Congrats!! Beautiful picture 
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It’s only a short video and not perfect. But I am kind of thrilled. I bred this horse and showed her up to 4th level. And then I got stuck… 
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But then I found this trainer who is perfect for me. She showed her up to I1 this year and my mare now only needs the ones to move up…. She rides her usually 2 to 3 times per week and I do the rest…
so excited about everything so far
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Very exciting!!
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She looks super Manni!
Mine is nowhere near as exciting. But the little firecracker Friesian mare I’ve been riding had a major breakthrough in a lesson yesterday.
She really struggles to stretch because of her conformation and her “why stretch when I have SO much to look at” when we’re out and about. Yesterday in my off property lesson we have relaxed and stretching from the moment we started. I could trot on a loose rein without fear of suddenly ending up on the other side of the property.
It’s finally all coming together. Just as her owner decides to put her back in foal after her last show for the year 
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Not the best quality photo but I’m so proud of my baby boy. He’s really gaining strength all the time! Not perfect by any means but he’s 4 years old with an amateur rider. I’ve been having physical issues (tingling/numbness in my right seat bone area) so my position seems to be struggling but I’m hoping I can figure that out. He still carries me around happily 
We also did our first dressage show, just a casual schooling show at Intro at our home barn. But came away with a 68% which I was happy with. Most of all, my baby horse was confident and relaxed. 
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Standardbreds can learn to trot and do dressage.
Have you ridden a horse already trained for dressage. It will help your horses a lot if you learn on a school master first.
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My baby is also gong super well and we’ve recently worked through a few little niggling issues, and my confidence on her has increased enough that we are cantering up hills on the property and even ventured outside the gates last weekend! Here she is learning about poles (I’m hopeful she can turn a hand to a bit of jumping as well as dressage).
And of course my old girl, who after a 3rd attempt at retirement has said no thank you, she’s looking and feeling a million bucks so…back in nearly full work, she’s going great and if we can just nail the transitions a bit better I’ll be eating my words about never showing her again. I’m thrilled to have my partner back.
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Like i said, that 4yr old Standardbred of mine will be trained using my coach’s classical dressage methods, but he is not destined to be a dressage competition horse. Or even a weekend hack, but ill be giving him a riding brush-up every few months probably. Eventually he will be driving. That’s his lot in life.
I just feel that even as a Driving horse, he should be able to be ridden. All of my Morgans that i drove also were schooled as riding horses…though all three of them had the world’s worst trots (Park harness). And this guy’s lateral gait is not that fun either! lol.
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Hopefully the image works. My first ride on my older girl since spring last year. Riding her is pure joy, we just have a mind meld. My trainer has been riding her to rehab so he can feel what’s going on with her, and she got SO excited when I got on, my whole ride was asking her not to try so hard and telling her she was wonderful as she was. I may have teared up.
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Riding Ellie was good for me to remember how easy it can be. I’ve been carrying that over into my rides on JJ. Today we were in and out of lateral work and it was just easy. On the open side with the sun in my eyes so I couldn’t see we even managed steady angle and a straight line. She and I were both happy I didn’t catch her ears, but this was from her back.
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I think this sums up how I’m feeling about having my older girl back too! In many respects she is actually the harder ride (the youngster is easy, just early on in her education) but she is well educated and as long as I get my stuff together, she goes beautifully, and after 12.5 years together, we just KNOW each other. It’s just nice while working with an unbalanced baby, to still have a horse who knows how to carry themselves, and because she needs such imperceptible aids, it helps me to notice if I’m inadvertently doing TOO much when asking the baby.
On the flipside, without me even realising it, riding the baby fixed a busy hands issue I’ve had for years.
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I’ve been trying to learn dressage on my “all rounder” (an Irish Sport Horse who was bred to be a jumper), and I’m having SO much fun! I think he’s starting to have fun, too. Just the other day, a beautiful fall day, we were practicing a first level test, and when I went across the arena for a trot extension, my trainer said “that should be your working trot!” and a lightbulb went off. I took it up a notch, and my horse said “sure, mom!” Suddenly, we had more crossover in our leg yields, and while we didn’t have as much extension as I might like, what we had was extension, not speeding up. It was glorious. I had to spend a week away, and was worried that feeling might be a “fluke,” but I got back on yesterday and it was there again. I’m so happy!
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My pure joy happened on Thanksgiving. Big red horse, who broke my back 3 years ago, was feeling very full of himself that day, and even though I did take the time to lunge him first, I suspected some shenanigans were possible. For once, I listened to myself and did not take him out to the farm field but made him work in the arena instead. Out of the blue, he suddenly decided the leaves by the side of the arena were horse eating monsters and exploded into massive bucking. I mean rodeo quality bucking, trying to get his head between his knees and grunting with every leap. So where’s the pure joy? This beat up old broad never lost her seat, did not come flying off, and was able to not only ride the first set out but was able to shut down the second attempt! I ROCK!
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That is fantastic! My oldest is a bucker, and I never had a desire to develop the ability to stay on and stop that stuff, but it became a necessary life skill. In the end, it improved my seat for riding overall, so not wasted time!
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Took my pretty mare back to riding lesson yesterday for the first time since her hoof was impaled. She was calm and responsive and seemed genuinely happy to be back at-it :).
Also, my 4yo Standardbred was much improved, we had to take a week off the prior week due to my injured arm…i think that the time-off was good for him. I used a lozenge Oring happy mouth which seemed to be much better for him than the full cheek single break snaffle. I think we are finally getting somewhere.
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My pure joy is teaching my 7 yr old horse flying changes. I’m an amateur and had to cut back on lessons this year, but have been making the best of some great clinics. This took a good six months and I despaired of ever getting it, but we made some real progress on our collection and suppleness in canter lately. Then last week, it was like a light switch went in her head and she just “gets” it now - clean, reliable changes on my aids, both ways. I had to mix it up yesterday because she’s so into it she now wants to offer a change with every little seat shift I make.
I’ve never taught a horse changes on my own before and I’m psyched as hell. So happy we don’t have to show Second again this year. 
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We’re still plugging away. Trot work has improved immensely, now working on the canter. Let’s just say I get in his way more often than not.
I’m lessoning 2x a week, once is no stirrup work to try to improve my seat. Then hopefully hauling out one more time to keep him going 3x a week.
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Just home from my lesson… it is so all coming together. I can sit his trot down the long side when he decides to pop it into 3rd gear. Of course, he’s a QH so I know that’s not a big deal, but it is huge for me. No stirrups, sitting his long trot and feeling in control (but relaxed!) doing it.
He’s the best horse I ever could have asked for when I decided to get back in to this nonsense.
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This may sound ridiculous, but I finally get to nitpick. It’s practically the best thing I’ve ever heard, mostly because now I know I’m doing the main thing right. It’s no longer “watch for X so you get there in time”, it’s “keep your legs on him slightly more in the halt so he will halt a little straighter”. My trainer jokes that I picked the right discipline without even knowing it, mostly because I love perfecting the small things. Pony is feeling great, the 60’s are showing up, and it feels so good. Yay!!
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