DefinitelyDressage.com

Here is the link to both the lessons from Saturday:

https://www.usef.org/network/coverage/DuttaFOC2017/

Boy did I look scared sh*tless in the beginning!! I am so, so proud of my little mare, what a superstar, oh my goodness. I mean, I was proud of her before, but remembering how scared she felt, and seeing how good she looked in spite of it?? Makes me choke up, I just love her so much. It's funny because she felt like a pretzel, like she was bent in half to the left the whole time, but she doesn't even look close to as crooked as she felt.

My daughter just woke up, I'll write more later...

thanks for posting, it was a nice watch, both lessons

Wow, thank you for sharing the adventure, Gwen! I think you both were awesome and really helpful. Yes, Callie is amazing. Give her some flowers/chips!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the supportive comments.

RosieB had asked on the other thread what I thought was the most helpful tip for getting relaxation - I think probably (and this is not surprising or rocket science!) simply sitting up and controlling the posting was the most effective, both because it got her back a bit, and getting her back even a little made me feel more confident that improvement was possible. Also the reminder that it is ok if it's not perfect right away, or if it gets a little ugly, to not get caught in that and to have confidence that it will get better.

I've said this before but it's VERY clear to me after this experience that I go into a very negative, pessimistic headspace very quickly - the more pressure I'm under, the faster I give into despair. If it isn't going well right away I feel like I'm never going to be able to make it better, and will probably only make it worse. But seeing this video makes me want to grab past me and be like - this is fine!! Even the "bad" isn't THAT bad, just sit back an inch, slow your post and have a little faith in your saintly, hardworking, amazing pony!

I've had tests like this, where I was so convinced the ride was total trash and that we should just excuse ourselves, and then I get my test and the judge thought we were doing great, or I see a video and I don't even recognize myself, my mental picture of what was happening had been so distorted!

So instead of focusing so hard on my position or exercises, I'm going to try to focus on my mental attitude, and work to strengthen it the way I work to strengthen my core.

On controlling the posting - I find this idea very difficult, I'm going to practice this more - I'm so used to following the horse's rhythm, posting my own regardless of what's happening under me feels so weird and wrong, even though I know it's the right thing to do, and it certainly isn't the first time I've heard it.

Really nice work, Gwen, I thought you both looked great and she got more and more relaxed as the ride went on. Kudos to you on staying so composed in such a crazy setting. Controlling the posting is a huge thing, I recommend carrying a phone with you and setting a metronome for a bit so that you can work on staying in one rhythm regardless of what she's doing.

Gwen, that was wonderful. Really, really nice work!

I totally "get' how difficult that posting trot thing is; it is something I work on regularly. WInd and metronomes don't go together, and so I count out loud when I am struggling with tempo. I do this in walk as well as part of my warm-up.

I couldn't find your rides with the link posted, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place..

Yeah, for some reason I can't get a direct link, but that page has all the rides from the weekend, so if you scroll down you'll find "Olympic training with Robert Dover", and my ride is on the second half of that video.

A barnmate in the stands sent me some video as well, and seeing how FANCY Callie was going made me think "why on earth is my reaction to feeling that much energy 'I'm going to die, have to shut that down quick', instead of "hell yes more of this"?? I mean, she's tight and nervous but I can also see the potential for passage in there, for power and uphill balance and upper level work and all she needs is for me to take what's there and channel it instead of trying to dumb it down.

New goals - learn to like that feeling, and learn to think positive and believe that I can ride it.

How cool, thanks for sharing, I think you both did great.

orono wrote:I couldn't find your rides with the link posted, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place..

I was only able to get it to work with Internet Explorer so if you were trying from another browser that may be the issue. With a different browser I could see the links for all the videos but none of them would actually load.

Thank you guys - I practiced more leg contact and controlling tempo with my post today, and I could feel Callie get happy right away, she started to sigh and motor and soften very quickly, even though my tempo wasn't that off where she wanted to be. And then when I had the tempo clearly in my head and body I was able to play with bigger not quicker more accurately. I also made sure I had the canter rhythm in my head before asking for canter, and that REALLY helped - our first canters tend to be unbalanced and scramble before we get it together. It was easier to keep her straight too, go figure.

As another example of my distorted perception of reality, I had it in my head that we hadn't gone around the full arena at any point. But that's just not even true, at all, so I don't know why I had that impression!

I watched Gwen's ride( but not the other one yet). I have new respect for Laura Graves. I really liked how she handled Callie.

Gwen wrote:As another example of my distorted perception of reality, I had it in my head that we hadn't gone around the full arena at any point. But that's just not even true, at all, so I don't know why I had that impression!

Exactly why video, even bad video, is so important. Not that the perspective from a camera is perfect, but it's usually quite a bit more accurate than what goes around in our heads!

Gwen - loved your lesson and thank you for sharing! It was very helpful for me because my pony has tension issues too and we are working on the same challenges. Lovely riding and great feedback from Laura. Your mare really responded very well and huge difference from start to end. Good riding!

Gwen, great update. I really thought you responded well to Laura and she was an effective clinician with you two.

The tip I was enjoying last night was to check on my left and right reins---to make sure they are equidistance from Emi's neck. I am used to thinking of putting her nose in the middle of her chest, but this is another effective and quick check to make sure I'm not doing anything funky in that effort!

I would also like to say that Callie (and you) show great potential! Callie is really an attractive mover and seems very capable.

Oh! I'm excited to watch this weekend! Super!

I have very similar "headspace issues"!

I'm guessing you have to pay to be a member now to watch these videos. (I don't show.) At least I got to watch one maybe the first lesson. Bummer as I wanted to go back and view again.