It's far from perfect, but what I love about it is the very steady rhythm that Sydney has finally agreed to (albeit a slow one). He's also definitely relaxed, which means that collection is up next. JL has just had us start working on collecting the canter.

From the video, I can see that I do need to shorten my reins. That's been a progressive issue with this horse (and me). Sydney was very resistant to contact even a few short months ago (rearing/whirling/bolting), but I can see now that he wouldn't fuss if I took them up another six inches.

I also need to BEND MY ELBOWS. Holy crap. When am I ever going to get that? At least I am keeping my left fist closed; that's something. Bending my elbows will do a lot to improve the whole picture that we make.

Showing a video is hard on one's ego. No criticism needed - I am REALLY good at doing that for myself. And on the flip side, no false atta girls either. Yes, there is huge improvement, but we still have a long way to go.

Sorry we're so tiny, but putting my camera on a mounting block means I don't get to use the zoom feature, and it definitely affects the levelness. If you watch it on YouTube, you'll be able to see it better, but the cockeyed angle will still be present!

I was recently contacted by the author P.J. O'Dwyer and asked if I would host her on my blog. Since I love to write myself, not to mention that I am a voracious reader, I eagerly agreed.

Part of P.J.'s book tour includes a giveaway, so yah for free stuff! I know that she is offering 10 copies of her book, jewelry, and steep discounts on her other books. To be eligible, you just need to leave a comment on the day that she stops by my blog, July 1st. Claimed will be available in eBook form from Amazon for only 99¢ during the blog tour!

To sweeten the deal a bit, P.J. sent me an autographed copy of her book, Relentless, and a lovely pair of earrings from her store.

The book was a perfect summer time read. I read virtually all of it in one afternoon of couch potato laziness. The story includes several mysteries, a few steamy love scenes, and a lot of quick action. The main character, Bren, is a determined, self-sufficient gal who doesn't take any crap. I like strong female characters, especially when they also get the guy in the end!

You can check out P.J.'s website at www.pjodwyer.com. Be sure to check back on July 1st so that you can read a small excerpt from her newest book and maybe even get a free copy!

But honestly, Sydney just continues to amaze all of us! I had my second lesson for the week on Wednesday, our new usual. JL watched me warm up a bit and liked how mellow he was to the left, also our new usual, and decided that it was a great day to work on collecting the left lead canter.

Now that Sydney can reliably pick up the left lead canter without any drama, she wants him to be rounder and more collected. For a horse who used to bolt as his one and only gait, it is rather surprising how much leg I have to use to collect his canter. I was gasping for breath the entire time!

As we cantered left, JL had me really rock the outside rein while adding leg that said forward. As he came up in the front end and got lighter, she instructed me to begin working on the inside rein for bend. I thought tracking right was hard; while Sydney is very agreeable to the left, he is quite stiff! My homework for the week is to get him as uphill as I can to the left even if we aren't covering much ground. Right now, accepting the contact is more important than lengthening his stride.

We also worked on improving Sydney's right lead canter. As it turned out, JL didn't have a lot to say about it. When we were finished with the ride, she just shook her head in amazement and asked my big brown horse who he was and what had he done with Sydney. She said it was so nice to simply be able to watch us go around without needing to fix anything. His right lead canter has gotten that good.

When Sydney knew he was finished working, he quietly inched himself closer and closer to her so that he could nuzzle her sleeve. It was only a few weeks ago that he even began looking at her. Now, he not only sees her, but he wants to visit with her. As we were leaving, we caught up to C, one of JL's other students. For the the first time since I've owned him, he reached out and nuzzled someone else's neck! When she turned around, he stuck his nose into her barn bag and rooted around for treats.

This is not the horse that I bought three years ago. This is not even the horse I owned three months ago. JL and I discussed his new found happiness. She thinks it might be that he finally feels as though we've heard his plea for safety. He hasn't wanted to make the decisions, and to his utter relief, I am now directing his feet and telling him what to do.

Before we walked home, C said something like, aren't you so glad you stuck it out with him? Yes, yes I am!

When I started my warm-up on day two, I could feel that Speedy was already more forward. I can't believe how much more aware of my riding I was after just 30 minutes with Marisa. She really got into my head, which I love!

I felt no pressure when I started my second ride. Marisa is so kind and supportive that I was ready to just let it all hang out. As we were schooling the sitting trot to canter (the latter half of the video), I gave up worrying what anyone thought about my horrible position. I just dug in and kept at it. It never got good, but I didn't let that discourage me. I used all of my 30 minutes to grab onto every good feeling that I could so that I could take them home with me.

After I watched day two's video (down below), I was somewhat disappointed. I had wanted it to reveal that all my goofs had miraculously fixed themselves over a good night's sleep. Instead, I got to see what I need to work on.

• Keep those elbows bent and at my sides.
• DO NOT let Speedy take those reins away. I love how Marisa said it's okay that I keep him there; he's actually pulling on me, not the other way around.
• I need to do a million posting to sitting trot exercises. I started on Tuesday. 
• I need to keep Speedy round in the canter departure. I learned how to do it on Sydney, now I need to apply that feeling to Speedy. 
• I need to differentiate my trot and canter cues: both legs for trot, outside leg only for canter. I started that on Monday.
• When he gets behind the bit, it means that I need to shorten my reins. See the second bullet.

It's a long video (around 30 minutes), but you can hear Marisa very clearly. She offers quite a few really good suggestions about the trot to canter departure. This is the best video I've had to really study my riding. Now that I can see it all so clearly, you can bet I know what I'll be doing for the rest of the summer!

I am over the moon happy. 

Sydney is just too awesome for words. Just six months ago, we could usually get a left lead canter that wasn't an explosion, but not always. To the right, I could maybe get one, but it always surprised both of us. After the first right lead canter, Sydney was a run-away freight train. I would spend the rest of the ride trying to re-establish some sort of rhythm.

My one and only goal for Sydney this summer is to develop a sane, right lead canter departure. I am just over three weeks into my summer vacation, and while I hate to jinx myself, we have very nearly accomplished that goal.

JL is such a great teacher. Once I made the connection with Christian Schacht about how much weight I might need to take in the outside, left rein, everything started to come together. For Sydney to be able to do a right lead canter, we had to fix his roll-over to the right and show him that not only was I able to make a decision, but that he never has to.

So, here are the 10 steps we took to get Sydney's right lead canter.

1. Be able to halt from the outside left rein.
2. Straighten out his neck and body with the outside rein and leg.
3. Make him WAIT for my cue to walk; he doesn't get to anticipate, AND he doesn't get to take the rein away.
4. Be able to "crab" him to the right (think of a sideways crawl) by using my outside leg behind the girth with a very strong, working outside hand. The inside rein is there just to support.
5. Make him WAIT for my cue to trot; he still doesn't get to anticipate, AND he doesn't get to take the rein away.
6. Once he could "crab" sideways at the walk, we crabbed sideways at the trot. Crabbing at the trot requires his nose to be on the rail with his haunches "in" (which is actually just straight).
7. Make him WAIT for my cue to canter; he especially doesn't get to anticipate here, AND he doesn't get to take the rein away.
8. Be ready to "help" him from the very first canter stride. This means showing him that he doesn't need to run off. I "help" him by IMMEDIATELY slowing him with the outside rein. Before I can use the inside rein for bend, I have to make sure he's listening to the outside "pace" rein.
9. Once he's light on the outside rein, I can start to ask for inside flexion with the inside rein.
10. Using the outside rein to say no faster, I can then push him sideways with my inside leg and follow that up with a vibrating inside rein to make the turn.

And that's it. Ten easy steps to get a right lead canter. 

When I rode him yesterday, I put all of this together and got multiple trot to canter transitions that were calm and happy. I was even able to hold the right lead canter while we turned down centerline and then turned back to the rail at B. Rather than make a 20-meter or 10-meter circle, I worked on making the 10-meter bend into a few straight strides followed by another 10-meter bend coming back. We made a long, narrow oval.

After making the 10-meter turns, I asked him to stay on the long side and was THRILLED that he did it with no rhythm change. That was the first time he's come out of the corner on a right lead canter and gone straight without panicking.

I don't know that all of this progress will be easy to access once we leave our home arena, but I now have some excellent tools in my belt that will help him stay with me. Our next attempt at a show might be in August. Until then, we'll just keep polishing that right lead canter!

First of all, I owe a huge thank you to my CDS Chapter, Tehachapi Mountain Chapter, for sending me to the clinic. TMC paid my clinic fees.

I would also like to thank our host, Suzie Peacock, of Eastvale Equestrian. Our stalls were her own (and clients') horses' day-to-day living space. She moved the horses to another location so that the clinic's participants had the best of the best. Suzie also arranged delicious and healthy meals for the riders.

A huge thank you also goes out to the Southern AA Clinic's organizer, Sandy Harper. Sandy did a fantastic job of organizing the clinic so that it ran without a single glitch - or, none that we could see! We had a great pizza dinner with drinks on Friday night where everyone got to share a little about their own riding experiences and where they were with their current mounts. Throughout the clinic's duration, Sandy also provided a bevy of snacks and beverages to keep us hydrated and full of energy.

Marisa Festerling was the clinician. She is probably the kindest instructor I have ever met. For rider after rider she was supportive, encouraging, positive, and friendly. And it was really hot. By the late afternoon, even I was starting to get a bit cranky, but not Marisa. She smiled and continued to teach each new rider with the same energy with which she started the day.

Initially, I was slightly disappointed in the first day's lesson. Marisa didn't work me very hard, and I felt like I didn't get enough new stuff to make the day really worthwhile. Day two proved that the work Marisa had done with me on Saturday was essential to the work we did on Sunday. Had she tried to cram it all in on the first day, I would have been overwhelmed. Her step-by-step process allowed me to feel really prepared for the second day.

Right away she "got me" on my left hand. I've been blogging about this for several weeks. She kept insisting that I make a fist and keep my thumb up. When I open my fingers and turn my hand down, Speedy escapes the outside rein and falls onto the forehand. Seeing and feeling the consequence of my poor hand position has already helped motivate me to FIX IT!

Marisa also helped me work on Speedy's bend to the right. Since I've been allowing him to escape the outside rein, especially while tracking right, he hasn't been asked to keep an inside bend. Instead, he's been poking his nose out to the left. Marisa instructed me to keep my left hand closed while vibrating the inside rein to get a correct bend. My habit has been to try to get the bend by using too much outside leg to make the corners. This has caused Speedy to fall in too steeply as we go through the corners.

The next thing Marisa addressed is my tendency to let Speedy gravitate to the rail instead of just touching it at B or E. She pointed out that he's actually making a square instead of a 20-meter circle. By beginning my turns sooner, I was able to control his outside shoulder so that he didn't leg yield himself to the rail (Marisa's description).

The video isn't perfect, and it's a bit long at 31 minutes, but I am pretty happy with the work it shows. Speedy and I have definitely improved over the last few years. The first year that we tried dressage, we were still doing endurance races together. That was just three or four years ago. You would think that in nearly four years we would be further along, but this is a tough discipline to master. I think we're doing okay!

I am a little surprised, but more than 50% of the responses were for the black with silver detailing helmet. I think it is a very pretty helmet, but I was certain everyone would go for one of the other options. I am placing my order today.

The clinic was great; I learned a few things and felt a few things. I'll write more about the clinic this week. Oh, and there is even video that I am not embarrassed about sharing! 

And even though I am tired, I am now off for my regular lesson on Sydney!

But before we do any choosing, I should share that I am on my way to the California Dressage Society's Adult Amateur Clinic in Southern California.  CDS hosts three AA clinics each summer: one in the north, one in central California, and a third clinic in the southern region.

Each CDS chapter sends one rider to the clinic that is usually the closest. In my case, my CDS chapter is located in a mountain community which means winter is a little longer for them, so they choose to send their rider to the latest clinic, which is in the southern region. 

Riders are selected by a random drawing. In order to be eligible, each rider must meet a list of criteria, which is not too difficult to do; I made it! Anyway, Speedy and I will be gone through the weekend, so you won't hear from me until Monday. Until then, would you have a look at the helmet that I've decided to order and help me choose a color?

This is the Ovation Glitz Helmet. I currently ride in the Ovation Sync with Carbon Fiber, which I LOVE, and I show in the Ovation show helmet - I don't think it has a fancy name. Even though I love the Sync with Carbon Fiber, I figured I should try one of their other styles. This helmet has a little more bling than I am accustomed to, but I am beginning to like living a little closer to the edge!

VTO Saddlery has the helmet on sale if you use the coupon code tenoff by June 30. The helmet's list price, before the discount, is $89.95, which is not too bad for a somewhat stylish helmet. Their shipping rate for the el cheapo option is a flat rate of $4.99, well worth it to me.

Before you vote, think about how conservative I am, but know that I really like all four of them! This helmet is for schooling only, but I see this as a chance to live outside of my little black and white box. 

• My boots are black, but I don't know if that matters. 
• My schooling pads are black or brown, but I don't use the brown one very often.
• My bridles are both black.
  
• I ride in many colored breeches: gray, tan, burgundy, black, dark green, and navy (in no particular order).

VTO describes the helmet: Add a little bling to your everyday helmet! The Glitz helmet features a nice leather brim and harness with frosted sticker accents. Easy to clean rubberized finish. The helmet color choices reflect the helmet color, the helmet strap color, and finally, the detail color.

If you have time, I would love to hear by comment (or email or phone call or face to face) why you chose that color for me. Vote soon as I am ordering on Monday!

I have been on barn duty for nearly two weeks, and I have another week to go. I take care of my own two, of course, but now I am watching four other ponies, two of which are down the road. That makes a total of six horses to fly spray, six fly masks to check on, and a host of other must dos.

My long time friend KG is in Oklahoma, but she should be returning today. A neighbor kid is feeding her two geldings, but I'm keeping the water troughs filled, dousing them with fly spray, cramming them full of cookies, and just checking on their general health. By now, they recognize me as the human Pez dispenser.

My own barn owner has gone to Canada. Fortunately, she has a large support group that is helping out with the chores (house sitter & evening feed person), so I am only responsible for a few jobs. I am doing the daily cleaning, fly spray, turn out, and general barn clean up. I am also feeding the other two geldings an early lunch since my boys get theirs every day.

Even with the extra chores, I am still riding both of my own boys Monday through Friday, which includes lessons twice a week. I've certainly been busy, but I love the work and prefer it to my day job. To bad Barn Duty doesn't pay as well!

No photos and nothing fancy. This is just a simple post to express my … relief. I had the best rides on my boys yesterday. And that doesn't happen very often. If one is great, the other is a fire breathing dragon. But not yesterday.

And it was actually one of those days where they would have been justified in being tense and spooky. Starting at 7:30 a.m., the neighbor was using a compressor and a NASCAR tire changing nail gun. Now I don't think it was really a tire changing thing, but as a NASCAR fan, that's EXACTLY what it sounded like. The neighbor was repairing some broken fence boards, and to make the job quicker, he had his brother bring over the compressor that's built into his truck. It was loud. Very loud.

Every horse in the barn was a little freaked out. Both of my boys were zipping around their runs with their heads in the air. Sydney was rearing, bucking, and throwing in some serious squeals. Speedy was doing the same thing. Instead of saddling up like I normally do at that time, I turned each horse out in the arena so that he could run off some of the anxiety that was quickly building. 

Speedy was a total wild child. Unfortunately, he took a divot out of his foot, just above the coronet band. After a quick betadine scrub, the wound looked innocuous enough, so I did saddle up. The neighbor assured me that he would be done with the job within the hour, and true to his word, he was. But you know how it can be. Once the horses get that riled up, it can be hard to bring them back down to Earth.

Even though he was tense in the cross ties, Speedy brought his "Rock Star" persona to the arena. He was simply pleasant to ride. I have had some pretty big AHA moments with him over the last few weeks, and yesterday, a lot of things just came together. I am finding that I am riding him back to front with more regularity. When I sit up and use a lot of leg, his head comes down and he gives me a really nice stretch. And that outside hand thing that I spoke of yesterday? I totally addressed that and feel like I am on a good path with him.

And Sydney? Let's just say that when I finally got off of him, I leaned my forehead between his big, brown eyes and just let out a little sob of relief. He and I have been working so hard to pull this whole thing together, and yesterday, he rode like the Steady Eddy that I know he can be. We did walk/trot/canter to both the left and the right without a single misstep. He was right with for me every stride. 

The morning started out looking like a disaster, but when I let the have to get it done right now thinking fall away, my rides were perfect. At a lesson a few days ago, Sydney reached down to scratch his face. I gave my trainer a quick oops and a sorry, but she explained that sometimes, it's better to let our horses know that scratching is okay because we aren't in any hurry.

That really resonated with me. I am in a hurry a lot. But yesterday, I wasn't, and I got something really great as a reward.