The horse I have been waiting 32 years for...
Yesterday, I rode Leo in the Boyd Martin clinic at Pferde Farm in Bucks County. Last year I took Apollo and it was quite fun and challenging. I really enjoyed myself. I was a little nervous about taking Leo just because you never know what a clinician is going to throw at you and you never quite know if you're going to be ready for it. We also have not been jumping much due to the weather.
Well, Leo was great. Definitely a little wild to start and the exercises were challenging for him, but 3 times Boyd said Leo is capable of doing anything in the sport. At the end, he said he has the scope and enthusiasm to be an intermediate or advanced level horse. I was stunned to say the least.
The ring was set up like this:
Jumping started with us trotting the first vertical of the gymnastic at an angle, landing in canter, transitioning to trot and then using a bending line to jump the last vertical in the gymnastic at an angle. Boyd was looking for smoothness in the transition - riding the jumps as if it were a dressage test. Then he shortened the bending line and we jumped the first fence and the third fence of the gymnastic. From there we jumped the second and fourth fences of the gymnastic in canter and then canter around to jump the second and fourth fences going in the other direction.
The first time Leo and I did that, I couldn't make the final turn to the last fence. Our spot to the second to last fence was too bold and we ran right past the last fence. Boyd said it was "unlucky." hah! We did it again and I looked for a "quieter spot."
From there we trotted into the gymnastic and jumped all 4 fences and then halted at the end. Leo did this quite well the first time when the fences were very low. When they put the fence height up (maybe it was 2'6") the distances between fences got much more difficult and we were asked to canter into the line. Boyd put out placing poles in the 1 strides. Coming through the combination the first time, Leo almost bounced the last 1 stride, got a little tied up in the pole and had to be very quick with his feet to get out of the combination. From then on, we were only allowed to trot into the gymnastic.
We practiced the gymnastic several times until Leo fully understood the concept and he got much better in the final one-stride. From there we jumped down through the gymnastic then cantered around the ring to the oxer, jumped that at an angle, cantered around and jumped the oxer again in the opposite direction (also at an angle), made one canter circle, then jumped the forward 3-stride to 2 stride line. Boyd wanted a steady rhythm and control, so that we could practice adjusting the horse's stride as we moved from one combination to the other.
Well, Leo was quite strong and too forward coming around to the oxer. We jumped that a couple of times before Boyd let us do the final line. He wanted me to steady and quiet Leo's canter and not "over ride the fence." This turned out to be rather hard for us - no surprise there! I was circling to try and steady his canter, but Leo was looking at every fence trying to figure out what jump was next. He did the last line well, but I was talking a lot: "whoa".
We jumped the small corner in the middle of the ring, then the oxer, then another small vertical. Then Boyd has us come down the center line and jump a vertical on an angle, 2 strides, to the corner. Leo was brilliant here. We did this in both directions and Leo was just fabulous. He's really quite good with angled lines because he wants to be jumping - he's not looking for a run out, he's looking for a fence. We cantered another 2 stride angled line and then finished up by jumping through the grid one last time - the goal being to jump it as slowly as possible. Leo did it perfectly.
The gymnastic was interesting because the short distances and placing poles made Leo keep his head and neck up on landing. Over single, stand alone fences he jumps big and lands really low. I am constantly slipping my reins and still feel like he hits the bit because he dips too far. A short gymnastic helps him use his body is a different way which is probably really good for his education right now.
Boyd said whatever goals I have, this horse could do it. I told him I was really only aiming for prelim and he said that would be no problem for Leo - he has scope for much more. Jane and I picked one good horse!
Well, Leo was great. Definitely a little wild to start and the exercises were challenging for him, but 3 times Boyd said Leo is capable of doing anything in the sport. At the end, he said he has the scope and enthusiasm to be an intermediate or advanced level horse. I was stunned to say the least.
The ring was set up like this:
- 4-fence gymnastic down one side: all verticials, 1 stride, 2 stride, 1 stride. I didnt get the footage, but the distances were quite short
- Forward line down the other side: vertical, 3 strides, square oxer, 2 strides vertical
- In the middle of the ring, was a corner and a vertical placed at angles to each other
- All fences and lines could be ridden in both directions.
Jumping started with us trotting the first vertical of the gymnastic at an angle, landing in canter, transitioning to trot and then using a bending line to jump the last vertical in the gymnastic at an angle. Boyd was looking for smoothness in the transition - riding the jumps as if it were a dressage test. Then he shortened the bending line and we jumped the first fence and the third fence of the gymnastic. From there we jumped the second and fourth fences of the gymnastic in canter and then canter around to jump the second and fourth fences going in the other direction.
The first time Leo and I did that, I couldn't make the final turn to the last fence. Our spot to the second to last fence was too bold and we ran right past the last fence. Boyd said it was "unlucky." hah! We did it again and I looked for a "quieter spot."
From there we trotted into the gymnastic and jumped all 4 fences and then halted at the end. Leo did this quite well the first time when the fences were very low. When they put the fence height up (maybe it was 2'6") the distances between fences got much more difficult and we were asked to canter into the line. Boyd put out placing poles in the 1 strides. Coming through the combination the first time, Leo almost bounced the last 1 stride, got a little tied up in the pole and had to be very quick with his feet to get out of the combination. From then on, we were only allowed to trot into the gymnastic.
We practiced the gymnastic several times until Leo fully understood the concept and he got much better in the final one-stride. From there we jumped down through the gymnastic then cantered around the ring to the oxer, jumped that at an angle, cantered around and jumped the oxer again in the opposite direction (also at an angle), made one canter circle, then jumped the forward 3-stride to 2 stride line. Boyd wanted a steady rhythm and control, so that we could practice adjusting the horse's stride as we moved from one combination to the other.
Well, Leo was quite strong and too forward coming around to the oxer. We jumped that a couple of times before Boyd let us do the final line. He wanted me to steady and quiet Leo's canter and not "over ride the fence." This turned out to be rather hard for us - no surprise there! I was circling to try and steady his canter, but Leo was looking at every fence trying to figure out what jump was next. He did the last line well, but I was talking a lot: "whoa".
We jumped the small corner in the middle of the ring, then the oxer, then another small vertical. Then Boyd has us come down the center line and jump a vertical on an angle, 2 strides, to the corner. Leo was brilliant here. We did this in both directions and Leo was just fabulous. He's really quite good with angled lines because he wants to be jumping - he's not looking for a run out, he's looking for a fence. We cantered another 2 stride angled line and then finished up by jumping through the grid one last time - the goal being to jump it as slowly as possible. Leo did it perfectly.
The gymnastic was interesting because the short distances and placing poles made Leo keep his head and neck up on landing. Over single, stand alone fences he jumps big and lands really low. I am constantly slipping my reins and still feel like he hits the bit because he dips too far. A short gymnastic helps him use his body is a different way which is probably really good for his education right now.
Boyd said whatever goals I have, this horse could do it. I told him I was really only aiming for prelim and he said that would be no problem for Leo - he has scope for much more. Jane and I picked one good horse!
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