PPC CT Dressage

While yesterday I complained about the ease of dressage in lower level eventing, today you are going to see me struggle with Intro A. Not going to lie, I really do hate this test. I don't ride Intro for a reason, feeling it too difficult for a green horse. There isn't enough for a hot horse to focus on, and too much dead space for him to think and get worked up.

Of course, all that is just my opinion. Obviously Intro is working well for plenty of people.

Aaaannnyway...

This show was in the field next to Bast's barn. When I pulled up to the farm, all four horses in Bast's field were staring over the fence at the shenanigans happening. I've said before that shows on a horse's home property are often harder for them to mentally process because of all the changes. Bast proved that true once again, finding himself highly offended about the cars, tents and people parked in "his field."

We had several spooks and a lot of nervous mouth chomping during our warm up. Not wanting to wear him out too early, I kept things fairly short. However, he did not want to really come up in his back or yield his ribcage.

Accurate representation of what this horse felt like to ride.

With the focus of this show the jumping, I wasn't too worried about really nailing the dressage portion. Instead, I almost used it more as a continued warmup for the jumping portion. Throughout the test I kept working to get Bast to loosen up over his topline.

Some canter would have helped immensely, but I was heartened that Bast's walk work was fairly steady and relaxed. Based on how jumpy he felt, I was concerned I would have jigging or breaks in the walk. Thankfully I did not.

Omg the chomping, though. Can I just remove his mouth?

The judge had great feedback at the end. She encouraged me to not allow Bast to convince me to take my legs off, instead using them to bolster the horse's confidence. A stable gently constant leg, she said, would help Bast feel supported and less surprised in transitions. She is 100% correct, and I need to work harder on this.

Rhythm going...

Her second comment was to post "louder". She remarked that Bast's tempo is often inconsistent, especially when tense. She suggested I try posting bigger and more deliberately. "If you are coming down and smacking his back because he's bopping around, he's not going to like it and will figure it out quickly." That was an interesting bit of insight and one I am curious to try. I've always tried to be quieter when posting to avoid screwing up my horse's rhythm. But being more deliberate in situations like this sounds like smart advice.

Rhythm gone.

We walked away with a 65%. I thought the free walk was a highlight in the test, but the judge liked the early trot best.  When I look back, I see that is our most balanced work with the best bend of the test. It's not surprising those were our only 7s.

Watch the test below or by clicking here.

Dressage behind us, we headed up to jumping! Stay tuned for more!