Happy three-day weekend, everyone! I know most of you are as happy as me about this weekend - three whole days to ride and play with my boys. I have a lesson with JL today and another with Lois on Monday. And what of Speedy G? 

I know it sounds like Sydney is getting all of the attention right now, but he's not. Speedy has been getting his fair share of saddle time, too. Early in July, JL suggested that I give Speedy a break in August. Originally it was because I was very frustrated with him, and I needed a break away from him. As it turned out, whatever little thing that had been between us, slowly melted away and our friendship was re-established. So rather than give him the month off, we've been just playing.

While I ride, I've been really focusing on feeling for whether he is balanced or not. And since I am focusing on balance, I am not really working on any particular element of a test. If he wants to trot, I just try to help him be as balanced as possible. The same is true if he wants to canter. Go for it, dude, but let's be really balanced. This has helped him enjoy the work because I am not working on anything specific. 

Tracking right into a corner is one place that he struggles with balance. I can tell because that's where he'll pop his head up. To help him, I've been increasing the bend as we head into the corners, pushing his inside hind leg in as much as possible, and even slowing down into the corner when necessary.

He's getting more and more balanced and seems to appreciate the support. At least, that's what it feels like as he is less resentful and happier in his work. I suspect that the reason the right lead canter has been more difficult is because he is not as balanced tracking right. 

While riding on Wednesday afternoon, I was having some trouble getting a balanced left lead canter. Before (as in before we started having fun), I would just repeat the circle over and over asking for the left lead canter until we were both pissed at each other, and I wanted to hang up a for sale sign while Speedy wanted adoption papers.

Instead, I stopped asking and did a couple of leg yields off the left leg. We came down centerline and leg yielded to M twice. The second time we got to M, I pushed him into the corner, came by C, asked him to go deep into the next corner and then scooped ever so gently with me seat. Viola! Left lead canter.

Oh, my goodness! You should have seen the look on his face. He knew he'd been played. I could tell he was wondering how in the holy heck that I had tricked him into getting such a quiet transition. We made one circle, and I called it a day. It was a pretty hot afternoon, 97 ℉, and we had been working for a while. Hot or not, just getting that transition was enough to earn an end to the work.

I can't wait to do more this weekend. Enjoy your Labor Day holiday. See you all tomorrow. 

JL is a very supportive trainer. She doesn't pressure me to move up or move back down. She doesn't discourage me from trying things, and she listens when I bring her information from outside sources. She's happy to hear what another trainer thinks I should do and can usually break down the new idea into smaller bits that I can work on. 

I hadn't seen her a few weeks due to her vacation and a ridiculously hot day that forced us to cancel a lesson. Even so, she was eager to hear how my lesson with Lois went and she happily watched my video of the T1 test.

Rather than being critical, she pointed out every positive aspect of the ride that she could; his walk was lovely, his halts were nice, there were moments of roundness, we got the canter departs (mostly), I kept my sh*t together when he wanted to toss me around, and so on.

Her analysis was that it is now time to get really, really picky about lightness. No more am I going to do the carrying. Lois described it as Sydney being the strong partner while I am the smart partner. Someone other than me needs to start doing the heavy lifting. I was relieved when JL mapped out our new strategy since it was EXACTLY what Lois had described. I ride with Lois this next Monday which means another field trip for Sydney - just what he needs! 

The first thing JL and I worked on was getting some yes, ma'am! kind of halts. JL wanted him halting and backing off the bit in one stride with as little pull as possible. We started with a pull of 7 or 8 (a made up number to reflect "volume") followed by quick pulls of 8 and 9 until he finally halted. We did that over and over until he started offering halts that required pulls of 5 or 6, and then we aimed for a halt that took just 2 pounds of pressure. We got it, too!

Once he was listening to my halts, we worked on softening by maintaing the 2 pounds of pressure with added leg. And when I say leg, JL kept repeating, spur, spur, spur, spur! Whenever he made me hold more than 2 pounds of pressure in my hands, I halted him hard enough so that he started thinking he better back off the bit quickly! Little by little, he got lighter and lighter in my hand. 

When I say 2 pounds in my hand, that's just the number that I assigned to what felt like a light contact. Once he passed that amount of pressure, the number goes up. If he's really heavy, we call it a 10 even though I am probably really holding 50 pounds in my hands!

After he was trotting with a light contact and moving forward from my leg, we worked on backing with the leg from a standstill. I held the two pounds of pressure, but kept spurring until he backed up. To both JL's and my surprise, he did it perfectly the first time we asked. Frankly, we were both shocked! 

It's a tricky exercise for me as I really want to pull back. Instead, I just kept my hands steady and bumped his sides with my spurs until he backed up away from the bit pressure. 

Riding him is such a different thing from riding Speedy who is NEVER EVER heavy. I can ride Speedy with just my pinky fingers; he's that light in the bridle. This of course comes with its own set of challenges, but at least he's never the freight train Sydney can be.

So for now, my homework is to get him halting quickly. Once he is no longer hanging on me, I can ask for roundness by using leg, leg, leg to get him to back off the bit. 

Oh, and another bad habit that both Lois and JL have called me on (having several trainers kind of stinks when they're BOTH picking on you!): I keep a continuous squeeze going rather than bumping with my legs. When I do that, Sydney just ignores me. So an additional piece of homework is to ask with my legs and then release and then ask again more firmly, increasing the "volume" of the thumps until I need to do a barrel racing whack, whack, whack kind of thing.

This new approach feels good. I don't feel like it's a step backward. JL and Lois both think I'm ready to step it up a bit. Okay, ladies, bring it on!

I showed this video to JL at Monday's lesson. While she agreed that I don't ride like this at home, she was quick to point out the many, and I use that term loosely, good points. The thing she most liked was that I rode him much better than a year ago when he was this high and wild at home. So while it's still an ugly video, it's a lot less ugly than what it all looked like this time last year.

So here's the video for Training Level Test 1. It is better than the first ride, of that there is no doubt. I tried to lower my hands for this test, but I can see that I have reverted back to a very old habit; I didn't allow my elbows to bend at all, and I locked my wrists. Sheesh.

I will say, it is much easier to relax your joints when you're not riding a jack hammer. I am not saying that Sydney is to blame for my poor riding, but he sure didn't make my job easier. The good thing is that ugly as it is, the ride doesn't look as bad as it felt. I still hate to show it to you though.

Our score for Training Level Test 1 was 56.875%. I can't wait to see what we'll be able to score when we both relax a little.

We had a lesson with JL last night, more on that in a few days. She watched the second video (posting it tomorrow), and while she agreed that I don't ride like that at home, there were still some good moments: he actually walked and he looked a whole better than a year ago. She also pointed out that at the show, Sydney had two gears: high and low with nothing in between. She has a great plan for developing his middle gears. That made me feel somewhat better, but still...

This video truly makes me cringe. I can't believe what a terrible ride I gave him. My only excuse was that Sydney wanted to take flight and do the ride at Mach 10 (high gear). After watching though, I can see that if I just let go a little, lower my hands, bring them closer together, and increase the bend, he might relax a little and listen.

I also have to say that this judge was quite generous, in my opinion. I spoke with another rider who felt the opposite, she had expected higher scores. So what do I know? If you think I'm just being too hard on myself, feel free to stroke my ego in the comments, but I am sure you're going to cock an eyebrow in surprise at a few of the 6s that he bestowed on us.

Enjoy, even if you have to cover your eyes in a few places and squint through the blurry footage (not sure what was wrong with the camera).  Oh, our score for Introductory Test C was 55.000% (better than that 48% we got a few months ago.). I really miss riding my speedy pony!

I am not sure it counts as a success or not, but we lived, I didn't get dumped, and I feel encouraged. I also have video, but I am positively loathe to show it to you as it is that bad.

Hubby brought Tobias, who was a very good boy, so I had some good moral support. I was also blessed to have Lois Quinn coach me through both warm-ups. She had me watch the video of the first test as soon as I had finished so that I got some immediate feedback. This is a good strategy. Not that I usually have access to video, but when next I do, I'm going to watch it if possible.

So, where to begin? 

Here is what went really well:

• Sydney loaded up like a seasoned pro. He was practically eager to get in the trailer.
• He traveled very quietly and ate the whole way, both directions.
• He stood tied for quite a long time without any fussing. After my rides were over, I ate lunch with friends and never worried about him at all. I could see him off in the distance, and he looked perfectly happy.
• He drained a full five gallon water bucket and even drank out of a ditch that had some creek run off.
• He emptied the hay bag. 
• He actually walked for the first 15 minutes of the warm-up.
• He never bucked or reared, and I never felt afraid. And even though I am stiff and braced in the video, I was never worried that he would explode and get out of control; thank you, wide open field!
• He went from the warm-up to the ring very calmly (both times) and even trotted up to the ring for our second test when we were running late.

Before I show you the pictures of our warm-up, please don't be too critical. Here is the issue: at home, Sydney (after 18 months of work) is submissive, happy in his work, and usually quite relaxed. I am now struggling with how to ride a forward, nervous, powerful horse who is worried about doing the wrong thing while not at home.

Lois is working with me to break some pretty strong habits: I want to pull back when he rushes off, and my hands go all over the place as I try to maintain the contact. Learning something new in the warm-up (who does that?) is really hard, but I take my dressage lessons where I can get them. Lois had me trying to establish a rhythm while insisting that Sydney maintain the pace I set without pulling back.

To do that, I posted the pace I wanted. If he hurried, my task was to halt him in one stride and then RELEASE the frickin' rein immediately. She had me working on giving my hands forward with my thumbs on top. You won't see that in the photos though as I struggled with releasing my death grip on the reins. Ultimately, she wanted us to trot with a loop in the rein so that he understood that carrying himself while maintaining my pace was a good thing. I cannot tell you how often I do that at home. That is ultimately how we fixed the bolting at home; I just rode with a loose rein.

We got it sometimes. Other times, I was riding a stiff freight train. After watching the video, I can see that I need to learn a new feeling of give when Sydney is high and tense. I have a lesson with Lois next Monday. The weather where Lois lives is much more wintery than here, but I hope to go up at least once a month for as long as the snow holds off.

Overall? We actually warmed up which is a HUGE improvement. Having a coach at a show is such a huge advantage. Lois helped me help Sydney have an experience that wasn't exactly fabulous, but at least it was controlled and calm.

With that, here are some photos of our warm up. Video of the first test will be up tomorrow, but be forewarned; you will cringe for me when you see it. 

Sydney got Thursday off as Speedy was begging to do some work. That was a very interesting ride with a great take-away, but telling it will have to wait for another time. While I was riding Speedy out on the trail, Sydney was turned out where he galloped and galloped. He was probably due for some mindless exercise.

On Friday, we trooped back out to The Field for another go round. If nothing else, these rides have reduced my anxiety and fear of him bolting across the black top. Now, I find that I am bored by his shenanigans and just wish he would get over it already. I am pretty sure that's a positive move.

An interesting thing happened as we walked out of the drive way: from behind, I heard the rumble of what sounded like a dirt bike. A glance over my shoulder revealed a dune buggy driven by two teenage girls who were giggling and lost in their own Friday antics. I quickly turned Sydney to face the roaring beast as the girls zipped by us, unaware that they were going a bit too fast. I sat deep, fearing a bolt and spin, but was instead baffled by Sydney's complete lack of interest. WTH? How is that not spooky when trotting in a grass field creates a fire breathing dragon?

As the girls in the dune buggy went one way, we went the other way to the grass field. Sydney was very relaxed and even strolled by the dogs without spooking or tensing. As soon as we hit the grass, Sydney begged to graze, but I asked for some work first. He happily picked up a trot to the left. he was supple, quiet, and really listening to my half halts. I had a gigantic grin on my face. I did a couple of changes of direction and made sure that we trot equally to the left and right.

I realized that this was the perfect day to ask for a canter. Sydney read my mind and rolled into a lovely left lead canter. He was quiet, submissive, and very relaxed. I brought him back to a trot and then asked for a walk. He immediately stretched down for a bite of grass, and I let him. He walked and grazed, stretching his neck.

I was grinning like an idiot. It's a large field with undulating terrain. It is a fairway after all. There's also a small lake in the distance and a large grove of trees on one side. I fully recognized that cantering in a space that wide open is a nice step forward for us.

After he had grazed for a few minutes, I asked him to go back to work. I wanted to do a quick canter to the right and then call it a day. Unfortunately, or not, depending on your view point, the neighbors came out into the yard at about the same time. They were about 75 yards away, but it was just enough of a distraction to grab Sydney's attention.

I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get it back. We did small circles, counter bends, changes of direction, but nothing worked. He was pissed that I was insisting on maintaining his attention. He squealed a few times, tried to bolt a few times, and just generally threw a temper tantrum. Eventually, I realized I wasn't getting anywhere, so when he asked to walk, I just did a million neck flexes to the left and right and then worked on halting without needing to pull back.

It took quite a few minutes before he would actually halt and stand still, but he did it. I could see the wheels spinning in his head. He finally decided to use his powers for good. I was disappointed that I couldn't get any decent work to the right, but then I reminded myself that we had cantered in an open field where just a few days ago he had refused to even walk.

I'll ride this morning, but I am not sure what my plan should be. I know I'll start in the arena as I want to get some relaxed canter work done to remind him that yes, he can work nicely. I don't know if I'll work in the field or not; I would really like to end the day on a positive note with nothing to cause me to worry. I also need to give him a bath and braid his mane. 

Really, I have no expectations for the show. I have a feeling that things will go pretty much as they have been, but I suspect that I will have much more control during the warm up. We ride Intro C at 10:21 which means I won't have to leave at 5:00 a.m. - yah for that! I ride Training Level Test 1 at 11:04 which gives me a half of an hour between the two tests in case I need to work him some more. My plan is to be on him by about 9:15 a.m. for my warm-up. I think he is going to need a full hour to figure out that listening to my aids is his best option.

I'll keep you posted.

Since Tuesday's ride had gone off with no real drama, I knew I had to find yet another way to challenge Sydney, and myself by extension. I am sure some of you are wondering why I feel the need to keep pushing his envelope. It's not because I want to master tail riding or anything, I've been there and done that. A lot. For many years. Over thousands of miles.

The only way I can simulate the tension that Sydney shows me in the show ring is to find places near home where he feels the same tension. So far, that appears to be most anywhere outside of the arena. As he gets comfortable in each place, I have to keep stretching to find a new place that causes tension.

My plan for Wednesday, which was still hot as holy hell by the way (99℉), was to skip the neighborhood loop and go straight to the grass field. I again gave Sydney a quick shower, saddled him up, and left the barn area. As anticipated, he dove for the grass, but this time I said, no, and urged him forward.

We passed the two barking labs with a small spook, but he came back to me very quickly and we continued on. Once we arrived at the field, I sent him in a circle in the grass. We road a circle or two at the walk, and then I let him graze. We did this a few times, moving down, and further into the field, after each circle.

When I thought that he was relaxed and listening, I asked for a trot. It wasn't great work, but at least it wasn't a hell bent for leather kind of thing either. He wasn't super round or completely on the bit, but his mouth was dripping foam, and he gave some really good stretches. There were also a few tense moments where I had to make the circle smaller and remind him that my spur was there, and I was prepared to use it!

We worked for a good twenty minutes and then made the turn for home. As we entered the last grove of trees, I have to duck a bit, Sydney saw an opportunity and threw a small fit that involved some crow hopping. Drat! I righted myself and sent him in some circles that required a ton of effort on his part. It seemed to send him a message. As we entered the driveway, I spent some time working on halts.

Each day, Sydney has shown drastic improvement. My secret goal (although not so secret now), is to work him in the field at walk, trot, canter without feeling like an explosion is imminent. At the walk, check. At the trot, mostly check. I don't know if I can get to the canter before Sunday's show.

We've made a ton of progress in a week, but I just don't know if it's enough.

With no turnout or riding on Monday, I was a wee bit worried about what kind of wild child I might have in Sydney for Tuesday's ride. It was still hot, 101℉, but the humidity had fallen, there was a breeze (like a blow dryer), and the sky was clear. I can ride in that kind kind of heat.

Sydney seemed pleased to see me which was encouraging. I gave him 15 minutes to eat dinner while I cleaned stalls. Since it was so hot, I gave him a quick shower and saddled him while he was still wet. He had done a great job riding the loop to the left, so I knew it was time to challenge him again by riding the loop in the opposite direction. You know, the whole right eye, left eye thing.

We walked out of the driveway and turned left. Sydney immediately yanked the reins out of my hands to graze. Booyah! Normally, that would be considered somewhat rude, but when you're riding a horse who has shown an exceptional ability at bolting and rearing, that low level rudeness is tolerated, and maybe even welcomed.

I asked him to pick up his head and we continued on. To the next patch of grass where he again insisted on grazing. Okay, now. This is a horse of a different color!

I let him graze a few more times, like 20, but then I told him that this was serious business and we had a schedule to keep. Move it, Dude! When we made the turn to Dog Alley, that's what I am now calling that section with six dogs on one side and two on the other, he did get a little bit high, but I just pulsed my ring fingers while adding leg and just repeated, put your head down, put your head down, put your head down. And he did.

When we got to the back side of the barn, I was expecting some resistance when I asked him to continue on to the dirt road. There wasn't any. And Speedy wasn't helping as he whinnied his head off for us. Sydney just motored on by. The dirt road, the Field of Dreams (I do have a sense of humor), was now on Sydney's left. We never even stepped into the grass. There was no circling. He simply marched down the middle of the road, strolled by the neighbor's two labs, and made the final turn to home where he of course tried to graze his way into his stall.

The whole thing took about 20 minutes. I was quite pleased with his effort, especially since doing things in the opposite directions is usually like starting brand new. Not this boy; he seems to be ambidextrous, or at least able to use his right and left brain equally!

A new challenge tomorrow!

But first, please let me say thank you to all of you for your many comments. Holy cow, I think I have tapped into a serious vein here. This little topic seems to be resonating with many different people!

I always try and respond to all of your comments as I appreciate that someone has taken the time to let me know what they think, but in this case, you guys are overwhelming me! I went back to work this week so my writing time has been slashed, but please know that I read every comment with interest, and I visit all of the links you share. Right now, I am not sure I can respond to every comment.

With that said, onward to Monday's non-ride. Our summer weather, normally brutal at this time of year, has been extra mild. It's been in the low 90s with low humidity accompanied by afternoon breezes. Can't hardly complain about that. Sunday's weather was very humid, but the temperatures were fairly low, mid 80s. By Monday morning, the humidity had risen to an unbearable level, and the mountains around us were experiencing heavy thunder and lightening. 

By afternoon, it was 108℉ (42.2℃) with excessive humidity and non-stop thunder. The national extreme (in Death Valley) was only 113℉, just five degrees warmer. It was hot, too hot to be riding. I was supposed to have a lesson at 4:45, but even I realized that those are pretty unsafe conditions in which to be working outside. I called JL and cancelled.

I really wanted to ride because we've been on such a solid roll that I didn't want to let a single day pass with no work. I have no fear while riding Sydney in the arena (mine or JL's). We long ago conquered that elephant. I really wanted to share with JL how our lesson in Tehachapi went and get her feedback, but it just wasn't a safe riding day.

Tuesday, on the other hand, gave me a whole new opportunity. More on that ride tomorrow.

You are either finding this detailed struggle interesting, or you're bored as hell. I apologize for the dog with a bone choice of topics, but I am determined to win this battle. I think I deserve a fist bump for Sunday's ride.

I started with a quick ride in the arena just to work on softening our canter transition, apparently I have a tendency to pull back there as well, and then we head out to do The Loop. No Drama. We did it in 10 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly, 10 minutes! The first day it took an hour, and the second time it took 20 minutes. I'd say we've made progress.

Near the beginning, he needed one little reminder circle to help him focus. The rest of the time, I used my legs and pulsed my ring fingers to tell him to get his head back down where it belonged. When he ignored my fingers, I picked up the reins and insisted that he flex his poll to the right and left. As soon as the stiffness was gone from his neck, I gave him all the rein back.

When we passed through the far end of the loop where there are barking dogs on both sides, I noticed that the house on the left had every dog in the yard - 3 HUGE Mastiffs and three little yappy things. The house to the right had two big dogs. Sydney marched right down the middle of a single lane road with all EIGHT dogs barking furiously at him through wrought iron fences. He had Eeyore ears the whole way. Woo hoo!!!!!

There was no way I was quitting after only 10 minutes so we continued on to the dirt loop. The barn owners were parked in the middle of the road with a wooden pole lying over a wheelbarrow with an electric saw and a big orange extension cord. I stopped to chat while they dragged everything to the side so that we could pass. No drama. We then passed by the neighbor's two large labs who did bark at us today; still no drama.

The grass field was next. As Sydney stepped onto the grass, he thought about getting a bit high, but I put him into a 10-meter circle with a lot of inside leg and told him he could trot all he wanted. He made it through several circles before he decided that walking seemed like a better idea.

Instead of making circles to the end of the field, we did loops instead - at the walk. At one point, he begged to stretch his neck so I gave him the rein all the way to the buckle. He ambled along with his nose touching the ground for a bit before he realized that he was walking on grass and that he really likes to eat grass. FINALLY!

He grazed a bit and then we head on back towards home. We passed though our fence with a dry coat. My BO was working in the garage so we stopped and chat with her for a few minutes until Sydney realized that rooting the reins out of my hands wasn't going to happen. I untacked him and gave him lots of love and cookies.

I have no idea how Sunday's show is going to go. I don't know if I am just desensitizing him to our trail, or if he is getting the concept that ignoring my aids is a lot of work. I think I need to ride the loops backwards this week and see what I get. He's also getting the Focus Equine, but I don't think that is having any affect yet. 

As before, my confidence is growing which can't do anything but help.