This day we went straight out to the cross country course. Koda's feet had started to chip rather badly on the harder ground, plus he was in need of a trim. The evening before one of the organizer's husbands dropped by and rounded him off. No more chipping, but the trim was a tad short, making Koda sensitive on the harder ground (so I thought). We trotted him out in the morning to see how he was. He trotted out fine on the hard packed road, so we continued. Koda was happy going forward over fences, through the water, etc. We took it easy in the hard pack areas, and finished off with some pace work on the track.
This day we FINALLY got all our sh!t together. Well, more like I got myself together. We started over some basic fences, and the only one we had a stop at was the coop where I didn't have my leg on properly. I was so focused on the line, that I completely forgot what was happening below the waist! Oh, embarassment...
Either way, we did our first coop, bank up, and drop that day along with got to canter along the track (woot!). It took me a bit to ride him in right to the bank up, but we got it in the end, and he had NO hesitation about the drop, just launched off of it. Love you Koda!
Enjoy the shots!
Warm-up over the log fence with an immediate down slope.
Our first mini 'course'
Over the log then through the water
Over the log then through the water
Over the coop, then roll back to the water
Back through the water to the log going out
First attempt at the drop, no problem!
After schooling the bank, we got it figured out.
Canter around the track? Don't mind if I do!
Hooray pictures!! Those are some excellent shots. Those are some not-insignificantly sized jumps you guys went over! My heart would go pitter pat at the coop and the log by the water at least the first time through for sure. Probably after that, too. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am a random stranger on the internet, so please feel free to completely ignore me, but you would look 100% better if you shortened your stirrups like two holes and your reins at least six inches--get you arms in front of your body and your butt BACK in the saddle. It would give you a stronger base of support and more flexibility in your arms, which would help balance Koda and encourage him to stretch. ;-) All that no-stirrup and two point work would help solidify that position.
Again, stranger on the internet. I'm not a pro and don't have insurance. ;-)
Koda looks awesome! He is shiny and in good weight. He has a super cute front end over fences and looks like a very safe and willing partner. What a find! When he needs warmer weather and less bugs, you can send him to me. :)
No worries about offending, it's actually helpful to get feedback since I can't get it anywhere else right now. It's tough when you don't have a place to ride with mirrors, or with instructors, or photos that often to see your own form. I've been riding with essentially nothing for a year! Looking at these shots clearly shows my stirrups are much too long. It's the same with the reins. One of the things my instructor was drilling into me last year before the move was "longer arms, shorter reins, FEEL the weight of the rein you're using!!!".
ReplyDeleteOne good exercise that we did (and I should do again) is do a single stride made of x-rails, and when going over the jumps, touch my toe. A very good clinician had me doing that, and it got my bum back where it should be. It's a little strange at first, but it helped me out big time.
That does sound like a cool exercise! I'm not sure if I'm brave enough for it, but it would definitely get the point across.
ReplyDeleteIt is so, so hard to try and ride on your own. I did it for a year and didn't even notice the things i'd lost until someone came and took pictures of me. I live in a pretty backwater place for riding, but I still have way more opportunities than you do, it sounds like. Hang in there! It can be done,