He now has a spring in his step - and how's that for German quality?

 Remy has been going really well lately (knock on wood!), and he is developing a very nice spring in his step (suspension) in the trot. He sometimes feels like a completely different horse -in a good way! So much so that I jokingly asked Vanessa yesterday "who is this and what happened to my horse??". Remy is happy and very proud of himself. While I still sometimes feel like the kid that has to repeat a class or two (common in the German school system, no 'socially passed' happening there) I am happy that we finally seem to find our groove. Jenn, who's always supportive and a great sounding board, reminded me that Morgans were bred for groundcover, they had to be smooth and efficient in order to make good cavalry mounts. 'Springy steps' do not lead to accuracy in battle, I guess.  

So it's neat to feel the bounce in the trot, all the while he is going freely forward. This weekend, though, we are not going forward. We are under a heat advisory and it's so miserably hot and humid that riding has been suspended. Remy lounges with his friends under the fan in the run in shed, snacking on hay, or sauntering a bit around the pastures before coming back into the shade. Not a bad gig, he says. 

Yesterday, I carried a change of "clothes on ice" in a cooler to my appointments to help me stay cool. 

"Shirt on ice"

Luckily most barns have fans in front of the stalls, but some only have them in the aisles, and they don't help much when working with a horse in a stall. Tomorrow I'll start bright and early to beat the heat. 

While cleaning my every day Koenigs riding boots I happened to glance at the stamp "Made in West-Germany". A quick calculation revealed that these boots pre-date 1990 (Germany's reunification was in 1990). The are from the pre-zipper era, no muss no fuss. Talk about German quality! They are also a reminder of my dad - the boots were a gift from my parents during their first visit to the US. These boots can fall apart and they will still be with me. 

I wear them several times a week, on and off the horse. Remy and I are so efficient: He travels to our lessons wearing his saddle on the trailer, and I drive in my riding boots. 

The "West" tells that they were made in or before 1990

Still looking great - after all these years of almost daily wear

A confidence restoring weekend - and "Bummer - no need for Guinness!"

 Roz and Jenn were right on: Remy and I enjoyed the clinic with Bill McMullin. We learned a lot, and had our challenges, but it was always in a very positive manner. First assessment was the warm up. I had opted for the double bridle, as it keeps Remy's attention a bit better and he has less of a tendency to blow me off. Bill commented on how straight Remy was in all three gaits and how well he is taking the big (nice, even contact, closed lips). From there we went to lots of suppling exercises, such as three steps travers, three steps shoulder in, etc. in preparation for the half pass. Loved the tips of thinking shoulder fore in the halt, and also rein back, in order to keep Remy straight. 

Second day I was a bit worried as we had to warm up in the arena with a stallion. Remy can get quite worked up if there is a "manly man" around. This one was the cutest guy ever, a Welsh breeding stallion expertly ridden by a dressage professional. This time Remy looked but didn't loose his cool. We focused on canter half-pass to counter canter. That definitely is our week spot, as I let Remy "die" in the counter canter (remembering some bucks he can throw in when he thinks that's not how it should be done). It didn't help that there was a window at the short side with lots of interesting things going on outside - thought Remy. "Hey, what's going on? Who's that horse? Just let me have a look!" And boom, we lost it. Guess we know our homework! 

I did hold my breath a bit when I saw Bill reaching for a longe whip to tap Remy's hind leg for better crossing in the half-pass. No worries, he was very kind a patient, and Remy had no issues with that approach. 

It definitely was a bonus to have the view of the judge interwoven with the exercises. For example, Bill asked not only to the rider but also the audience about the training scale, he explained the difference between turns on the haunches in Third Level versus pirouettes in Forth Level. 

This weekend restored my faith in clinics. After each ride both of us were happy and relaxed, not completely exhausted and dejected (me more than Remy). However, Remy had a serious gripe afterwards "Bummer - no need for Guinness!" Sorry, buddy, I didn't make it to the liquor store, and you really didn't need it...here, have a banana instead 😋

It was super nice to have Jenn as 'groom' (more precisely Moral Support Person) on Saturday. JP and Ziggy did the Sunday 'duty'. Ziggy would have preferred to chase the birds, but having the auditors lavish attention on him came a close second - both he and JP lapped it up 😀

Jenn is the Para-Dressage coach at TRI, and she and I are on the same page when it comes to riding and training (and it doesn't hurt our relationship that she loves Morgans!). Best compliment I got in a long time: "Really nice to see kind, correct riding. Well done!"

"It's like boiling water" - and yay, I got the shirt!

My apologies to the friend that checks my blogs to see how I'm doing... I haven't written in a while. Busy times, all good, and often too tired to type. Catching up now, and I promise to get back into the swing of things, Ingrid!

Remy and I have had our ups and downs in our lessons, nothing dramatic, just some days are better than others. Do I wish we were further along? You bet! But then I'm honest with myself and admit that I'm not a 'five or six-days-a week dressage' person - and neither is Remy's horsey mind. And sometimes I'm just plain tired from 'wrestling' horses that can be up to 18 hands, weighing close to 1,800 pounds. 

When I struggled with getting Remy in front of my leg quickly enough. Vanessa came up with the analogy that "it's like boiling water - you can set the flame low and wait a long time, or put it on high right away". We are still catching up with her pace. 

Our next challenge will be a dressage clinic this weekend with Bill McMullin, a USDF judge and certified instructor. Crossing my fingers and hoping for a good experience (Remy probably crosses his hooves also), as we both are still reeling for our last experience. Usually I don't sign up with someone I haven't audited first, but in this case I do trust Roz, and Jenn, who both gave Bill the thumbs up. 

Today I was sporting a very cool IBKUL shirt that I almost ripped away from the company's owner when he presented the collection at the local tack store. I WANTED the shirt - however, it was not for sale! Luckily, the owner's wife is a happy client - and voila: Trading bodywork for sample shirt :-) 

"Anything in that pocket for me??"

Whatever happens - we are dressed to rock and roll!