Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
It seems as though I didn't give the speedy pony as much credit as he deserves. The day after I wrote that post about counter canter exercises, I decided to continue the canter instead of going to trot after the counter canter half circle. Easy peasy. Since I like to be successful however, I set up the exercise by doing lots of counter flexing beforehand. At the trot, I counter flexed him until he softened and then returned to the true bend. I did it both directions. We did the same thing at canter. I counter flexed him in the canter until he softened. I also did some changes of lead through trot which didn't start out too well. Speedy was really ignoring my outside rein, so I worked on some pretty strong half halts. Once he seemed malleable in his poll and was listening to the outside rein, I worked on the 20-meter half circle in counter canter. He held the lead every single time and was actually soft on the right lead. Instead of coming back to trot like we had done the on the first day, we continued in canter. I had him cross the diagonal, return to a true canter, and then continued on with the exercise, repeating the 10-meter half circle for the change of direction.
I am doing this work in a short court, so once or twice I circled at A to rebalance him and myself. Once he felt pulled back to together, I made the ten-meter half circle, which was more like 12-meters, pushed him back to the rail, and then did the 20-meter half circle in counter canter. I think we'll do the change of lead through trot on the long side next time. I think Speedy's a little more capable than I give him credit for!
jenj
9/16/2015 06:10:43 am
Great exercise! I'll have to keep this in mind as we get strong enough to counter-canter. Thanks! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI 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. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy 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.
About IzzyIzzy 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.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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