A new decoration for the barn - and I think my appetite is coming back

It's great seeing our friends so excited about my becoming an US citizen this year. True to form Glenda presented us with a beautiful American flag as now all eleven (!) of us are Americans.

JP installed the flag, and the boys reacted as expected. Remy and Chambord: "Cool, it flaps in the wind!", Teddy: "Hmm, I wonder if it's edible?", Saumur (eyes bugging out): "Do you see this STRANGE moving thing???"

It's been great riding almost everyday, without rush, and having fun with Remy. When the arena was so full the other day Judy reminded me (read: no whining, suck it up) that it's good preparation for the upcoming season next year. I flippantly replied "I thought you are going to ride him" - but then I came to realize I am actually getting my appetite up again.

When I'm stressed, I can hardly eat. It's gotten my better but I still remember a then-boyfriend saying during exam-time "your body is like a doghouse, a bone in every corner" - well, hence the "then-boyfriend"! But I digress... I don't eat when I am stressing over my riding either, and guess what: My appetite for food is good, and it is growing when I think of the coming competition season.

I'll keep the appetite (for food) in check, though ... no 'outgrowing' my Pikeurs!

Lighten up made a whole world of difference - and Muffin fills in the holes

Christmas Day we had the indoor arena to ourselves, so we used it to play a different version of indoor soccer:

Remy to Chambord: "I'll let you do the kick-off, it's Christmas!"

It was a lot of fun. I feel it's important for all of us to change the routine from time to time, and make things more interesting. Ever since I started to lighten up, riding Remy more forward, and putting more fun into our rides "Look, no reins!" (in the canter) he seems to trust me more. 

Case in point about the trust: The day after Christmas the arena was 'proppen-voll' (brimming with horses and their riders). Well, it seemed everyone had chosen exactly my lesson time to make up for time lost over the holidays; and neither Remy nor I do well with crowds. Actually, make that "did well" - because yesterday Remy filled in the holes for me.

I was a bit rattled in the beginning, our experiences in crowded warm-up arenas coming to mind. "S**t, there is no space!"; "Where to go?"; "Will he spook again if the other horses canter by too closely?" No worries: Remy (aka Muffin) set to work like a pro, ignoring the other horses, focusing just on me, strutting his stuff. I was sooo thrilled, what a good boy!! 

Another one of Glenda's 'Pearls of Wisdom' came to mind: "Don't worry about yourself, show off your horse proudly, show people how beautiful he his, and things will fall into place!" And sure enough, they did!

Remy, the poster-boy - and several "Voila!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This year Remy was the poster-boy for our Christmas card. The glint of mischief in his eye is pretty catching --

Last week Judy was away to train with Jan, and Maryal came for a day to teach, trying to keep us on the straight and narrow. No surprise regarding the work, just a different way of explaining certain things. For example, in the effort to comply with "more outside rein!" I actually blocked Remy by clamping down on the outside. So Maryal asked me to keep Remy more supple on the outside and bend him more around my inside leg - which got him honestly on the outside rein. Voila!

Both Remy and Saumur had an appointment with the chiropractor. Saumur had been worrying me for a while because he was salivating so much the saliva was accumulating in his feed tub after every meal. His teeth were recently checked, and Saumur seemed fine otherwise. Well, it turned out his jaw was out of alignment. Voila! after the adjustment: Normal salivation. Remy's shoulders needed adjustment, and voila! better canter departs.

I had a lovely Christmas lunch with my friend Glenda, one of the most educated horsewomen I know. (Not to mention she also was a JAG-lawyer, and is pretty stunning).  One of the things Glenda mentioned stuck with me: "Learn the rules like a professional, then you can break them like an artist."

So, now if I break the rules I have an excuse,  I'll just say "I am breaking them like an artist!" Voila!

Education sprinkled with (German) humor - a good way to spend the weekend

I had a very enjoyable and educational weekend auditing a clinic with Lilo Fore (FEI "I'" Judge). Saturday we made it a 'girls outing' (four women piled in a -for the occasion nicely cleaned- truck), armed with horse blankets, chairs, chocolate, and anything else 'frau' needs to sit a day in a cold arena. Today the others went to church and I, well, I went back for more dressage instruction.

BTW, Lilo was the judge I was warming up for this summer when Remy decided "I'm outta here" and I subsequently ended up in the fence. I have always enjoyed her comments on the score sheets, and found her scores to be 'right on'. But judging and teaching are 'zwei verschiedene paar Schuhe' (two different pairs of shoes), so I was very interested in auditing the clinic, also of course because Judy was riding BeBe.

Well, the woman not only has a wealth of knowledge, her somewhat dry (actually very German) sense of humor makes it fun. However, you better follow her instructions, otherwise -again, very German- the intensity increases a notch or two, and the voice becomes quite stern. Ah, who does that remind me of?? Nah, not me! :-)

Here are my notes on some of Lilo's points:

- "The aids are your horse's friends" (Remy says, yes, but these friends are sometimes rather annoying)
- "The horse needs to be quick off the leg." Lilo stressed that she is very adamant about it (Ugh, Remy says, exactly what Judy insists on even though I would rather take my sweet time.)
- No potty breaks for the horse: "You could lose a gold medal at the Olympics!". Case in point, Valegro's untimely bathroom break that could have cost him the gold medal if he wouldn't have had such a large lead on the other competitors (Remy says, I'll give up a gold medal for my potty break, and I would prefer to read the paper while I'm at it.)
- "Reins are too long" - It seems that is a recurrent theme everywhere. Too long reins make it difficult to communicate effectively (Remy says, keep the long reins, it gives me an excuse to pretend I don't know what you want.)
- "He needs to work to develop the right muscling, not just trot around looking pretty" (Remy says, I like looking pretty and not having to work much!)
- "The horse should not move like a crocodile, flat and close to the ground. He needs to be up and looking proud" (Remy says, give me something interesting to look at and up I'll be, not a problem, lady!)

- Half pass: Look straight and move straight, if the rider thinks of turning it's often too much
- Canter: Volume and lift in the canter stride "Airtime is the volume of the stride". "Land, but come  back up"
- "Always go back to balance"
- "You cannot collect what you don't have, he has to go there first (having impulsion), and he has to go to the bit"
- "Horses must learn to flex the poll laterally left and right"
- "You need to sit on the seat bones, not your pockets. The seat bones are between the thighs"
- "Legs go on and off, not front and back"
- "Separate upper body from hips, stretch up"
- "Haunches are the support system for the horses shoulders"
- "Most flexible part of the horse is the shoulders"

So, now that I have audited I can say I would really like to ride with her. My rule about riding with clinicians I haven't seen teach before is clear: Watch first, decide if it is a teaching style that works for me and Remy, and only then write the fat check. Remy says, uh, thanks, but I'm good, no need to shell out the big bucks -  I'd rather play with Chambord anyway!

"You did much better than expected - and I'm not blowing smoke up your a**!"

Well, now, if that isn’t a compliment! Really, I was very happy with that. I rather over-perform than under-deliver; and I know Judy didn’t mean it in a way that suggested she has low expectations when it comes to my riding – or that she tried to blow smoke up my a** (for those of you not familiar with the expression: It means giving a compliment when it’s not deserved. And for the trivia buffs: It literally was done by doctors in the 1800s, they blew nicotine smoke up drowning victims rectums as a means to resuscitate them).

OK, taking that picture out of my mind – back to riding! Our focus currently is on getting good walk/canter transitions, and keeping Remy balanced in the counter canter. But the key for me are really the canter departs. I got spoiled with Saumur, who goes into a canter on the slightest aid. Finally the departs got better when I moved my hips correctly. Within the canter we played with going forward and then coming back into a collected canter. It felt pretty darn awesome!

JP, always the astute observer, helpful critic, and purveyor of all things chocolate, hit the nail on the head: Remy and I are clicking because I’m more relaxed – which makes life much easier for all four of us!!

The horse is the best judge of a good rider, not the spectator. If the horse has a high opinion of the rider, he will let himself be guided, if not, he will resist (Nuno Oliveira).

Lucky for me, yesterday was a special day where the instructor, the spectator and the horse had a high opinion of the rider!