This past weekend, March 6-8 was Taz's debut at a Recognized Horse Trial and I couldn't be more pleased with him. I'd taken him to a few local 3 phases last year for Elementary level stuff, and while he tried his best, he was not very confident to canter round the cross country track and jump everything in his path. AAHHH what a difference time and training makes! He was a superstar in every way: from a gentleman in the warm-up . .careful, bold, obedient, focussed . . to the start box . ."let's do it!" to the way to pricked his ears and locked on the every joint I pointed him at. He peeked only at the Chevron (we don't see many up north . .note to Wally: build one!) and balked a tad at the water, which came up very fast after a fence and a tight turn . .but through it he went and on the next obstacle. While he was winded after 1800 meters, he still had plenty left in the tank. He was as pleased as I was. The only slight technical difficulty was mine . . .rider error!! After jumping fence 14 I realized while cantering toward home, that hey! there's a fence 15 out here somewhere! Not wanting to miss it, I called out the nearby spectators . ."where's jump 15??" and they pointed. . bless their hearts. . . .so errrt . .I turn , see the coop . . .slice it like a pizza pie and cross the finish line. woo hoo. Only to hear my name on the PA : "Cori Nichols please return to the XC Finish Line" where I was met by a very friendly TD, who reminded me that "Outside Assistance" is forbidden and grounds for elimination. OUCH! In my moment, I forgot completely! So I asked if I might still be able to Show Jump the next day, since it was the pony's first outting, and Yes, she said, after clearing it with the PTB. So: note to self: walk the course as many times as possible, be sure you can ride in the dark!
Next day was Stadium: Taz was super . . .cantered around in a lovely balance, within the time allowed, and didn't peak at a thing. Moved up when asked, steadied when asked . .fluid and calm and keen. Video shot shows great action with his knees up to his eyebals over the oxers, but literally just sort of stepped over the verticals . . need some gymnastic work to sharpen up his front end. Next stop: one more BN event before moving up to Novice. Treated him to a day of lounging in the pasture today and a reflocked saddle from the ENGLISH SADDLER who's down here for the winter from Providence.
Monday, March 9, 2009
HITS Level 1 Jumpers: What a Way to Spend a Wednesday!
As I've blogged about already . .I'm shipping over to HITS for lessons with eventer Robin Walker (Level IV USEA). He competes his horses in the jumper classes there between events and cross country outtings, so why not join in the fun?
HITS offers Level 1-6 jumpers (start at 3' and height and spreads increase by 3 and 6" respectively.) These weeks, HITS offers a Level 1 at 8 am on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, so last week we got in on the action. Unfortunately it was one of those chilly nights here, and there was a coating of ice on the trailer ramp at 5 in the morning when I loaded and left . . tough to see in the "daylight" at that hour . . note to self: leave ramp up over night!
I arrived at Robin's barn by 7 . .we hopped in the Mule and got my entries set (HITS has waived any post entry fees to encourage participants . .still looked pretty bust to me) . . .took my Add Slip to the gate-guy ("don't piss 'em off" said Robin), and we quickly walked the course before heading back to get the horses. 10 fences, 2 combinations: both with distances very similar to the SJ round at events. These courses, however, were a bit tougher than what you'd find at a Horse Trial. For instance, first fence is not a ramped oxer headed toward the ingate, but rather, a vertical with no ground rail pointed right at the far corner of the ring:)) The oxers are all square . .height 3' with 3'6" spreads. All doable for the pony, but made more interesting by the course design. . . coupla roll backs, broken lines, etc. The mare was just super . . jumped out of her skin and really didn't have a peak at anything except for all the mini-bikes zooming around the grounds! This week is the final week for HITS Ocala so we'll be headed back likely Thursday morning. HITS Saugerties starts in May and I do believe I'm hooked.
HITS offers Level 1-6 jumpers (start at 3' and height and spreads increase by 3 and 6" respectively.) These weeks, HITS offers a Level 1 at 8 am on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, so last week we got in on the action. Unfortunately it was one of those chilly nights here, and there was a coating of ice on the trailer ramp at 5 in the morning when I loaded and left . . tough to see in the "daylight" at that hour . . note to self: leave ramp up over night!
I arrived at Robin's barn by 7 . .we hopped in the Mule and got my entries set (HITS has waived any post entry fees to encourage participants . .still looked pretty bust to me) . . .took my Add Slip to the gate-guy ("don't piss 'em off" said Robin), and we quickly walked the course before heading back to get the horses. 10 fences, 2 combinations: both with distances very similar to the SJ round at events. These courses, however, were a bit tougher than what you'd find at a Horse Trial. For instance, first fence is not a ramped oxer headed toward the ingate, but rather, a vertical with no ground rail pointed right at the far corner of the ring:)) The oxers are all square . .height 3' with 3'6" spreads. All doable for the pony, but made more interesting by the course design. . . coupla roll backs, broken lines, etc. The mare was just super . . jumped out of her skin and really didn't have a peak at anything except for all the mini-bikes zooming around the grounds! This week is the final week for HITS Ocala so we'll be headed back likely Thursday morning. HITS Saugerties starts in May and I do believe I'm hooked.
Time's Flying! March 9, 2009
Woosh, the winter is zooming by. Weather now consistently in the 80s and still barely a fly in sight. The past few weeks have been exciting.
I'll pick up where I left off:
Jimmy Wofford Clinic: Jimmy is a fantastic guy with a great manner . . generous with his information and is happy to offer his explanation as to Why, in addition to How. He ran his Stadium Jumping lesson in a format which included Warm-Up, Ramp-Up, Own-It, New Ideas, Put it Together . . . He emphasized cantering in balance and used circling before and after each fence as a way to school both horse and rider to "get there" before moving on. Toward the end of the lesson the jumps were lowered to work turns and lead changes, giving horses and riders a little bit less to chew in order to concentrate on other specifics. He referenced his book Training of the Three Day Event Horse and Rider several times, which, in the meantime I have read, and find excellent. During the clinic Jimmy made a strong point about horses that stop at fences: "they must be punished" . . explaining that we must teach our horses that they must jump the fence no matter how little we help them or how wrong we get them in. They must not be dependent upon the perfect ride to get from one side to the other. Now, surely we riders must strive to make as few mistakes as possible, and we need continue our best efforts to do this, but our horses have a responsibility to do their part!
The cross country phase the following day started with galloping practice . . .balanced position with a feel for pace . . .mpm . . know what each gear feels like! He explained his view on jumping from a balanced gallop . .. a slight departure from the ICP approach, which emphasizes a "rebalancing zone" and a bigger change in posture. There were several riders in our group who struggled with the "gallop to the jump and let it come up" method . .the author included. By the end of the clinic, tho , I could see and feel the upshot of this approach, but I would ride only certain fences in this fashion (brush and other natural objects, with ground lines and such. . . )there are too many fences on modern day courses that need be ridden differently I think. . .coffins, corners, skinnies, etc. We also worked thru water, in a sunken road and up and down the mound . .and again, he was very generous with his time, attention, information and explanation. Some of his commentaries and course walks can be found on YouTube if anyone out there is interested. I rode Blu Jay in this clinic and she was aptly called "Pocket Rocket" throughout. Next stop: Training!?
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