Thursday 28 April 2016

Lesson Recaps, etc

Following our successful schooling show, we got up early the next morning for a dressage lesson. It's starting to be the time of year when EC is frequently away at shows and clinics, so we take whatever we can get whenever we can get it!

Our lesson was good. I'm starting to get a pretty maneuverable little pony, so even the not so great rides have moments where I'm grinning from ear to ear simply because We Can Actually Do Stuff Now. Babies are awesome, but there's a limit to how excited I can get about things like Going Forward, Stopping, and Turning. For whatever reason, those concepts took over a year to truly sink into the Midge brain, which was more than a little soul sucking for us both. Luckily, Bridget's attitude has done a 180 in the past few months, and we've moved on to more interesting concepts. I think we can agree playing with lateral work and collection is much more fun, even on the days we fail miserably :)

More eventing camp pics, first is Midge and Ginger being the "wingmares" for someone :)

Wednesday night we had a jumping lesson featuring only 4 fences, but a ton of tricky lines...oxer to a bending 4 stride to a bounce gymnastic anyone? Since Midge is handy, we had no issues getting there and jumping, but the style was decidedly lacking in places. Midge is super light in the bridle, so on the days when she's slightly behind the leg it's really difficult for me. I really need to work to compress the canter and get more of the feel that she's taking me to the jump rather than my unfortunate default of chucking the reins at her and pushing her to get there. Chasing her = flat, ugly canter, and counter intuitively, a shorter stride. EC talked us through it and we found our jumping canter and had some decent rounds, although the Midge felt really tired throughout. The horses have recently been turned out in the big summer field together so there has been much galloping and rough housing all day - I'm hoping that is the reason for her sluggishness of late.

We have a hunter/jumper show in just over a week, so let's hope she wakes up in time for that!

In other news, with EC as a mentor I'm going to pursue my english riding instructor certifications. I'm not sure what it's like in the US, but in Canada there is a bit of a process and qualifications to meet to become certified. There are plenty of people teaching without being certified, but Equine Canada has a good program that is super recognizable here and I'd like to think most people would choose a coach holding a current license over one that doesn't. This is all part of a big master plan and something I've wanted to do for a long time, but the process (for me, at least!) seemed somewhat intimidating without a mentor. Luckily I've found one in EC. I'm sure there will be a bunch of posts to follow as there are a couple of coaching courses and some riding and teaching evaluations I'll be attending.
Midge is looking quite fit lately!


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6 comments

  1. I think it's a great idea for you to pursue the EC certification. I think that you would be able to understand and help those who aren't natural.

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    1. Thank you! I'm just getting the instructor of beginners so I hope I will pass :)

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  2. Good luck with the EC certification - it is a HUGE process and you are going to do so well pursuing it!! I did part of my certification, but the "testing" and such is so difficult to get done when you live in such an excluded part of the province.

    LOVE Midge's boldness.

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    1. Yes! location was one of my limitations before, now I am lucky enough to be closer to Vancouver. I only want to teach beginners/little kids so I'm hoping I will pass!

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  3. I am super interested to hear more about getting your certification! We don't have any programs like that at all in the US, which is unfortunate. There are a few independent organizations that offer certifications, but nothing USEF-sanctioned, and people don't take them seriously anyway. I'm curious to see what EC's program is like!

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  4. Ooooh exciting! I will be very fascinated to hear what the course work is like and what the qualifications are!

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