ANNE KURSINSKI DAY 1

I love this pic, because of how round and buff she looks!


Favorite picture. Beautifulness!

Today was the first day of the Anne Kursinski clinic!

Monroe and I arrived at Portola training center around 9. I unloaded my stuff, put her in her stall (with food of course!) parked the trailer, and gave her the rest of her breakfast. Our ride time came up in no time, so I quickly tacked up and headed to the indoor ring where the clinic was being held.

Monroe was a bit hot, but I had my running on just in case. She warmed up pretty well, though a little tense for my liking. Anne focused on getting the group to use their eyes, and use the ring and pace adjustments to keep even spacing between all the riders. Monroe was moving a little quick, so I was repeatedly told to shorten my reins, until Anne finally tied a knot in them to make me hold them at the length she wanted! Monroe was a bit pissed off by these short reins, but behaved admirably.

After extensive flatwork, focusing on control and awareness, we moved on to a crossrail-the first element of the gymnastic. We were to trot into the crossrail in two point, and then stop between the third set of standards. The first time we stopped a bit too late, the second a bit too early. The second time however she gave us brownie points for the control-ability! She had us drop our stirrups for the halt to sink our seat deeper in the saddle, and prevent pinching at the knees. She then slowly added more elements to the gymnastic, until finally it was cross rail, 1 stride to oxer, 1 stride to vertical. At the end, we were first asked to circle left, and then later asked to make a right angle turn to the right and then halt. We messed up the right turn the first time, because I had to go first and I didn't understand what she wanted, but on our second try we were praised! :]

Next, she introduced the group to the automatic release, where I excelled! We held our reins like driving reins, and rode through the gymnastic with "v" reins without being allowed to use the neck for support. The idea was to get our hands to follow the motion of the horse's mouth and force our bodies to support themselves. I did really really well with this exercise, it really forces me to not jump ahead and use my body like it is supposed to be used. We then switched to a different gymnastic, which was oxer, 3 strides, bounce, 2 strides, bounce-still practicing our automatic releases. I was used as the example of excellence!!! :]

It was a great day, and I am soooo excited for tomorrow!!

Preparation before action, collection before impulsion.

I am thanking myself every day for my flatwork lessons with Becky Hart. The improvements are colossal!

Monroe and I went to a schooling show last weekend, and she was AMAZING. She jumped like a rockstar! And she won her 2'6 jumper class, with a time of 58 seconds!!!!

Our flatwork is really carrying over to our over fences work, and my horse is really growing into a wonderful girl, and my riding is soooo much improved. She is really beginning to move under herself, and we even got a few moments of SELF CARRIAGE the other day!!! It was amazing :]

Our everyday rides are becoming more consistent and lovely and relaxed and wonderful. I <3 my super super awesome mare!

The devil is in the details....

Yes my friends, we have found the solution to our "behind the vertical" woes! It was the horse equivalent of "problem exists between chair and keyboard" aka.. It's Mom's damn fault!

Had a wonderful lesson with my centered riding instructor Becky Hart, and she fixed ALOT of the issues we are having.

She started out by reminding me that at the level Monroe and I are riding at, we can't get away with the little mistakes anymore. My main problem is that I drop my right seat bone which makes me crooked, and results in a plethora of other issues.

She gave me a balance rein (to keep my hands quiet) and did her cool exercise to loosen up my legs, and sent me off at the walk with the instruction to "let my legs drape like velvet" around my horse. We also worked on having "heavy elbows" which softens your hands--cool little trick! Around turns we focused on the outside ear, and "lifted and shifted" (excellent way to make sure you use your seat-bones to turn!

Then we moved on to the trot and I had to be reminded to keep myself straight and "breath center grow" to half halt and keep myself aligned so I wouldn't perch forward on my seat bones. I fell apart a bit so we transitioned back to the walk, re-centered, and then continued back up to the trot by "shining the laser beams forward" (using your seat to round the back into the transition). Near the end I was being too pully with my inside rein, and using an opening rein to turn, which she corrected by making me ride with my thumbs touching.

It was a great lesson, and Corrie watched so she knows what to tell me if I get crooked when we jump!

Today I practiced what I learned yesterday and WOW what a difference!!! My horse was calm and relaxed, and round a lot of the time, and not fake round... TRULY ROUND. She even kept it at the canter!!! I stayed centered, kept my elbows heavy and kept myself relaxed and on my seat bones. It was the ride I have been waiting for for a long time!

There was no tension, my horse was relaxed and soft, and when she went round, she didn't duck, she lifted her back and kept her nose vertical! It was an amazing ride :]

Behind the vertical... UGH

Today I rode in my new dressage saddle, and let me just say I LOVE IT!!! I love the tony slater, its really close contact, and super comfy, even though its not really padded. Definately well worth the 200 I spent on it!

Now for the frustrating part...
Monroe travels consistently behind the bit, and I am KICKING MYSELF FOR IT. UGH. I know exactly when she learned to do it too. *kicks self* I really need to fix it, it is soooo incorrect and so frustrating because I really want to gain the respect of the dressage crew at my barn, and I really want a correct horse so we have a chance if we ever decide to do a dressage test.

Part of the problem is that I get stiff, and I need to loosen up. Half the time I'm locked and pulling, and then half the time I throw away my contact... its a never ending battle!

I think we need to do more long and low work, we need to work slowly and carefully and avoid stress on either of us. Monroe is an over reactive horse, sand I think when I get stiff, she gets worried and upset and "hides" behind the vertical, because in her mind, if her head is down, mom leaves her alone. (Shame one me, UGH!)

Also need to remember, collection comes from the legs, not the hands. I think I need to repeat that to myself over and over and over again.

GREG BEST

Greg Best clinic today, and I must say, it was WONDERFUL and curse the College Board for scheduling AP exams for tomorrow!

Today we learned many things:

-Monroe could be much more neurotic (tehe...)
-She is obsessed with my actions before the fence
-she still drifts right (though "subtly" rather then glaringly like before)
-she worries about the waterford, and is much more relaxed and happy with the mullen mouth happymouth full cheek
-My right leg slips forward
-My legs slip in front of me over fences, causing me to either compensate by folding my upper body more, or land behind the motion
-My saddle slips back also causing me to be a little behind the motion of the jump
-My flatwork needs to be relaxed, without being sloppy

Now, to fix these problems I must:
1. Constantly run through my mental checklist, item number 1: right leg back!
2. Use an opening left rein over fences to prevent right drift
3. Keep my lower legs back over fences to attain proper body position
4. Build the energy in the corner and then slowly take back a bit before the fence. KEEP THE RHYTHM
5. Do not obsess over distance.
6. Keep my legs in the correct position, EVEN WHEN STANDING AROUND to form muscle memory
7. Do not obsess over the problem, or how good or bad the jump was- Think only of the solution
8. If you see nothing, DO NOTHING
9. If you don't like what you're seeing, DO SOMETHING. Better to do something about it, and know that it did or did not work for next time
10. do not "flop" over the last fence. your job is not over until you do the final transition

It was a wonderful learning experience today! Even better that my trainer was riding in the group with me :] Pictures later, more posting if I remember more stuff :]

Someone's got the sniffles....

Well, I had the vet out yesterday to give Miss Mare her vaccinations for spring and check her out of an intermittent cough... Turns out she has an upper respiratory infection, which I found out right before the vet arrived.

Know how I found out?

She sneezed huge disgusting boogers all over my arm and the floor. Yep. Definitely got a cold.

So she's on light work (no sweating) for 5 days until it clears up and 3 big scoops of tucaprim a day for a week. Poor mare mare :[ But she's eating fine, acting fine and doesn't have a fever so it isn't terrible.

Hopefully she is better in time for GREG BEST next week :]

Absent... BUT NOW I'm Back!

Sorry to the two of you who read this! (tehe) I have been really lazy about blogging lately, and so I shall catch up tonight with a recap post...

Monroe has been doing very well! She has been very good, and is loving her new more relaxed way of traveling! Her jumping has improved miles as well...

We still need to work on our straitening and improving our suppleness and connection to the right. I have started taking flat work lessons with Becky Hart, who taught me to ride, and she is straightening me out :] so hopefully in a few months I will no longer be crooked! I plan to keep working with her until I go off to school in September. (Oh yea, I GOT INTO UC DAVIS WOOHOOO!!! Aggies, here I come!) Once I'm straight we are going to move on to some dressage work, I am very excited!

We had a show this past weekend, and had lots of fun with the Triple Bar Stables (triplebarstables.com) team! Our hunter round was ok, a few bad distances, but overall pretty good... Our ability to perform in the show ring like we can at home is improving, but still has miles to go! My eq course was a disaster, and I went off course... It's the ring nerves! The jumper course was almost the same, but I found my fence (with help... oops) and even though I circled my fence they still let me do the jump off... I won a jump off against myself? LOL The other girl in my class went completely off course and jumped the wrong fence... oh well... We ended the day with a hunter hack class, where we placed 2nd out of 3... Not too bad! Our flat work was fussy, but our line redeemed us, even though we ate up the distance and the second fence was short, Monroe took it like a champ and jumped it nicely. Overall not a bad day... We definitely still need work, but at least we are improving.

Tomorrow we have a lesson with Becky, and then a vet appointment at 4-Miss Monroe gets her shots, and a hock exam (shes been doing really well on the adequan and legend, but its always good to know where we're at) and a checkup, because shes been coughing alot lately, and I don't like the sound of it!

Enjoy the pics from this weekend!

Lesson update!

Monroe and I had a wonderful lesson today, AND our new special girth came! Its a bates girth with the CAIR system air cushion and a wider belly plate. She had been egtting sore from out other girth-she's very sensitive!

Anyway, for the lesson,

she started out really nice and stretchy, although alittle strange in the left hind... but she seemed to work out of it so its no big deal! We worked on some equitation for the show this weekend, and it went well. We even got a clean lead chage to the right over a pole! (The right is our hard side)

We put out a line of poles, which went ok, but then we started getting frazzled and Monroe started to lock up. NOOOOOOOOO... luckily we have learned that the best thing to do is go back to basics and let her unwind a bit. I have also realized that I tend to get stressed when instructions are constantly being thrown at me. I am very aware of everything, and I know a lot of what we are working on right now... Sometimes I need my instructor to give me a command, and then LET ME WORK ON IT on my own for a bit. I am much more relaxed and it gives me time to think and figure things out. Anyway, she let me work with Monroe for awhile on my own to settle her while she worked with my friend.

I worked on lots of trotting the poles instead of cantering and getting her to really loose and relaxed. Lots of down transitions to get her paying attention and not rushing... Once we relaxed we were able to canter the line nicely both directions, and we even set the poles up to fences... SHE JUMPED LIKE A SUPER STAR. I'm so excited, my horse has major talent hidden in there!

On another note-we've been riding in the field behind the neighbor's place, and having some major slippage problem. I could not figure out a solution. Studs were the obvious answer, but I really did not want to put shoes on her hind feet. I spent the day thinking up ideas... and I came up with basically a better fitting easy boot with studs... I checked their site for ideas and lo and behold THEY HAVE EXACTLY WHAT I NEED! I have to wait for my paycheck, but after that I'm measuring her feet and ordering a pair of easyboot gloves with studs and power strap! I'm super excited :]

MASSAGGGEEE

Miss Monroe had a chiropractic appointment today! I originally called our lovely Chiropractor out to address some girth soreness issues we were having, I'm glad I did because boy was my horse out of whack! I think she had 2-3 ribs on either side, both shoulders, behind the right knee and her pelvis out, as well as the upper part of her withers! WOW She was glad to have all her ouchies popped back into place! Silly horse, she must have been having wayyy too much fun in the mud and slipped around a bunch... We're still not sure how the heck she put her withers out of alignment! I had the chiro check our saddle fit as well, and she gave us the gold star! WOOHOO I love it when my saddle is properly adjusted!

Miss Monroe gets a day off tomorrow and then a jumping lesson Thursday! (Lesson should make for an exciting update!)

Past Adventures and Lessons from Greg Best

What I learned from Greg Best:

I have a godawful eye for distance.
So I need to:
Practice jumping every day
use a pole and a set distance to help me find my eye

Monroe gets her confidence from me, and if I'm not confident, she isn't
So I need to:
do the pole exercise every day
be decisive, make a move to the jump and stick with it
forward is good, we need more forward, more impulsion

I lean to the inside of turns over fences
I am a bad girl!!! and it just confuses my lovely darling kind horse
So:
Practice straightness at all times, you can not turn unless you are straight first
in order to counteract her tendency to dive, take her wide to the side she leans to and leg yield as a preemptive strike
look as I'm turning, not before

My horse has a sensitive mouth, and shies away from the bit, not accepting contact, in a strong bit she fusses.
I need:
A mullen happy mouth snaffle
more bit does not fix bad riding

My horse hates flatwork. and does not willingly accept a steady contact. I have two options here:
Don't care where her head is. Just keep that nice steady giving contact at all times, make my hands a safe place for her to sit, DO NOT BRACE
option 2: force her to accept contact. (ie draws, etc)
but, i should try option a for a bit with the new bit heh. Either way, choose a way and stick to it! but no matter what no bracing

My stirrups were too long and my leg was infront of me.
so, ride with my stirrups two holes shorter, tighten up my leg and keep it back, swinging leg disappears :]


Other things I learned:
When stuff goes wrong I have to refocus and LET IT GO
I have to ride like I'm riding Sparticus


And also,
I screwed up my horse. she has no personal sense of distance now, so it's up to me to be the leader and choose the right distance, cuz she'll follow me no matter what
I really need better training, the people I have are nice and I love them but I need the details now. If I want to go far I need one of the big shots who has been there done that


And the final thing I must remember:

"If you mess it up this time i'm going to punch you in the head"


Since that clinic, which was uhhhh almost a year ago I think? We have made fantastic improvements! We had a provate lesson with him 3 months after the origional clinic and he remembered us and complemented us on our progress! YAY! Anyway, since then we have:
-found the perfect bit (a waterford full cheek, which she LOVES)
-begun to teach the horse to think for herself and see a distance, which in the process has helped strengthen my eye
-strengthened my lower leg

We are still working on straightness.... Anyway, post from real time, tomorrow!

In the beginning....

When I purchased Monroe, she was 4 and a half and had had one foal and 90 days of training. I had been searching for a jumper for over a year, and fell in love. She was very green, but willing to try anything and had tons of personality.

Our first year together was full of setbacks; when I brought her home the stress caused her to drop weight, and she got a fungus and bruised her foot trying to dig out of her stall. Later in the year she cut her leg in the pasture and got cellulitis, and after numerous problems with back soreness, we had the vet out and she was diagnosed with DJD in her hocks. Our vet was optimistic, and with proper management said that we could keep her on her training path and that the joints would eventually fuse and cease to cause a problem.

Luckily, with the care of THE BEST VET EVER, Dr. Chuck Kessinger and our course of Legend and Adequan shots Monroe has continued to be able to make great strides in her training, and is slowly but surely becoming the talented jumper that I always knew she could be!

Currently we are furthering our training with the lovely trainer at Triple Bar Stables (www.triplebarstables.com) with bi-weekly lessons, and also taking a monthly lesson from Ashley Austin.

We have jumped up to 3'9, but decided to step back to fix some holes that I left in her training (oops... nobody's perfect?) and started over-- teaching her to do the work and "hunt" down the fences--seeing the distance on her own.

During our hole fix, Monroe is learning to relax and stretch and consistently use her hind end to propel herself-- she is coming along quite nicely, and we recieve many compliments from the dressage riders at the barn! (SCOREEEE! I strongly believe that dressage is the foundation of good jumping, and that ultimately, jumping is just flat work over fences.) I am working on using my body more correctly and effectively and riding Monroe from my inside leg to my outside rein--for a long time I tried to hold her up, and perched rather than really using my seat to influence her and relied way too heavily on my inside rein.

We have made MASSIVE improvements, and are continuing our education by practicing riding in open spaces (if you can master riding correctly and effectively over fences in a wide open space, riding in an arena with rails is a piece of cake!) and continuing to encourage a soft, round and adjustable horse!