment and paid the penalty. That's what being tired does. I clearly need a ground crew!

So that's it. Well almost. If I have the energy, I want to write one more post about a few things that I learned - some about riding and some of the more nuts and bolts variety. Until then, thanks for letting me share!