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!"
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