This last weekend there was a show just around the corner in Ikast again (where I took Countess and Double Up in October). This time is was a local show, not as big and important as the national rated show. 

I rode Double Up in an "M" class (they didn't offer any FEI classes) with the only goal to give him a good experience. He's always such a good boy, but he gets nervous and a little looky sometimes, and it's hurt our preformance. So this weekend I wanted it all to go smooth.

In the week leading up, our favorite Aussie dressage-cowboy, Tristan Tucker, came out to do some ground work with Double Up.  This "desensitization" work is a kind, thoughtful way to allow the horses to confront and change their response to their fears. After two sessions Double Up was much braver and quicker to move towards what made him nervous, rather than stopping and backing up as he is prone to do. (I'm just so thankful that his 18 hands never turns and high-tails it! Even when he is scared of something he is still a very good boy!)

So after a long wait in the trailer Sunday afternoon it was finally his turn to go. With hurricane winds (by Danish standards) howling outside, our big guy just rode through the test like a champ. He glanced at a few things but never changed his rhythm or forward motion. I was so proud of him!

I still made a few mistakes (stupid walk pirouettes! I hate you!) and you can see when he gets tired towards the end of the trot tour that his neck starts to fall down, so we lost some points. But he finished in a tie for third (of 21) with a score of 66.053%. There is still so much room for him to get better, I look forward to what he will be able to show!

Next weekend we are going up north and trying another Prix St George, so I hope to get some cowboy training in this week to keep our confidence up! 

It’s good to be home after another great trip to America. As usual it was busy, fun, and went by too fast.

The 7th Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium, presented by Hassler Dressage and Harmony Sporthorses, was, like every other year, amazing. This year the incredible Steffen Peters was the instructor along side Scott Hassler. A diverse group of horses and great riders provided learning opportunities for all of us, and Steffen offered clear instruction and insight. 

The clinics that I taught in Maryland and New England were very interesting and I hope educational for the riders. I had a wide range of students from FEI combinations to riders still trying to form partnerships with their mounts. There was also a range of horses, many lovely warmbloods but I also had the pleasure of working with a talented PMU product, a draft x pinto mare who could have been a warmblood, and I got to ride an amazing Lusitano stallion that just made me giddy! So fun!

Two themes that ran common throughout my lessons were the forward and bend, or rather an evident lack of both. These two training tools are so important in communicating with your horse, and so easily laid aside. 

These thoughts on training lead me to a longer rant, which I’ll save for another day. For now I’ll just hope that you aren’t afraid to kick on while you’re questioning what the next step is... 

Meanwhile here I am so happy to be riding "my horses" and getting ready for the next three weekends of showing. It's busy and exciting, and I'm hoping I'll figure out a few more things as these shows progress.

I've been working very hard at changing how I ride Countess, trying to keep the neck long and up. I still need to bring her deep sometimes to keep her from getting tired and stiff, but I am doing my best not to shorten the neck as I'm prone to doing. It's not perfect, but we'll see if it's not an improvement from our last outing.

While in the US I had a great, albeit quick, visit with Jimmy (Koford) and he kindly explained to me that my test riding sucked and made him mad when he watched the video of my Intermediare I test with Countess. So, I'm hoping I can get a pre-game pointer or two from him and ride better, smarter tests. No good throwing any extra points away, I still need every single one of 'em.

With that I say goodnight, and offer a weak promise to try to update more often. Sorry for sucking at it! :)

EIren