Congrats! That is awesome!!!
My youngster just had a click where she is feeling like a real dressage horse rather than flailing awkwardly. I think picture uploads still isn’t working, but I’m attempting to do so… she has come out of our recent rides dripping sweat, yet super happy and ready to go more. We’re working more and more collection plus trot mediums, and she is finding the energy outlets to be a blast.
i asked my coach for a two lessons back-to-back and she gave me a two hour timeslot. Switching days, and because it’s middle of the afternoon, i’ll probably have to take some weeks off next summer in the heat, but i’m thrilled! I have one horse that is going so well i don’t want to skip her a week, but i have other horses coming up and want to get them to her. So i can have my ‘good’ mare in a lesson every week and rotate the others.
Today is the third anniversary of me swinging my leg over my hot, spooky, and sensitive guy and becoming his rider for the first time.
It’s been a rough journey, but I realized that in 3 years we have gone from barely W/T capable in an indoor under totally calm conditions (he was green, I had some PTSD), with no halt, no ability to stand still for mounting, and extremely fussy in the bridle to showing, riding confidently outside in all gaits, nice lateral work, halting (and snoozing) in the ring, and picking me up from the mounting block.
We have lost coaches, moved barns, and I’ve had three surgeries in there as well.
I’d say that’s pretty amazing progress all the way around 
My guy is moving back close to home after being in training /rehab for 3 months while being 45 minutes away. The summer sure started out with bad luck and was a bit rough for a bit but he’s ending the summer on a great note!
I’m moving to a new barn as I can’t have them in a mud situation because of the stifle injury. But he will be 7 minutes from house and with a team of really awesome horse professionals.
I’m pretty excited! Send good vibes for smooth move please.
That’s awesome!!
So good to read about all of your accomplishments 
I am thrilled in the moment as well. Thanks to my trainer my mare advanced a lot. so my trainer finally agreed to enter her in the state championships which consist of 2 PSG tests and an I 1 test. All of these tests were a first time for her!! And she did very very good!! She got a 62 and a 63 in the PSG tests and a little below 60 in the I 1. Yes there is a lot of room for improvement but still I am extremly proud 
And maybe even better (at least for me) In the past I was never able to complete my silver medal because I wasn’t able to do the 3s and 4s changes with her. And 2 weeks ago I did 3s and 2s with her 
….
Ok I will never get my silver now but I could theoretically….
My mare wished to share her sheer joy. Hopefully this attempt works! She will not roll in mud, so is thrilled things have dried out some.
I took my dressage horse out and about on Labor Day, just trotting around through farm roads and fields for a few miles, nothing big or unusual. But, when we hit the last harvested grain field, my teenage self came out, and this old lady and her 3rd level TB let loose with a full on, wind in the hair, mane flying, gallop. Both pony and I were grinning ear-to-ear as we sauntered home.
There’s that current tik tok trend of horses running flat out to an Alan Jackson song… I don’t have the guts to do it but it looks fun!
We had another great lesson. Slowly, slowly, but it’s all coming together. I’m determined to hit a show ring next year.
me too! (on both things you said)
Just an event rider here but my boy has been getting so much stronger lately. He’s still green and working on strength but he has been developing an amazing trot and his lateral work has been coming along so well. It has been a pleasure to ride him lately and I’m so excited about what is to come.
Pssssh! Don’t minimize with “I’m just an event rider”! We know that translates to bravery and an innate ability (and maybe desire) to ride forward. And that you have to be able to do dressage AND two types of jumping. Not bad!
I had one of the best rides I’ve ever had on my horse today. I got him 12 years ago as a “resale project” (hahahahaha) and today I schooled through most of the canter work from I-1. Plus some baby piaffe and I got 3 one tempis on purpose! Here’s a pic from my last lesson a couple of weeks ago – both his and my first real attempt at piaffe. I don’t know how we ended up here but I’m okay with it lol.
We continue along - last weeks lesson was focused on the canter. I adore this trainer. I don’t know if anyone would remember but I once posted asking if I should go with the super low level kids instructor who has a personal affinity for dressage or the more professional dressage barn. I chose the former and am so glad I did. She is the world’s best kept secret around here. I can ask any question and she knows the answer. She also knows exactly what to do for everything my old roping horse throws at me. But she’s so humble.
How awesome. What a wonderful feeling and accomplishment!!
My post today is partly sheer joy and partly frustration which I think is probably not even that warranted but I’m not sure.
I just moved my 4 year old out of training / rehab back closer to home- new barn and new trainers.
Here is the joyful parts: He came out of training looking much stronger after starting the summer off with a minor stifle injury. While we are not done with the rehab, It sure looks like we are on the right track! The purpose of him going to training was pretty simple I wanted him to have more exposure. Obviously his workload was pretty light but in the last month of training she was able to take him on some light trail rides and trailered him to a few other properties for a light school. This definitely showed because he walked off the trailer at the new barn like an old pro. Settled right in.
We are working with two trainers at the new barn. One is an Eventer. For the month of September she is riding him twice a week and then I have a lesson with her once a week. In addition to that we are working with a dressage trainer who is just debuting at Grand Prix but is also extremely great with young horses. For now I am just doing a lesson once a week with her.
I was able to watch the Eventer to the first ride And I was so impressed at how my 4-year-old did in a very busy ring which could have been very spooky but he really held it together and tried hard for her. She is a very soft and quiet rider and very big on praising and building confidence for the young horse.
Then I was able to have a great dressage lesson with the dressage trainer. I have known about this trainer for a while but this was my first time working with her and she was lovely. I felt she had high standards and definitely worked on us enough to get our money’s worth but was really warm and friendly. I immediately felt comfortable with her and I also felt the same on my 4-year-old! Just a really nice lesson. With improvement and just left feeling very happy.
Now for the part that is kind of joyful and kind of frustrated although I think maybe I’m being ridiculous.
I had my first lesson with the Eventer. She definitely pushed me a little bit in a different way than the dressage trainer did. Honestly she gave the type of lesson I’ve had with other eventers so I shouldn’t be surprised. I left feeling a bit frazzled and frustrated but I don’t know if it’s warranted. I think part of it is because I messed up the lesson time so I had to scramble to get ready. I was super impressed that my young horse still handled that well and was a cool cucumber despite my rushing and just hopping on. She wanted us to work on the spooky side of the ring and keep his attention. I felt I did this really well and that my horse also did very well. And she worked on getting a little bit more of a connection which I think we also did good. Then we worked on going through poles, which the setup was a little spooky to him at first so he got a little sucked behind my leg but by the end he was going fairly happily through them and I believe we did that well. Then she wanted me to canter and get up into two point. I’m not really sure why but this threw me through a loop. At first I thought she was instructing me to go through the poles at the canter which I did not feel ready for it all. Instead what she wanted was us to go through the poles at the trot and then immediately ask for the canter. I understand why she wanted me to do this but my dressage rider brain did not like this. I’m the type that wants to prepare prepare prepare. Lol. She also wanted me to get up into my two point and my dressage saddle and I just felt really awkward and slightly worried that I might upset my horse.
So the first canter transition was a bit yucky. The second and third one we’re better although not great. But we did it and he was a good boy so we ended there. So I’m not sure why I left feeling the way I did. I think I didn’t like rushing into my lesson and then I felt a little vulnerable towards the end of the lesson with someone I didn’t know. It honestly I just felt embarrassed that that first kind of transition was yucky.
So to recap I think my horse is an amazing boy and although I’m so far from perfect I think overall I’ve done a decent job this past week. I need to try and let the little mistakes go. I didn’t ride all summer so of course I’m not at my best but I’m not at my worst either.
You sound brave, lunabear, taking all these lessons with new trainers. While the older I get so many things are like water off a ducks back to me, I still get really, really nervous riding in front of a new coach/trainer. Once I get going I’m fine, but the lead up is not so fun.
We had another great lesson today. He’s getting stronger. He’ll never be fabulous - he is a mid-teens ex roping QH, but he tries tries tries so hard. My daughter also has a lesson on him weekly and I love watching them together - he takes excellent care of her. So it almost feels like I’m putting all this work in to him for her a few years down the line when I’m ready to move on to a new horse (daughter is only 9).
We did more canter work, and stretchy trot. He felt good, and when you get those few steps that you just KNOW are correct and connected, what a high.
I just read through this thread again - realized there were posts I had missed. So I will have filled your notifications with random likes from months ago 
Back in the early spring I said I hoped to get to a show. And we did! It wasn’t a dressage show - they all stayed virtual this year. But we found a local saddle club show and at the last minute my daughter said she didn’t want to show. Luckily my gear was in the trailer so I plunked down my $10 and rode in two open classes. We were even in the ribbons (which isn’t saying much, it was a tiny local show).
Did that ever light the fire. I’m showing again this weekend and on the hunt for winter schooling shows. The poor Boeckmann won’t know what hit it!
I’ve always suffered with “performance anxiety.” It’s something I’ve worked hard on over the years but yes, riding with someone new can definitely get the nerves going!
Your QH sounds like a gem by the way. Sounds like a fun partner
A peaceful moment after a “JJ bad” ride. She has her own classification of rides because even her version of bad is a good, fun ride. She was sure there were monsters in the desert today, so we ended up essentially galloping a BN cross country course for distance (we may have gone longer than one) and speed as I pushed her toward the scariness and she tried to flee it. But even with that, it was pretty peaceful and we just kept going until she settled down (about a mile and a half, so longer than the max BN distance, but at more like 10-11 mph, so slightly slower than BN), then we got some lovely, balanced, uphill canter on her weaker lead after she settled.
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