Category: Half Pass

There's Only So Much You Can Cram

6/24/2019

I am writing this on Saturday afternoon. By the time that you read it, Sunday's show will be over, and only then will I know how much of my Friday night cram session made it to the test. Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, came down to help me do some last minute "studying" for Sunday's second attempt at Third Level.

I am not sure who looks more determined: him or me!

Just like studying for a real pencil and paper test, we did the lesson in a sort of flashcard style. On the first card, I wrote Turn on the Haunches on the front, and then flipped it over for the bullet points.

Stop trying to make the turn so small. Slightly bigger will get more activity.
Speaking of activity, hurry up between the turns to get his hind legs going.
Into the turn, get a shoulder-in and make sure his shoulders are actually turning.

Hind legs are stepping, shoulders are turning.

On the next card, I wrote Renvers (I hate you!), and flipped it over.

MORE ANGLE in the shoulder-in. At least I am not adding more neck in an attempt to get the angle though. I just need to be methodical about using that outside rein to get the angle.
Just before B/E, I need to remember to open the new outside rein to draw the shoulders out and then ask for the new inside bend.
When Speedy's NOT supple, I need to do a few steps of leg yield instead of renvers to get him on my new outside rein and wrapping around my new inside leg.
It would also help if I would actually weight my new inside seat bone as well.
And most importantly for renvers and half pass both, I HAVE to get my outside shoulder back.

Outside shoulder BACK!

The Half Pass (trot or canter) card could really be Renvers part II; they're really similar.

Outside shoulder back because I need to hear it as many times as it can possibly be said.
Look for the centerline and GET ON IT.
For the trot half pass, keep the shoulder-in all the way around the half circle.
Point his head to H or M and then ride travers to the letter.
Also think about coming through that half circle prepared to ride a medium trot, but take that energy and ride travers to keep Speedy from stalling out.
For the canter half pass, ride it slow and collected which means I have to SIT his butt down! He does NOT get to take it away from me. This has clearly left the bulleted format and become a conversation that I need to have with Speedy as we struggle to keep the canter as we prepare for the flying change.

You,. Will. Not. Take. The. Rein.

The Flying Changes card is so filled with scribbled notes that some of them may have crept over onto the front of the card.

Sit him down and boot him forward.
Ask for a bend and then use a huge half halt to get him underneath me.
If I ride him "tight," I can keep him on the lead without him changing before I am ready.
To prepare, leg yield onto his new outside leg, change the bend, and then use the new outside rein to sit him down on his new outside leg as I ask for the change with the half halt.

Just making sure that I know he doesn't have to if he doesn't want to! Jerk.

Did all of this work? I'll let you know tomorrow!

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When Third is Better Than First - Part 1

6/19/2019

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Well, we really and truly did it; Speedy G and I competed at Third Level, and we did it at a two-day USDF/USEF-rated show. Did we hit a home run? Nope, it was more of a bunt really, but at least we got on base. Even with scores below 60% (yes, really!), I am still sort of giddy about the whole thing.

I still can't believe we did it! Although what exactly "it" is, I am not sure since we didn't earn any kind of qualifying score. The four tests mean absolutely nothing. But still. Third Level!

Have I introduce you to my THIRD LEVEL horse?!

I was hoping for more, but at least it was better than I had feared. The number one thing the judge penalized me for on 3-1 was the geometry. In the half pass, we didn't start at centerline and our 10-meter circles weren't 10-meter circles. Those two things cost me a fair amount of points.

Shoulder-in right, 6.0

A lot of things went very right on Saturday. Our very first centerline (3-1) earned an 8.0 and our first pairs of turn on the haunches earned 6.5 each. We also earned a 7.0 for our medium walk.

Medium trot 6.5

And of course, a lot went pretty wrong. Since we didn't actually make it to centerline, our first trot half pass earned a 4.5, but who cares! We did a trot half pass! The second one earned a 5.0 with the comment, "still not from CL."

P circle left 10-meters - 5.5 with the comment "11-meters/greater uphill" - hilarious, but we look good doing it! LOL

The worst part was of course the flying changes. For the first one, we scored a 4.0 with the comment, "late behind."

Late behind and everywhere else!

The other one was worse, MUCH worse. The judge's comment was spot on, "late behind many, many steps" which was a kind way of saying, I didn't think he was EVER going to change! We earned a 3.0.

I am not even sure what this is, but it was very, very late!

In total, we earned a 57.703% which was 8.5 points (out of 370) short of my goal. We've done worse, especially when first starting a new level. It felt better than the video looks though.

I had had a lesson with Sean Cunningham of STC Dressage on Friday night and then had him coach me on Saturday since Chemaine Hurtado, my regular trainer, couldn't be there. His feedback was really helpful. That night, after finishing both of my tests, I watched the videos and read over the judge's comments. I was determined to do better the next day.

Same test on the next day.

While I gave a few half points (and even a few full points) back, our flying changes were much better the next day. Both of them scored a 6.0 which definitely raised the score from Saturday's 3-1 test where we had earned a 4.0 and 3.0. Both changes have a double co-efficient which means the changes earned us 24 points on Sunday compared to only 14 points the day before.

For 3-1, we improved by a full 6.5 points, but it wasn't quite enough. The brilliant 8.0 we earned on Saturday's first centerline fell to a very sad 5.0 on Sunday. When I tallied up my points, we missed a 60.0% by just 2 points. We lost that 60% down our first centerline and didn't even know it. We earned my least favorite score, a 59.459%.

Flying change 6.0 " clean but not on aids."

To say I might have been a wee bit crushed would be accurate. After 4 minutes of cursing under my breath though, I realized that Speedy and I have another USDF/USEF show next month. And if we don't get a 60% there, we'll go to another show in August. We'll get it eventually.

Saturday's 3-1 on the left, Sunday's 3-1 on the right.

We also rode Third Level's test 2 which I'll try to get written for tomorrow. No 60.0% there either, but we had fun!

I love the slight drape in the rein!

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Third Level Debut

6/14/2019

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If you would have told me back in the beginning that Speedy and I would make it to Third Level, I would have known that you were lying to me. How in the world could a rangy endurance horse and his grimy rider become a sleek and polished dressage team? That just doesn't happen.

It's a good thing he's forgiving.

I never had a formal lesson until I was an adult. I could post, but I didn't know how to change my posting diagonal. I could ride fearlessly over the toughest terrain, stick almost any buck or rear, but I had no idea how to put the finishing touches on a horse, the stuff that makes a horse truly beautiful.

We've both come a long way!

And yet, here we are. Tomorrow morning we'll be showing Third Level at a two-day USDF-rated show. I should be more nervous, and maybe I will be tomorrow, but for now, I feel pretty confident. I don't expect to wow the judge, but I am still excited to get out there to find out just where we stand. What's good, what's great, and what needs more work? I am looking at this show as an opportunity to get an honest critique of our work so far.

I think he's actually lifting his back!

Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, came out for a last, pre-show lesson on Saturday. This time, the lesson was all about tightening up everything in order to give us some kind of chance at getting a qualifying score.

The shoulder-in is getting so much better.

At every moment she was shouting some kind of reminder:

more bend in the corner to PREPARE for the shoulder-in
shoulder-in to PREPARE for the trot half pass
get him SOFT before the canter half pass
get him SOFT before the release of the reins in the canter
THINK shoulder-in for the extended canter
HALF HALT before the extended trot and ride it UPHILL
LEG ON at the end of the medium trot

For every single movement she's given me a short directive to help me prepare for each movement. I can hear her in my head as I ride. Once Speedy is warmed up and listening, we can do each movement, even the canter half pass (sort of).

Of course getting Speedy listening and willing to move his bootie can be a real challenge. These next pictures show a behind the scenes view of what has to happen before we look show ready. You have to admit that the dude is super athletic. It's just a matter of channeling it in the direction I want us to go.

"Let me RUUUUUN!"

Put your left leg in, put your left leg out ...

Put your RIGHT leg in, put your right leg out ...

When there's not room to kick out but you shake it all about.

And in case you wanted to see it from the front.

Even with all of his No No Nos, I am still feeling confident. Speedy loves to show and always brings his "A" game. And like Chemaine pointed out on Saturday, If they're not being opinionated, you're not asking for anything new or hard. And the only way to get better is to ask for new and hard.

Saturday's ride times.

Sunday's ride times.

Sassy, but getting some jump to that canter!

If you've got a few minutes, wish us luck. We could definitely use some. Have a great weekend!

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Did I Break the Canter Half Pass?

5/31/2019

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Half pass at canter is hard. Really hard. Super hard if you're on a horse who just doesn't really like lateral work. You know, horses like the gray speedy pony. Speedy doesn't much care for the half pass at trot or canter. He's not particularly fond of leg yielding either.

He likes to eat though.

After getting some good lateral work after that hard-to-name canter exercise, I thought I'd try a canter half pass with the correct bend. Since the canter half pass is still a relatively new movement for me, I don't always know how to best set it up. The flailing fail we had was probably a lot my fault since I decided to half pass from the center of my very wide arena to no place in particular.

As we came around the corner, I set Speedy up as we came down the middle of the arena. I asked for sideways and he shot forward as though he had never stepped sideways a day in his life. When I say shot forward, I mean he kind of bolted. Jerk. I immediately changed the bend, and smacked his hip with the whip and said move it, mister! in a pretty stern voice.

Why bend when you can eat instead?

As soon as I changed the bend and threatened his butt with another good whack, he was all about the sideways. Unfortunately, a canter half pass with the wrong bend is not going to score very well.

Not wanting him to think that a canter half pass has a wrong bend, I tried it again, but the next effort was out of the corner and back to the rail. That he can do. I am fairly certain his "success" had a lot to do with the fact that I was aiming at tree (I don't have letters) and riding it like renvers along a diagonal line.

If the canter half pass is broken, it's totally my fault. That's what you get when you play around with something without using it correctly. Stuff gets broken. Good thing I have a good trainer and a lesson (hopefully) this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend!

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A Penultimate Lesson - Only 1 Left

5/16/2019

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On Monday afternoon, Speedy and I had a lesson. There is only one to go before we make our Third Level debut.

And this is just in our warm up!

I know which movements are required at Third:

Test 1- Extended gaits; half pass at trot; single flying change.
Test 2 - Renvers, release of reins at canter, half pass at canter.
Test 3 - Rein back to trot.

What I forgot to do was look at how the movements are sequenced. As I was waiting for Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, it suddenly occurred to me that I'll be riding both test 1 and test 2 in a week or so, but I hadn't so much as glanced at test 2 in months.

Shoulder-in left.

With Speedy tacked up and ready go, I dragged him over to a shady spot and quickly pulled up test 2 on my phone. My eyes raced through the movements but jerked to a halt when I read numbers 7 and 8, "K-E shoulder-in right" immediately followed by "E-H renvers left." Huh? I gave an audible uh-oh realizing that I needed to start hooking the movements together PDQ if I had any chance at earning that first 60%.

One of our first attempts at renvers following the shoulder-in.

When Chemaine pulled in, I quickly filled her in on the reason for my sudden panic. I didn't know test 2 and needed some quick help. As I finished my warm up, Chemaine was quick to point out that our trot work had improved over the week and that our shoulder-in had a better angle. As I ride it, I hear her in my head shouting MORE ANGLE! I think it has helped.

Our more energetic shoulder-in.

While we have a better angle, and we can "do" a renvers (haunches out), I needed help riding them one after the other. Chemaine's advice was this: first, ride the shoulder-in. To develop the renvers, open the inside rein (which becomes the outside rein) to draw the shoulders into the arena. Change the bend, and then keep the haunches on the rail. And all of this happens in just a few strides.

It's not brilliant, but we got it.

The rest of the lesson was spent schooling the half pass, both at trot and canter, followed by the flying change. Speedy still wants to get charge-y after the change, so Chemaine showed me a new exercise that both gets him to sit and helps him wait for the flying change.

Collecting the canter.

In test 1, there is a medium canter down the entire long side followed by a 10 meter circle at V. The flying change comes between X and R. To keep Speedy balanced, Chemaine had me do a walk-canter-walk transition anyplace I would do a half halt, so between the medium canter and the start of the 10-meter circle, I asked for a simple change but stayed on the same lead. Instead of a flying change, I asked for a simple change. We ran through this pattern a few times in hopes that Speedy would start to memorize the pattern of half halts.

Here's how the exercise went:

Our left to right change is getting pretty reliable. The other way is to still kind of wild and wooly.

We have just over a week to polish everything as much as we can.

The moment of the flying change.

But honestly, this horse is so much fun to ride that we'll have fun no matter how many movements I botch. It's a good thing that I have a trainer who embraces the idea that dressage is a long process where horses and riders develop over time.

We're getting closer to being a Third Level team.

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Half Pass and Flying Changes

5/8/2019

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Right now, Speedy and I are schooling both the half pass and flying change as diligently as possible. Our first show, only CDS-rated, is in less than three weeks. The judging at this show is pretty tough however, and always proves to be a good barometer for how we'll do at a USDF-rated show.

While we're working hard, I am super careful not to over-school the movements. Speedy tries so hard that if I keep asking, he assumes he's making a mistake, and that makes him very grouchy and resentful. The flying changes are now there, but they can still be a bit dramatic. Not this one though, it's a pretty quiet one.

Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, was here on Sunday for a lesson. Right from the start I told her that we need to continue cleaning up the lateral movements, namely the half pass, and getting those flying changes a little less ... exuberant.

Exuberance!

I have to laugh at myself really. Last year at this time, I was dreading the show season. The move to Second Level simply terrified me. While I would stack my horsemanship skills up against anyone else's without feeling a moment of doubt, my dressage skills are still in the development stage. I can ride a horse a hundred miles, but 40-meters of medium trot in front of a judge turns my legs to jelly.

We made it through Second Level with decent scores though, even winning some honors along the way, but all season long I felt certain that someone was going to get wise to my subterfuge and point it out to the rest of the world. Even after working hard on it, I still feel like a bit of a hack.

This year? I can't wait to get in the show ring. We're probably going to lay down some questionable tests that will likely earn us some scores in the 50% range, but I am totally fine with that. I know that if I continue to work hard, Speedy and I will get those two scores we need to earn our bronze. With such a simple goal, the season seems more than manageable.

The medium trot just gets better and better.

Instead of focusing on THIRD LEVEL - insert ominous tone, I've been breaking the three tests down into manageable chunks. For test 1, all we need to add is a more energetic shoulder in, a short half pass in trot, the flying changes, and a bigger medium trot. Right now, it's all there. It might not be fabulous, but it doesn't have to be. We only need to be satisfactory. Can I get an amen for mediocrity?

No longer use "working trot." Now we "think" collected trot.

For test 2, we need to maintain everything from test 1 while making it better. We also need to add in a bit of renvers and show a clear release of both reins for 4-5 strides over centerline. That may or may not happen for our first show. By late in the season, it'll be automatic.

Setting up the bend for the canter half pass.

Since not getting overwhelmed is my strategy for the year, I haven't paid much attention to test 3 (yet). On Sunday, we did school the canter half pass to centerline to the half circle. For a horse that anticipates the flying change - looking at YOU, Speedy!, this series of movements is likely to be a bugger. I am honestly not worried though. Speedy and I haven't taken any shortcuts through the levels, so the foundation is there. And every week, we get better and better.

I love this moment. He is lifting his back for all he's worth!

My homework for the week is to work on Speedy's lateral suppleness by doing extreme leg yields across the entire diagonal. I am to follow those with half passes that also cross the diagonal. Making them as steep as I can get them will serve us well when we have to do them from the centerline to the rail. They'll seem practically "easy" then.

Chemaine also showed me an exercise to help with the canter half pass. In it, I am to ride a circle where the shoulders transcribes a smaller circle than the haunches, and then the haunches will transcribe an even smaller circle than the shoulders. She called it a waterfall: first the shoulders, then the haunches all the while "falling" in on the circle to make it ever smaller.

Heading for the flying change.

I am constantly amazed at how hard Speedy will work for me. He wasn't bred for dressage. He doesn't have a naturally uphill balance. He's just a nicely put together Arabian gelding who was bred to be able to do whatever his rider asks, and if she says please, he usually gives it to her.

That doesn't mean he'll do it opinion free though. I've learned to ask and then hold on!

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Part 2 - Half Pass to Flying Change

1/4/2019

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Like I said yesterday, I had a great lesson with Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables. For the first part of the lesson, we used the leg yield to position Speedy's haunches for the half pass. For the second part of the lesson, we used the half pass to set Speedy's haunches in position for a flying change. If you had told me two months ago that I would be writing those two sentences at the beginning of 2019, I would have laughed. Hard. Go us, I guess.

He's getting more uphill in his canter!

I am not sure how I got so lucky - good breeding?, but Speedy's changes have been clean from the very beginning. We've only been working on them since September. They're still a bit hard to control, and he has already reached the point of tossing them in any time he's not sure what I am asking for. I think this is a good problem to have though.

How about here?

The main trouble I am having with the flying change is that he thinks that when we're cantering and I touch the outside rein, it means CHANGE. Sorry to disappoint, dude, but it doesn't. This is where Chemaine used the haunches in exercise to help him out.

No?! Then what about HERE?

As we cantered down the long side, Chemaine wanted me to put him in a haunches in position so that when we made the ten-meter half circle at the end of the long side, his haunches would be in place for the half pass. Speedy felt me pick up that outside rein and then leaped into the air ready to change. When I kept my outside leg back AND maintained the bend, he hit the ground with a disappointed thud. He might have also called me a bad name.

To combat this, Chemaine showed me yet another new exercise. As we cantered down the long side, she instructed me to ask for a ten-meter circle if he even thought about changing when I touched the outside rein. We did a lot of ten-meter circles.

While we still have a lot to work on, we were able to get the flying change after a version of a canter half pass.

I just love this horse. there is no end to his try. He might express his opinions occasionally, and he can get sassy about things, but he always tries.

The moment of the change.

Today is the last day of my Christmas break. On Monday it's back to the grind, but I feel as though I got a lot done with the boys over the holiday. Enjoy your weekend. I know I will.

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Part 1 - Leg Yield to Half Pass

1/3/2019

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Now that the holidays are past us, Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, has been able to come out weekly again. After analyzing what we need at the bare minimum for Third Level, Chemaine agreed that tackling the lateral work was the game plan for the foreseeable future.

Getting those haunches to step OVER.

Speedy has never been a fan of moving his haunches to the side AND stepping forward. I get it; it's hard. Even so, he has to learn. To present it in a way that he could understand and that I could enforce, Chemaine had us start the half pass in a leg yield. She also had me move the whip to the outside hand every time we changed direction. See the part about enforcing.

Chemaine had us begin at the walk. We started in the corner From A to K where we prepared for a leg yield right. The purpose was to get the haunches leading which is not how you'd typically ride a leg yield. This does two things. First, it gets your horse moving off your outside leg, and it allows you to set up the haunches for the half pass. By getting the haunches to lead, they will ultimately be in the correct position as you change the bend for the half pass.

While also getting the front legs to cross over.

Once Speedy's haunches were leading, I changed the bend. I had to keep my outside leg on and ask for forward with the inside leg. Chemaine had to remind me numerous times to keep the inside leg on. I always want to pull it off thinking I am giving him space into which to move. This is wrong. Don't do that. It's important to keep the inside leg on and use both legs to ask for forward. Anytime I lost the haunches or when Speedy got too heavy on the outside rein, I changed the bend and turned it back into a leg yield.

Hey! We're doing it!

After we crossed the diagonal (I was always short as my arena is really wide), we then turned left and did the same thing through the corner at C and H. I had to remember to change the whip, and then we did a leg yield H to F, changing to half pass once I had Speedy's haunches leading.

Once Speedy and I had it mostly figured out, we moved to the trot and started the half pass without doing the leg yield first. To help me set it up correctly - after I had started it as a hot mess, Chemaine reminded me to ride into the corner thinking shoulder in. This put Speedy on the outside rein so that I could then use the rein to send his haunches over. I'll let Chemaine explain it better:

We definitely made a ton of improvement with her nuts and bolts explanation, but we clearly need more practice. That's okay as I have plenty of time for that. Here's one more go at the trot half pass:

Chemaine is definitely able to get Speedy and me to places that I never thought possible. We're no Grand Prix pair (yet), but this horse has really developed into a fancy little mover. Check out this medium trot. He actually has a moment of suspension!

Is it four off the floor?

After I felt like I had my homework for the trot half pass figured out, we worked on canter half pass to the flying change. I'll try to get to that tomorrow.

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More on Flying Changes

11/1/2018

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I had a lesson on Tuesday which renewed my faith in Speedy's ability to do Third Level. I need to quit being such a doubter. But you know how it goes, sometimes you do great in a lesson under your trainer's watchful eye only to crash and burn the next day.

Doing great under my trainer's watchful eye - moment of the flying change.

I am thrilled to report that when I rode Speedy yesterday afternoon sans trainer, I got an easy flying change at the end of the canter half pass! Not that our half pass is recognizable as such. It looks more like a beginner's attempt at a leg yield - more diagonal than straight, but who cares about that?

The thrilling part was that we got it on the first try with minimal effort on my part. Truth be told, I think he offered it before I had completely finished asking! Which leads me to hope that he might be ready to start offering changes at random moments during the canter as I lose my balance or shift my weight. Wouldn't that be awesome?

This video was during Tuesday's lesson, but it shows how well he can do a flying change.

As I rode yesterday afternoon, I reminded myself that if I am going to cram him into "the box," I need to at least occasionally "let him go" to see if he can stay there. We were both a lot happier. Self-carriage is a thing afterall; I need to let him do it.

Uphill?

My whole complaint this past of couple of weeks was that he wasn't sitting enough and softening. I think the photo above is proof that he can sit. If I can just get out of his way just a little bit and trust him to do his job, I think we might actually make it to Third Level.

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Trainer Saves the Day

10/31/2018

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Well that answers the can he or can't he question from the other day. If you don't have a trainer, and if you go through periods of huge self doubt, you really need to get one. Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, really knows how to bring out the best in a horse and rider team without giving the rider false expectations.

She never came right out and said Speedy will be brilliant at Third Level, so quit worrying because in all likelihood he won't be. Instead, she helped me tackle the lateral work problem. The first issue was that Speedy was stuck on my inside rein and leg. As I started the trot half pass, Chemaine instructed me to ride a 10-meter circle while pushing him away from my leg. Then I went back to half pass, but every time I felt him heavy on my inside rein and leg, I repeated the 10-meter circle. We did a lot of 10-meter circles, but the exercise worked.

The next thing Chemaine helped me address was lightness. Speedy has been so heavy primarily because I am driving him to the bit. She laughed when she said that I've crammed him so far into the box that he can't get anymore into the box. She said I now need to let him go and see if he'll hold himself where he needs to be.

Taking a well earned break.

The exercise went a little like this: half pass, let him go, collect him, let him go. Repeat, repeat, repeat. And of course, the exercise worked. While the half pass didn't look brilliant, Speedy was finally soft in the bridle and moving laterally. I am sure he felt as relieved as I did.

Since my arena is short and wide, riding the half pass can be tricky as I run out of room. Chemaine gave me yet another new exercise that helps with the geometry while continuing the lateral work. It goes more or less like this:

tracking right, come down centerline, half pass to the right toward M.
as you near M, renvers through the corner to C.
come back down centerline on the same bend and half pass right to K.
At K, renvers again through the corner to A and repeat the half pass to M or move on to something else.

Of course, I couldn't keep my left and right straight, so it took Chemaine many minutes of patiently explaining which way was right, but I eventually got it.

The flying lead change from the video.

The last thing we worked on was the flying change. Surprisingly, the change wasn't the thing I felt we needed to work on; I've had those more or less under control. In fact, we got them without too much fuss. Chemaine, never one to leave me without something new to work on, suggested we put the canter half pass and flying changes together.

Guess what happened? Yup. Speedy and I got the flying change out of canter half pass the first time. I am not sure who was more surprised, me, or Chemaine!

Speedy wasn't a bit surprised. He knew exactly what he was doing.

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About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
Welcome to my dressage journey.

Photo by Lori Ovanessian

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently showing Third Level for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

March 2019

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE

I love her stuff!

National Awards

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018

2nd Level Rider Performance, 2018

USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015

1st Level Rider Performance, 2015

USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

Training Level Rider Performance, 2013

State Awards

CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
CDS Second Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

Ruby Rider Award, 2018

2019 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USEF
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2019 Pending …
8/25/19 - TMC (*)
10/26-27/19 SCEC (***)

2019 Completed …
6/15-16/19 - El Sueno (***)
6/23/19 - TMC (*)
7/13-14/19 - El Sueno (***)
7/28/19 - TMC (*)

Qualifying Scores for 2019

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC)
3rd Level Qualifying
3 Scores/2 Judges:
Score 1: 63.514% Lindholm
Score 2: 62.105% Lindholm
Score 3: 63.243% Wadeborn

CDS Championship
3rd Level Qualifying
5 Scores/4 Judges:
Score 1: 63.514% Lindholm
Score 2: 62.105% Lindholm
Score 3: 63.243% Wadeborn
Score 4:
Score 5:

Working Towards:

CDS 3rd Level Horse Performance Award
3 Judges/3 Shows:
Score 1: 63.514% Lindholm
Score 2: 62.105% Lindholm
Score 3: 63.243% Wadeborn
Score 4:
Score 5:
Score 6:

CDS Sapphire Rider Award
Third Level: 63.514%
Third Level: 62.105%
Fourth Level:
Fourth Level:

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

There's Only So Much You Can Cram

When Third is Better Than First - Part 1

Third Level Debut

Did I Break the Canter Half Pass?

A Penultimate Lesson - Only 1 Left

Half Pass and Flying Changes

Part 2 - Half Pass to Flying Change

Part 1 - Leg Yield to Half Pass

More on Flying Changes

Trainer Saves the Day

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