April Week 2 Review

Monday April 13
Sometime around the time it started hailing profusely during the day, I decided I didn't want to ride tonight.

Tuesday April 14
I actually had a quite nice ride. She was a little hot, and the pouring rain on the roof didn't help, but I took the energy and pushed it into some really good forward work. We did lots of transitions within the trot, forward then slower, bending, shoulders-in. When I warmed up I did serpentines and really focused on keeping her STRAIGHT when we changed direction. At first it was really hard - felt like she was bouncing between the reins and my legs, one direction, then the other! - but after a few times she understood, and stayed dead straight. It was a good exercise and I think it set a good tone for our ride.
With the extra power she had, I got a beautiful canter transition to the right: immediate and smooth. Not as much to the left, but I think I need to consider 'forward' a little more. I know that I tend to slow her down too much just because I can, but I think a more forward trot (as long as it's controlled) would be a good idea.

Wednesday April 15
Day off.

Thursday April 16
Another day off! Shame on me, I know. But they were turned out.

Friday April 17
Hacking day! They'd been stuck inside all day while most of the others were out, so Pandora was pretty much breathing fire by the time I took her out. Put them in the arena for a little while to let them burn off some steam, then tacked up and headed out for a lovely ride down the road. She behaved absolutely wonderfully. At one point, we were riding in the grass beside the road, and as we rode a ditch was on the left that had some water in it. We came to a ditch in front of us with water in it.

Uh oh!

I sat patiently, kept her nose pointing mostly forward, and let her make the decisions. I didn't harass her when she backed up; every now and then I'd suggest forward with a little squeeze, but didn't get insistent. We had a LOT of 'approach and retreat' going on, let me tell you! But each time, she got a little closer. Once we got close, she was adorable. She'd suddenly walk forward to the edge of the (shallow, with not very much water) ditch, gather her self, then lose her nerve and back a few steps. "I can do it I can do it.....oh no I can't do it!" I couldn't help but laugh. Eventually she gathered courage enough and took a flying leap over. I just grabbed mane, patted her on the other side, and we went on our merry little way.

Total distance was almost 1 mile. Just a short ride, but a very pleasant one, and she was more relaxed than the first time. Progress!

Saturday April 18
Day off.

Sunday April 19
Eventing clinic - flatwork, a little gridwork, AND cross-country. A mix of frustrating and insightful: the clinician was demanding but had good points. For flatwork, I need to keep my elbows more bent and my hands closer to me, while for jumping I need to sit up and bring them up more. She really got after me to keep Pandora moving FORWARD with the hind end, otherwise we're not going to build the fitness and balance we need.
XC was fun and I learned a lot. We were both tired but the clinician pushed us hard. I discovered that if I ride Pandora right, I can keep her up off her forehand and jump in balance even though we're both worn out. She was fantastic over the fences, didn't look or anything. We had one stop at the very very end -- I made my corner too tight and I was just so tired that I didn't ride it strong enough. When I set her up better, we went just fine.
Overall, a tough but really educational clinic. Biggest things: I need to sit back and wait for EVERY. SINGLE. FENCE. I cannot throw her away at the very last second or let her pull me down into looking at the fence too. It's hard, but I could feel it getting better.