July 28, 2006: Blueprint for Success

Quila was a new horse today when I rode her with Jürgen (thank goodness), and it gave me the confidence I needed going into the show tomorrow. A large part of it was that he rode her yesterday, so she was much more “through” and the residual stiffness from her lay-up was gone, but he also helped me understand the secret to collecting her (and keeping the collection) in the canter, particularly after lengthenings: I need to make sure I get the lateral flexion I need (particularly at the jaw), and I need to sit back and not let her pull me forward. If I keep my focus on keeping her supple in the jaw (which is much easier to do after his ride on her yesterday), and keep my weight properly distributed in the saddle, then I have her--she can’t take the bit and run through my half halts. That’s all it takes.

I rode transitions forward and back within the canter today that were lovely--exuberant forward, but nicely back--WITHOUT her pulling against me or getting heavy in the hand, and her gaits were expressive. I was also quite pleased with the trot work, and my ability to keep her sitting behind, and paying attention enough that I could (from leg/seat alone) collect her over X if I wanted to without losing suppleness through the back or roundness in her topline. Of course, she was very relaxed and working at home today. I think, however, I’ll be able to keep that going tomorrow.

Because of the heat, we’ve decided on no more than 20 minutes of warm-up, focussed on transitions alone: no movements. I’m also going to ride the lengthenings vigorously, but allow myself an extra stride or two for bringing her back. I don’t think the judge will notice, and since collecting her after will be key to all the work that follows, I want to be sure that I have the time I need to do it correctly. We decided that this would be the wisest approach--just a single stride (or at most 2) early.

I am actually hopeful that we could get BOTH qualifying scores this weekend. I am certainly going to ride heart and soul towards that goal!