Thursday 28 December 2017

Things We Learned


I feel like 2017 was a bit tough, learning wise. The super steep learning curve of the previous year was gone, and in it's place was a lot of miniscule breakthroughs.


Bridget's biggest breakthrough came towards the end of the year, when she regained the forward we worked so hard for, and figured out how to keep the energy even as we ask for collection. I've heard dressage people talk about a Second Level wall, and I'd have to say it was a thing for us. I think in general, we were able to tie a lot of concepts together this year - she needs to have more strength and balance and react more quickly, but she knows all of the movements at second now. A big improvement over last year when I felt like she thought it was all too hard and pulled the "don't wanna" card every ride.

Fingers super crossed re: the bucking me off downhill thing. The little brat certainly learned how at our spring XC camp, but it's a skill that's not been put to use recently.



As for me...the big change here is that I'm finally admitting dressage is my happy place and shifting my focus there. It seems a bit wasteful to be at a really good eventing barn and decide to do dressage only, but luckily my coach EC has been making a similar switch in her own riding over the past few years. We'll still jump now and then for fun, but I'm letting go of any show/event goals involving moving up a level or two this year.

Getting out to a few more "big" shows really helped with my show nerves this year, although I nearly had a meltdown on SJ day of our last event. Another reason I'm sticking mostly to dressage shows next year...remembering all the rules and courses x3 still gives me enough anxiety on the day that it's not much fun. I think a good part of why I relaxed and rode better at the dressage show was because I knew the tests inside and out and wasn't worried about forgetting them.





SHARE:

16 comments

  1. You both learned lot of good things (except the bucking you off downhill thing, Mystic learned that at eventing 101 camp haha...I hope she has forgotten it by now). I think dressage makes good sense if you and your pony both enjoy it the most :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bridget would probably prefer bucking me off downhill over dressage, but we'll try to compromise :)

      Delete
  2. Lots of learning this year for both of you. I am glad that you found your happy place. It would be fun to show together but we were on opposite coast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I so wish we could show together! I feel like I'm the only adult ammy at the shows here who is "normal" ( In that I work full time and don't ride a horse worth more than my house. I was certainly the only rider at our "big" show sleeping on site, lol ;)

      Delete
  3. That's a lot of learning! Yay for dressage focus :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it will take a lot of pressure off to just focus on one discipline this year :)

      Delete
  4. Glad to see that there’s light on the other side of the 2nd struggle wall :D I’m glad that you’re joining the dressage “dark side” and can’t wait to follow your progress next year as well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Figuring out more clearly what makes you happy in riding and where you want to focus is a huge win! Bridget has really come so far in the past year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on finding your happy place and choosing to dive deeper into dressage! I'm looking forward to reading about your 2018 adventures :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't wait to read about yours, too!

      Delete
  7. Such wonderful things you two learned this year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And there's always so much more to learn!

      Delete
  8. Love your infographics! They are so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Canva.com online graphic design site - it basically does everything for you :)

      Delete

BLOGGER TEMPLATE MADE BY pipdig