Leo and I joined Julia and Shiva and another lady for a xc lesson at An Otherwise Perfect Farm yesterday with Sally. It was a gorgeous day! Sunny and 70.
Leo was quite strong to start. I'm jumping him in the Myler now with a flash (instead of the jointed copper snaffle with the figure 8). Kristy thought he was more settled in the bridle with the Myler / flash combo versus the other, and so far the change has been working in stadium. This was my first try using it fir xc. Leo took off towards the second fence, left out a full stride and almost landed on the fence. It was one of those "use the neck as a fifth leg" moments. Sally sat us down and gave me a good lecture about that one. She said (1) Leo cannot gallop at 500 mpm+ at a novice fence; (2) I can never move forward to the fence unless I can see my distance; (3) If Leo is taking off with me, I need to sit him down with the reins. A stop is better than teaching a horse it is ok to run at a fence and leave long.
Good news is, we got better after that. It's still quite hard for me to judge my speed and Sally spent a lot of time giving me feedback on each fence: which had the right balance and gallop, which was at the upper limit of where Leo should be. I focused on looking for the shorter distance and jumping from the base of the fence. Leo would still decide to leave long at times, but overall he settled down in the gallop as we went and listened better. We did the ditches, trakehners, banks, water, a skinny table and a variety of other fences - some we had jumped before, some we hadn't. It was a good school!
Leo became more responsive to the bit as we went but I'm still not sure if the myler is the right one. Leo accelerates so fast that I have to put my whole body into a half halt to get him under control. It's a funny feeling, because he'll be in a relaxed rhythm and then you just feel him dig deep into the ground with his back legs and launch forward. Sally said not to make any changes for MCTA but I can try experimenting with a slow twist at home and see if Leo tolerates it.
I asked Sally what I should do over the next 2 weeks to prepare for MCTA. She said I don't need to school anymore xc. Just focus on riding a bunch of different combinations and related distances in stadium, and keep working on the flatwork. So that's the plan.
Sally Insights:
- You can't ride a horse forward that you can't slow down / hold
- Don't move forward to the fence unless you see your distance and know exactly where you are going (to takeoff and land)
- The last stride before a fence should be shorter than the others to produce the best jump
- Don't let your horse build in speed over an entire course. If one fence is bold, take a notch off the top at the next fence. A competition course ride should still be educational for the horse.
- You should have a better horse at the end of your xc round then at the beginning
- Don't be a hero. Ride smart.
Pictures of An Otherwise Perfect Farm's cross country fences....
 |
| Trakehners and open ditches |
 |
| Trakehners looking towards the double bank |
 |
| Sunken Road Complex |
 |
| Corners |
 |
Skinny combination
(the majority of the fences are training and below,
but there are a few upper level questions setup) |
Comments
Post a Comment