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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

I Get It

11/19/2012

 
Those three little words mean a lot when said by a 41 year old adult ammie. They mean, holy cow, why did this seem so hard before? And finally, finally we might start making some real progress!

I. Get. It. Steady contact is just that: contact that is even and consistent. Why was it so hard to feel before? Why has it taken me nearly three years to develop this feel? I can't be that stupid, can I?

If you're like me, riding something other than a school master and doing most of the training yourself, get yourself over to a dressage simulator pronto! Now I get why riding a school master is so encouraged. How else can you really feel it done correctly?

I was worried about forgetting the feel of connection that I felt while on the simulator. I needn't have worried. I think it's like knowing Santa's not real; once you know, you can't unknow it. Now don't get all worried. I didn't become this fantastic rider over the last week; I still suck most of the time. The key here is that I only suck most of the time now rather than all of the time. It's a great feeling!

Two "new" ideas also revealed themselves to me once I understood the feeling of connectedness. First was something that JL likes to say which finally makes sense: you bring the horse to you. I used to let Speedy jerk me around. Even when he wasn't actually jerking me, I allowed him to have his head and neck wherever he wanted them to be. Now, I think about bringing him to me and keeping him there. I am amazed at how much softer this had made him. I am able to do this by keeping my elbows bent and allowing them to move.

The second idea that finally clicked came from an article in Dressage Today by Jennifer Howard that addresses the horse who pulls (which is Speedy on occasion). "Instead of pulling, let the pull travel up your arms, down your back and sit on it. If a rider sits on that pull, he is using the core muscles of his whole body, which keeps your seat deep in the saddle, nullifying the pull."

I have ridden Speedy with these two "new" ideas in mind. Bringing him to me gives me permission to establish the bend and manage the pace. When he resists by speeding up or rooting his nose, I know that I can fix it by simply lengthening my spine and refusing to let him pull me forward. Instead, I focus on sitting on his pull. It works beautifully. When I rode on Saturday, we did some of the best loops and serpentines we've ever done! And as a bonus, our canter is really coming along. 

I get it. I get it. I get it! 
AareneX link
11/18/2012 11:52:02 pm

AWESOME.

But, what do you mean about Santa???

Karen
11/19/2012 09:15:08 pm

Thanks ... and nothing. What? Huh? Who?

Kelly link
11/19/2012 04:19:23 am

My trainer JC likes to say 'make the horse come to you' - same idea...but I really get your visual of sitting on the pull. Reason # zillon of why I love blogging - so many good tips and different ways of explaining a concept!

Karen
11/19/2012 09:16:28 pm

I totally agree, Kelly. I read anything and everything in the hopes of pulling out one little nugget of helpful information. Sometimes it is isn't helpful for a while, but then all of a sudden it just clicks!

Angela
11/19/2012 10:32:24 am

I just read your post, and I really, really want to get it! And thanks to all this great input, I just might get there! hahaha

Karen
11/19/2012 09:21:26 pm

I know what you mean Angela. I don't know what happened, but it really felt as thought that piece of the puzzle snapped into place. My trainer was really pleased with our trot work last night. And I really do get what a connection feels like and can get it really quickly at the trot even if Speedy is being a jerk. Now we need to get it and keep it at the canter.

We had a HORRIBLE ride with the trainer last night once we got to the canter work. Speedy was a complete JERK (bucking bolting, etc.) which isn't really scary on him because I know him so well, but it is frustrating. What we were trying to do was canter right lead with an outside rein connection. He was having none of it, but at least I know what I am trying to achieve now.

Best of luck. Keep riding and "feeling" and IT (whatever it is) will come. I am still waiting on many more ITS myself! :0)


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    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong 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.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    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 showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
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