I love Purple Rain, aka Jacco (I always call him Jacco), and I'm having fun riding him--and learning to ride him well--but we're a long way from being ready to show. I'd hoped it would be otherwise, but it's not, in part because I found a whole other trot than what I originally knew was there--a big, beautiful trot that is a real challenge to ride well, but now that I know it is there, I'm not willing to settle for anything less. The same with his canter.
I wish I had the natural coordination that Susan and Emma have, but I don't. In order to ride with enough leg supporting his "super" gaits, I struggle not to tense up in my hips. When I get it right, riding him is sheer heaven. When I don't, it's like driving with the parking brake on, and I'm working MUCH harder than the horse, especially now that the weather's getting hot. If I'm telling him stop with one aid and go with the other, quite reasonably, he picks the one he prefers, and it usually isn't the "go" one.
The biggest obstacle I've had, however, has been consistency in the saddle. I'll just start to get some momentum going, just start to make some progress and something will come up to derail me. First it was wolf teeth. Poor Jacco's mouth hurt him so bad he'd toss his head every time I half-halted on the right, and he'd throw in explosive spooks for no reason. It wasn't characteristic for him, so I had the vet check him and sure enough, he had an inflamed wolf tooth (I figured it was either that or a sharp hook). She pulled the tooth, but because of his age, it took a few weeks to heal, so that kept me off him. Then I moved... and then I started the new gym program and I couldn't manage more than a few rides a week because I was so body sore.
But I got better--and I got back on track--until a series of horse shows interrupted us. I couldn't ride because I was at the shows all day. On track again, things were going great, and then he twisted a shoe and it was 3 days until we could get the farrier out.
This week, only 2 rides because of another show (but what a show! It's the Olympic Selection Trials a mere 45 minutes from home, and the PSG/Int-1 Championships are being held at the same time. Jennifer is riding Susan's horse, Farinelli, in the PSG/Int-1 Championships and he is looking mighty fine right now. We feel like he could place near the top, though we don't expect a win).
Next week, though, FINALLY life should be back to normal and I should be able to get 5 rides in a week. This week seemed to turn a corner for me... and I'm starting to feel good from the gym without too much muscle pain or fatigue, so crossing fingers that we'll see our learning curve shoot skyward. I'm ready to make some real progress. I know we will... it's just filling in those basics and getting the foundation right, and me learning a new horse after having spent so many years with Quila who didn't need aids because she could read my mind.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Dose of Humility
Quila broke her all-time high scores twice this weekend at the tender age of 19, without me. (69.666% and 71.000%) The fifteen year-old girl she's fallen in love with was in the saddle, and I have to honestly say that I've never seen Quila put in in a better performance. She was certainly never that nice for me. We had a few rides that were that close, perhaps, but when she was that quiet and that easy, we lacked the forward energy that she gave to Emma.
Maybe I can take some of the credit, though (along with Fabian and Birthe)--Quila has finally, after all, learned to half halt from the seat and leg. But an even greater amount of credit goes to the rider who not only showed the mare well, but had the grace and tact to tell me, "Well, it was only because you told me what she'd try to get away with and how to keep her from doing it."
I wish it were that easy. I knew for a long, long time what Quila would try to get away with at a show, but knowing and keeping her from doing it (even when I knew what tools I SHOULD use) were two entirely different things. The difference, I think, is that Emma is stronger than I am, with faster reaction times, and she is also more athletic. Quila never had a chance to "freight train" which is what Emma and I laughingly call Quila's penchant for the medium paces. Every time Quila even hinted at taking over the test, Emma caught it. Quila didn't get things her way for more than half a stride. I was usually several strides too late in trying to nip things in the bud, no matter how much I resolved otherwise, because I'd be focusing on the next movement, or keeping her straight and not losing her shoulders or haunches, or I don't know what...
No, I have to hand it to Emma. Quila is NOT an easy horse to show. She thinks she is smarter than you are and she knows the tests by heart, so if you relax for one tiny second, by golly she's going to take over (meaning well, mind you--she really does believe she's raising your score by at least 20 or 30 points), because she sooooo wants to help you out. The problem is that no matter how hard I try, I've never been able to convince her that judges don't quite see things her way. Perhaps it's just as well. I think it would break her heart to know she's been wrong all these years. Perhaps it's better that she just finish her career with Emma, who stays ahead of her, so she finishes a winner, still believing that she's been a heroine for both of us and knowing how much we both love her.
I'm glad Quila has Emma, too, because I'm so totally head over heels for Jacco. He had some time off with a wolf tooth, but now we're going like gang busters. We've been working on getting him supple and through, and now his trot is sooooo amazing. People stop and stare, with their jaws bouncing off the ground. I rather like that, and like it even more when I get comments like, "Gee, I never knew you could sit the trot like that!"
We're working on our foundation, perfecting our transitions and making sure our connection is correct and that I've got him straight and so forth. He's tipping his head a bit now on the right (that showed up just before the wolf tooth and got a lot better after the tooth was out, but it's not quite gone)--we want to see that gone and everything just right before we introduce him to the show world, but honestly, I don't mind.
I'm used to paying my dues... I did it for years with Quila. This, however, is paying my dues at quite a different (and much more fun) level, and he's such a terrific boy--great work ethic, lovely on the aids, willing. I look goofy when I'm riding because I can't wipe the grin off my face, even when I'm panting and out of breath because he's such a mover it takes a ton of core muscle to stay with him and not impede that movement. He even makes me look forward to going to the gym, just because I know I'll ride him better. Now that's saying something!
Maybe I can take some of the credit, though (along with Fabian and Birthe)--Quila has finally, after all, learned to half halt from the seat and leg. But an even greater amount of credit goes to the rider who not only showed the mare well, but had the grace and tact to tell me, "Well, it was only because you told me what she'd try to get away with and how to keep her from doing it."
I wish it were that easy. I knew for a long, long time what Quila would try to get away with at a show, but knowing and keeping her from doing it (even when I knew what tools I SHOULD use) were two entirely different things. The difference, I think, is that Emma is stronger than I am, with faster reaction times, and she is also more athletic. Quila never had a chance to "freight train" which is what Emma and I laughingly call Quila's penchant for the medium paces. Every time Quila even hinted at taking over the test, Emma caught it. Quila didn't get things her way for more than half a stride. I was usually several strides too late in trying to nip things in the bud, no matter how much I resolved otherwise, because I'd be focusing on the next movement, or keeping her straight and not losing her shoulders or haunches, or I don't know what...
No, I have to hand it to Emma. Quila is NOT an easy horse to show. She thinks she is smarter than you are and she knows the tests by heart, so if you relax for one tiny second, by golly she's going to take over (meaning well, mind you--she really does believe she's raising your score by at least 20 or 30 points), because she sooooo wants to help you out. The problem is that no matter how hard I try, I've never been able to convince her that judges don't quite see things her way. Perhaps it's just as well. I think it would break her heart to know she's been wrong all these years. Perhaps it's better that she just finish her career with Emma, who stays ahead of her, so she finishes a winner, still believing that she's been a heroine for both of us and knowing how much we both love her.
I'm glad Quila has Emma, too, because I'm so totally head over heels for Jacco. He had some time off with a wolf tooth, but now we're going like gang busters. We've been working on getting him supple and through, and now his trot is sooooo amazing. People stop and stare, with their jaws bouncing off the ground. I rather like that, and like it even more when I get comments like, "Gee, I never knew you could sit the trot like that!"
We're working on our foundation, perfecting our transitions and making sure our connection is correct and that I've got him straight and so forth. He's tipping his head a bit now on the right (that showed up just before the wolf tooth and got a lot better after the tooth was out, but it's not quite gone)--we want to see that gone and everything just right before we introduce him to the show world, but honestly, I don't mind.
I'm used to paying my dues... I did it for years with Quila. This, however, is paying my dues at quite a different (and much more fun) level, and he's such a terrific boy--great work ethic, lovely on the aids, willing. I look goofy when I'm riding because I can't wipe the grin off my face, even when I'm panting and out of breath because he's such a mover it takes a ton of core muscle to stay with him and not impede that movement. He even makes me look forward to going to the gym, just because I know I'll ride him better. Now that's saying something!
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