Sunday, July 3, 2011

Riley and I: So proud of my boy

Well, it ain't perfect and bugs were awful, but this footage makes me grin. Riley is a good egg. The funky occasional "hop" when he goes to the right seems to go away when I get him straight and soften my aids (I tend to "force" things). He didn't do this with my trainer -- folks are telling me it's a throughness issue. It is getting better I think, as I get a bit more finessed about using my seat and when I'm more disciplines about tightening up more core.

I think Ri looks very cooperative and attentive, and he even looks reasonably happy even though the flies were HORRIBLE. I"m enjoying every ride...


6 comments:

  1. JeanJuly 3, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    Good going. A few little bits of unsteadiness here and there, but he looks nicely forward, and very happy, I agree. I think you allow him a more "open" frame than your trainer which is much more appropriate for his level of training and it keeps him from going behind the vertical. Well done.

    Your hands are a little "piano." If you could turn your thumbs up, that will steady your wrist a little more to give Riley and even better sense of contact.

    You have to be pleased looking at the videos. He is a lovely boy and you are doing an excellent, sensitive job of riding him.

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  2. Stacey Kimmel-SmithJuly 3, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    Thanks Jean! I'm bothered by both my hand position and the constant slipping of my reins so that my hands end up behind the pommel. The other big to-do item is to lift my chest so that my midsection does not collapse when I rise the trot. But Riley seems willing to wait while I straighten it all out :-)

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  3. ValJuly 3, 2011 at 11:16 PM

    I love the way you are riding him! He is really forward and just springing along. I like how you remain steady and consistent even when he tosses his head. And he does look really happy, despite the flies. I like his frame and open throatlatch area very much. Riley is just one gorgeous horse and you are riding him beautifully!

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  4. JeanJuly 4, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    Getting your arm to "give" without losing the rein is tricky. It's a matter of developing a flexibility in your arm/elbow without surrendering your shoulders too. You can experiment when you are sitting in a chair, just pretending you have the reins in your hands.

    I keep hearing my trainers's voices in my head when I ride and I add my own.

    "Thumbs up."
    "Hips towards your hand."
    "One two, one two.(For a steady rhythm)
    "Lift your core."
    "Elbows at your hips."
    "Forward, forward."
    "Look up."

    You need an internal "mantra" of your own, so having those videos is a treasure. You can see one or two things you need to work on--and only pick one or two at first--and just focus on them. In short order you will fix them and then can go on to refine things even more. If you try to gain perfection all at once you will just frustrate yourself.

    For a young horse, Riley has a super attitude. You can see how hard he tries to please.

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  5. RiderWriterJuly 5, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    He sure looks like a "big boy" now - no more gangly youth! :-) It's been really interesting to see him develop, and I'm glad we get to tag along. As I have said many times I do not ride dressage, so it's hard to know exactly what's going/what you're trying to do, but I know what a happy horse looks like and that would be your Ri. Keep up the good work!

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  6. RiderWriterJuly 5, 2011 at 11:48 AM

    Very nice! He sure looks like a "big boy" now - no more gangly youth. It's been really interesting to see him develop, and I'm glad that we all get to tag along. As I have said many times, I'm not a dressage rider, but I do know what a happy horse looks like and that's your Ri. Keep up the good work!

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