Crabby

Photos from our less than stellar ride tonight

Recently Katai has been crabbier than normal. Maybe not even crabbier as much as more consistently crabby. When I was riding a lot earlier in the year I was contributing it to the increase in her workload and likely some sore muscles. Then we had #mareproblems so she had that reason and a week off, then a week off when I traveled for work, Then almost a week off when I was in Omaha, and now less work since I've been having trouble getting to the barn.

Last Saturday she got shots so I knew she wouldn't be feeling her best, then she got a massage which could have made her feel a bit tender, and finally got her hooves trimmed so that could have made her feel a bit off as well. She got a quiet week but I rode (just a nice light training ride) yesterday and today (slightly more work but still I kept it short).

Pretty cool that this is now a less than stellar ride. Also, you can clearly tell that
she's thinner than she's been recently. Not unhealthy skinny,
I can just barely feel her last two ribs, but still it's a big change from before.

I was hoping she'd feel different, and there are some differences, but she pretty much seems to be sensitive in the same places. Namely she's been crabby, not as forward as normal, doesn't want me to touch her near her flank, has become girthy, and has actually lost weight to the point that she is right on the edge of her ideal weight. This is a BIG change since she's always been an extremely easy keeper and she's certainly getting enough hay and the hay is great quality. She has been getting worked more so I'm thinking of adding some additional calories but it also could be a symptom

Tonight I did some digging/research and I'm fairly certain that she's got ulcers. The statistics would support it with 60%-90% of performance horses having ulcers. Also, I've always sort of wondered since she's just a horse that stresses easily and likes her routine. Now she's also living in a stall and has her own private paddock so she's not around other horses much and doesn't get much movement. In addition, all that time where I wasn't working here meant she was moving even less than normal, we gave her some bute after she had her shots, and she had a crazy week this past week where we certainly weren't letting her follow her normal routine so her stomach might really be bothering her.

She really just wanted to retract her neck but
I'm really happy with the amount of crossover that we've been getting!

At this point with all of this adding up I've gone ahead and ordered some UlcerGuard. I'm going to give her that over the four days and if I notice a difference I'm going to add a supplement to support her gut. If I don't notice a difference I'm going to call the vet and have her tested for Lyme disease since that's the other most likely option.

I'm really hoping it's not Lyme but I also think it's unlikely. Not that it couldn't happen but I've NEVER pulled a single tick off of her. In addition I've seen horses with Lyme and they are extremely sensitive to being touched to the point of kicking their people, rearing, biting, and flipping out completely. Katai is a very sensitive flower so if she were feeling anything like that she likely wouldn't even be letting me touch her but she's been enjoying her grooming on most of her body.

Bit of a head tilt here, mare was definitely still a bit stiff.
Chiro may also be in order

I found some additional info on Vitamin E deficiency and Selenium deficiency but neither of those match as closely and when I checked her vitamin supplement it actually contains a decent amount of both so I think that's unlikely.

She's also due to be dewormed and apparently that's something that can occasionally cause similar symptoms so I'm going to get that taken care of as well.

At any rate, I've ordered UlcerGuard, a supplement that supports gut health, and some dewormer for this year and I'll post an update once I receive it later this week and have a chance to try it out.

Contrary: Lesson Recap 4/11

The title doesn't have to do with Katai being contrary but with what we asked her to do.

We started counter canter!!!! The lesson was pretty short and specific. Katai hasn't been getting worked as much with all of my traveling and her soreness plus with her shots she was still pretty sore through the neck. We worked on spiraling, getting my upper leg on, a couple of leg yields and then tried some counter canter.

My shopping trip on the way to the barn yesterday
Carrots for Katai, dried mangos for me, and doggy kibble for Veggie
I also got some stuff for braiding so that I can start to practice

First, Katai was SO GOOD!! No extra tension, excitement, or sassiness. She was just calm and trying hard to understand what I was asking. I was fumbling since it's the first time I've tried shallow serpentines at the canter and she just patiently let me figure it out.

In the end she only broke once and even to the right which is her tougher canter lead she did a great job. We also had her cantering for longer than typical and she never once refused or was sassy about that. I didn't even get a head toss or pinned ears. I actually think she sort of enjoyed playing with something new :)

I ended up getting a couple of good tries in each direction and after doing some stretchy trot we ended there.

Only in a horse barn.
It's the cheese stick next to the syringe that really kills me ;)

I'm feeling really motivated and ready to get back on track this week but unfortunately with all of her appointments I've been needing to take it easy. My plan is to pick things up seriously tomorrow and get her back on a fitness/regular riding plan.

Sorry for the random food item photos. Hopefully I can get more riding media soon!

Making a Rider

Now that we've talked about Katai I thought it would be fun to talk a little more about me and what I'm doing outside of lessons and rides to make progress.

First, I'm a HUGE proponent of rider fitness. I truly believe that if we're going to ask our horses to be athletes we should as well. That doesn't mean that we need to be out running marathons but at a minimum I want to be able to make it through a 45-60 minute lesson without becoming a burden to my instructor, clinician or horse. Not that they may not as for something at some point that wears me out but I want it to be the exception rather than the rule.

I ran Ragnar in 2014

A few years ago when I was early in my weight loss journey I started running and while I'm extremely proud of myself that I made it through I realized that running just isn't my thing. I hate it so much that I wasn't exercising at all because I felt like I needed to run and I REALLY didn't want to run.

Running pictures are always funny

Recently I've switched to just making sure I'm active. I go for long walks with my dog (and sometimes run or jog a bit), go for hikes, ride, and do body weight work outs at home. I'm happier, love it rather than trying to avoid it, and feel stronger than I have plus I'm continuing to get leaner which is a nice side effect :)

In addition I've always had really bad anterior pelvic tilt. I didn't know that's what it was but I'd always had a sore back and had a tough time not always having a really hollow back when I rode. Once I started working with Jane I started looking for answers and found some great tips and exercises to fix it. Now I'm doing the exercises in these videos along with many others and it's been making an amazing difference!

My absolute favorite workout video right now. 

I also enjoy the rest of this youtuber's videos

These changes in my strength have been a big part of the change in my position and the improvement in my riding.

I've also really changed my mindset around Katai as I've mentioned. I've become much more gentle with her thanks to Jane and we're working together as partners rather than me feeling like I need to be the instructor/leader all the time with her as the student/subordinate. I think it was partially tough for me since I've had her from the beginning when she was a baby and a brat and partially it's just a mindset that I have in general. It's been nice to change this both around Katai and in the rest of my life.

It's pretty cool when you get to improve your riding and a good therapy session when you pay for riding lessons ;)

Making a Horse

Hopefully a horse that can show!

I thought it would be interesting to share a little about what I'm focused on for the next couple of months mainly because right now my focus isn't on riding. It's not that we don't need to work on that because of course we do, it's just that with Katai's recent progress and my interest in showing we're riding above where I'd feel comfortable signing up for a show (training levelish). However we've got other things in our way that will prevent us from showing or certainly from having fun showing which is my ultimate goal.

Anyone who's followed this blog is pretty aware of the journey it's taken to get Katai here. Often though I don't think I share how difficult Katai really is (maybe I'm scared after having J tell me to put her on a meat truck). For all that she's amazing, brave, and pretty unflappable under saddle (although she certainly can have massive tantrums when she wants to) she's actually extremely reactive, panicky, stubborn, and a bully. While she is a bully she's also so reactive and inclined to panic that it's really tough to use tools that would work with other horses and tools that I was able to use in the past. It's a really thin line between appropriately correcting her for naughty behavior and pushing her into flight and fight mode where she can't learn and just becomes reactive.

I truly wish that I'd been able to get her earlier in her life and that we'd found Jane earlier because I think both things would have helped. I'm completely aware that I've made mistakes with her but I certainly have tried my best and really tried to learn from my mistakes.

Maybe at our next show she'll only do this
 a few times rather than for the whole show

Jane has been a real turning point though with her message of just letting Katai be right sometimes. I've stopped trying things that have worked for other people (be the leader all the time) and started to just do my own thing (read Jane's thing) with her which is namely, very little "discipline" and lots of soft, gentle patience past the point where most people would be patient. Suddenly, under saddle, she's stopped having tantrums, stopped blowing up, and become much more manageable even when she does get hot. That, of course, doesn't mean no discipline but certainly less than I've been used to. However, I haven't had the opportunity to try this on the ground since in her normal space, with her normal routine she's got absolutely impeccable ground manners (because I care ALOT about her behavior on the ground).

With that in mind, I went to the barn on Sunday with the only item on my agenda being to expose her to the horse trailer for as long as possible. I did what I'm calling "boredom training" and pretty much just stood on the ramp (for about an hour) while she did all of her panicked pony things until eventually she decided to actually walk up the ramp on her own. Literally on her own since I didn't put an ounce of pressure on her or ask her in any way to join me in the trailer.

At least she's been able to practice her Levade?

The issue with trailer loading recently has been that as soon as she sees the trailer she panics. It's not that she doesn't have the skills to load, it's just that there's no successful way to use them when she's in fight and flight mode. On Sunday this meant that when she rammed me into the trailer I gently guided her away and tried to just stay out of her way, when she reared and spun and bolted I got her gently stopped and quietly led her back to the trailer, and when she threw herself sideways off the ramp into me I got out of the way (I'm thinking I'd be a really good dance partner by now lol) and then tried again. Mostly I kept her out of my space when she was calmer by gently flapping the rope at her and when I asked her to move forward I didn't let up the pressure until she gave but other than that I just sort of let her do her thing. All of the whips and stud chains stayed in the barn and she was just in a rope halter and lunge line (so that I had more space to stop her) with leather gloves for me.

Once she stopped panicking she was in the best mental place that she's been. She actually calmed herself down and then I had my pony back. In that mental space when I led her and she ran her shoulder into me I very firmly moved her out of my way and then went back to coaxing and petting and baby talking her.

We also practiced some movements similar to this.
This will come in handy for dressage at some point right?

It was absolutely the most success I've had and the first time that I've had hope that we might accomplish this thing before we're eligible for Century Club awards. If you've been reading my riding blogs since I started with Jane you'll recognize that this is similar to how we started to treat Katai under saddle back in September and I believe it's the reason that we've made most of the progress that we have. I finally decided to try the same thing on the ground and I'm really glad that I did.

I didn't stop there on Sunday though I walked her all over the farm (lots more baby talking and petting and patience), stood by the side of the trailer and simulated how it would be if she were tied there (without the risk of actually tying her), and finally put her in cross ties in the barn and groomed her. She was still pretty up and then when the other horse in the barn left she had a meltdown. I had to use the panic snaps on the cross ties but then I just (gently but firmly) backed her. She'd blow up, I'd back her down the aisle with just light pressure and then stand there and pet her and baby talk to her. More blowing up, back down the isle the other direction and more baby talk, rinse and repeat. Eventually she actually calmed enough that I could put her back in the cross ties. Basically I treated her like she was a weanling. Finally we quit on that good note.

Lots of these to choose from really

Previously this week I'd also used the wash stall at this barn for the first time and had a passaging and panicking pony but handled that the same way, lots of baby talk and pets and we both survived without any incident. I didn't even get my head kicked in when I washed the gunk between her legs and on her udder which is truly a feat and had even Jane impressed because mares.

So, the real goal for the next 1.5 months is lots and lots, and lots of exposure, changes in routine, and trailer boredom training every. single. day. that I'm at the barn

Poked and Prodded

Poor pony has ended up with quite the schedule this week. Surprisingly today was the vet so she got her teeth done, shots, and coggins pulled.

I say surprisingly because for some reason I had it in my head that tomorrow was the 8th so when I sat down this morning to pay bills and realized it was the 8th I had a minor heart attack. Made even worse when I looked at my watch and realized that it was 9:55 and the vet was scheduled for 10:00. Luckily I knew that there were at least 6 horses he was going to be seeing at the barn so I had a bit of time but I still rushed out the door and called Jane on the way to let her know I'd be late.

I ended up getting there at an ok time as he'd already done initial coggins and vaccines with most of the horses and Katai was the next on his list. He had a helper there with him and unfortunately Katai ended up ramming her into the door on the way out of her stall. Katai is never at her best when we change her routine so she and the helper had a little conversation on their way out of the barn and then while she stood for coggins pictures. She was dancing a bit and on her toes as she was led back to her stall but then stood like a rock for shots. The vet was clearly surprised after her earlier poor behavior and I giggled and told him that she was a champion at shots :)

From last time she got her teeth done.
Look what a fluffy baby she was then!

He gave her an initial dose of sedative and then went to do some exams with the other horses. She ended up being such a cheap drunk that he didn't need to give her anything else and she was very good for her float. I think this may only be her second time but she was way better than last time. I had meant to get her done every 2 years or so but forgot last spring when the vet was there that she was due and didn't remember until this past fall. I was a bit worried but also hadn't noticed any symptoms of a sore mouth so I decided, with Jane's support, to wait until this spring. The vet said she looked fine, just a couple sharp edges and one small ulcer. I'll definitely be sure to not wait so long next time but I was pleased that she wasn't worse.

Then, on Wednesday she has a massage scheduled! It was supposed to happen on the 2nd but ended up being rescheduled for this week on the 12th.

Finally, on Thursday she's getting her feet trimmed. I was laughing with Jane that she'll be a whole new pony ;)

The Balance Challenge: Lesson Recap 4/4

I'm running out of media again so here's some shiny butt for your viewing pleasure ;)

I had another great lesson this Tuesday! We started with lots of bending at the walk and then before too long went to the trot. Katai was tight and sucked back to start but with lots of bending and some focus on serpentines she loosened right up and started to be more forward.

We did some leg yield and lengthenings and then did some should in midway down the long side, across the short diagonal, and then into canter. Katai did really well, I did less well but after a few times started to get the timing better. To make it even more difficult We added a spiral in at the canter after we picked it up and Jane really had me focus on the bend and inside leg.

I quickly realized that I've NEVER actually used my inside leg at the canter. Let's just say that there's some room for improvement ;) At any rate we got some extremely nice canter and I've got new homework which is always fun.

That already felt like a big deal and like we'd had a successful lesson but then we did some work on transitions. We've only really worked on these once or twice and the goal this time was to do walk to sitting trot to rising trot and then back to sitting trot to walk. With lots of coaching from Jane we got some really nice work. We found that I'm still using my reins too much in the downward transitions, not pulling back but holding to the point of thinking backwards rather than forwards.

Pony is humble about her shininess though

After that we talked a lot about me not being such a perfectionist. Jane told me, and I feel this is a huge compliment, that she's not worried that I'll mess Katai up at this point. She said there's always the chance that during a ride we'll go backwards a bit but that overall she's seen us improve enough and feels that I have enough feel that I'm not going to just keep doing something that is making things worse. Plus, with regular lessons how far wrong can I go.

She wants me to play around with things and try stuff out. She said to keep challenging Katai's balance and playing with things to see what works best for both of us. As a perfectionist that's really tough for me but Jane knows that. Have I mentioned how much I love working with Jane as my instructor?

I've also been feeling better and way more motivated as the spring weather change is starting to smooth out a little which is awesome! I'm really looking forward to spending the weekend at the barn.

March/First Quarter Goals Review and Goals for April

Goals for March:

Let Go During Lateral Work: Yes!! This one is actually going so much better. Overall I want to practice lateral work more than I did for March since I just didn't ride as much (I lost about 2.5 weeks out of the month for work, unsound pony, and vacation)

Structure Rides More Carefully: Meh, again mainly with inconsistent riding this didn't specifically get better. I would say that I'm varying work more and doing more stretchy intermixed. Mostly though I just didn't ride enough in March for me to make progress here.

Work on Trailer Loading: Unfortunately the unseasonably warm weather didn't continue and I lost at least 1-2 weeks on being in Seattle and going to the World Cup. In the end I only worked on this one day out of the month which means this was a fail.

Ride More: Meh, the goal was to be at the barn 6 days per week. This was more outside of my control than it's been though with Katai being off for a week due to #mareproblems and then off for a week while I was in Seattle for work.

Goals for 2017:

Post an average of 15 times per month: This is going SO well!
            Increase the number of pictures - Mostly I think this is way better than past years
            Increase the quality of my photos - Nope, not at all and they may be getting worse actually
            Do more review posts - Not sure that I've done more but I think I've had some good review posts so far

Buy a Trailer: Unfortunately as mentioned earlier this one is now out :(

Trailer EVERYWHERE: Still a goal but no trailering so far in the first part of the year.

Ride in Another Dressage Clinic: Haven't succeeded at this yet but things are in the works!

2nd Level Goals: This was to be able to ride all of the movements at home, not necessarily to show 2nd and I would say we're doing really well here! We've been doing S-I, and are going to start working on some beginning counter canter at my next lesson! The other movements that are still fairly new to us are Leg Yield (which is getting way better), H-I, Canter in general (so sad but so true), Halt, sitting trot, and you know, actually being able to control my pony. I could be wrong but I feel like the movement we're furthest from is the walk/canter transition. I feel like we're making great progress on this one for where we are in the year though!

Pony just has #bulldozing goals

Goals for April:

First, can I just say that I can't believe it's April! March was a weirdly off month for both of us but I think that we're both at a great place to pick things up and head into April :)

Trailer Loading Practice: Even without buying a trailer this is absolutely my main goal for the year and it will probably be part of my monthly goals for at least the next few months. I just need to get her out there and work on it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. that I can. No excuses.

Practice Riding the Lateral Work: This is something I've sort of been doing but without as much focus as I should. It's fairly new to me and it's a struggle so sometimes I just don't feel like it and skip working on it. Not that I need to drill it every time but I do want to focus on practicing this on a regular basis between lessons.

Structure Rides More Carefully: This one makes it on again as well and hopefully with a more regular month of riding I'll be able to make progress here.

Trail Ride: Thanks to not having an especially safe place to ride a green and spunky pony outside (only a narrow gravel road) it's scary to work Katai outside. However, I need to get her outside of the arena both for practice, so that I can actually handle her outside at a show, and for both of our mental states. I'd like to actually ride her outside at least once by the end of April which means lots of ground work outside first.

Third Day at World Cup: Freestyle!

First, before I post any updates on the World Cup I need to brag about my girl for a minute. If you follow me on Instagram you've already seen this but I wanted to post it here too because I'm so proud.

I was going through some video footage from Monday that I got of Katai free lunging after our work outside and got this!

I think that she has her own pony World Cup dreams ;) The best part was that this wasn't just one isolated moment. She trotted like this for a bit and then cantered like this.

I am glad though that she practices this particular movement without me...

Katai's own version of a freestyle

Annnnyyywaaayy, back to the World Cup Freestyle!

I had a great time on Saturday for my third day of the event. I believe I got there around 11:00 or so. My mom and I had picked up some salads and brought them with us to eat there since they didn’t have many vegan friendly food options. We watched some of the warmups while we ate and then my mom brought her knitting to a coffee shop while I met up with a few people.

 First I went back to see Stephanie (Hand Gallop) at her booth! We had more of a chance to talk and I tried on some amazing breeches including the pink ones. I really liked the pink but ultimately it was just a little too bright for me :) I also realized later that I’m not sure if I ever really said goodbye to you Stephanie so I’m sorry if I didn’t!! It got a little chaotic since H came and found me while we were talking and then I found out that H and Stephanie know each other. Such a small world!!



via GIPHY

H was there with a few people from her barn and they had been doing a lot of shopping. She and I talked while some of her group did some shopping and then they separated to drop off their purchases at the car and I went to do some shopping of my own. I have to say that I’m really proud of myself because I only ended up with one purchase and it was something I needed. The one thing I really wanted to shop for was a show shirt. I have a nice polo for schooling shows (and will probably pick up a couple more $5 polos from Old Navy because that’s tough to beat!) but my only show shirt isn’t my favorite and it’s starting to get a bit big on me. I had tried on and loved the HorseWare Ireland shirt but wanted to check out my options and probably get a shirt that wasn’t also navy blue.

I hadn’t tried anything on yet at that point because I was only finding shirts that were $200+ and I’m just not willing to spend that on a show shirt. A jacket or boots yes, but not a show shirt especially since at that price point I feel like you’re really just paying for the name and I just don’t care enough. However, H had bought a show shirt that I really liked and while she hadn’t told me the price I decided to go check it out. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the booth that the shirts were marked at $89 which was totally doable for me for such a nice show shirt. My favorite thing was that the fabric was a little thicker so, while still breathable, it didn’t show every single bump or bulge of my torso. I was able to try the shirt on in black but I wanted this really gorgeous light grey/cream color that they had and they didn’t have it in my size so I ended up ordering it from them. Because of that, even though I did buy something I didn’t have anything to carry which was sort of nice.

The only proof of my shopping.
I wanted a picture of what they were because I really liked
them but since they were priced at $349 I doubt I'd even buy a pair.

I had forgotten that clothes are taxed though (since they aren’t in MN) so that stinks but, oh well, I’m really happy with my shirt and can’t wait to get it!

 By the time I’d done that it was pretty much time for the show. I had planned to meet up with another friend (one of L’s students) but she was running a little late (due to the long walk at the zoo lol) so we planned to meet up during the break. I headed up to get my seat and met my mom there and then watched the Freestyle!


via GIPHY - Isabell Werth!!!

I LOVED seeing all of the tests but I have to admit that I actually liked watching the Grand Prix better. I didn’t expect that but for some reason it was just more fun for me to watch. With that being said the freestyle was AMAZING and it was so great to see Isabell Werth win! I still think I loved Laura Grave’s freestyle just a bit more but Isabell’s was truly spectacular. Since we had a long drive ahead of us we left right after Isabell’s ride and didn’t hang around but I did see the footage of the awards ceremony and it would have been fun to be there to see Isabell share her champagne!

After getting to my parents and picking up Veggie I ended up getting home around 12:30am and went straight to bed. It’s good to be home since it was a pretty intense three days with a couple of late nights and long drives. I’m really hoping to do either Rolex or WEG next year! I also have to say that while it was AMAZING to be there and definitely something that I’ve always wanted to do, I think I enjoy the Pony Cup just a little bit more. I enjoy that there isn’t much separation between the spectators and the competitors there and that it’s more pony specific so it’s something that I can actually see myself doing some day. While it’s an expensive event to go to for the level (not exactly seeing Olympians there for the most part) since I fly rather than drive, it’s something that I’m hoping to do again next year if not this year.

Second Day at World Cup Finals: Exploring Omaha

I'm such a dork but it's not every day that
you see equestrian sports on bus stop benches

Since my mom was nice enough to accompany me and dressage (and horses in general) just isn't her thing I'd left Monday as a day where we could do some other things so that she'd have a little break. I was also excited to explore some of the other things in Omaha including the Zoo.

We got up and went for a walk to a coffee shop but unfortunately couldn't find the Starbucks we were headed for so we went to a nearby Target Starbucks instead. After that we headed straight to the Omaha zoo!

Grumpy bird was grumpy

It was fun and I got so many pictures of the animals. We have a great zoo locally but they don't/haven't had elephants or rhinos so it was fun to see those here. It was a little rainy and cold out but by the time that we left it had warmed up to 57* and felt pretty good.

It was a long good walk so my feet and legs were quite sore by the end of the day but I certainly got my steps in.

Poisonous snakes may be part of why living in MN is nice

After stopping for some food we went back to the adorable AirBnB so that my mom could take a nap since she hadn't slept particularly well the day before.

In the afternoon my mom and I got coffee at an award winning local coffee shop called Archetype Coffee and it was delicious. Otherwise we pretty much snacked and rested for the rest of the evening. So nice to be here with my mom but it's a bit different than how I may spend my time if I were on my own :)

First Day at World Cup Finals: Grand Prix

Certainly a rainy, dreary drive getting to Omaha!

I had an amazing first day at the World Cup Finals in Omaha! It was a rainy, gloomy day outside so that much better to be spending it at the event center. I got there around 11:00 with my mom in tow and started out by doing some shopping. There were some amazing brands there that I wouldn't normally get the chance to look at and try on so I was taking full advantage.

So far I haven't found anything that I "need" but there's still some time left ;)

Amazing boots

Prior to the show starting I also met Stephanie from Hand Gallop! She's the first blogger that I've met and it was so great to talk with her.  It was fun being able to talk about the amazing people in the blogging community and I may try to join in on a Rolex trip for next year! I was also eyeing some of the breeches at the booth she was working at so I'll be back on Saturday to try some on including a very cute pair of bright pink ones #adultponyriderftw

Then my mom and I got our seats for the Grand Prix. I really, truly enjoyed it and it's the first event of this level that I've ever been present at. Our seats were fairly high up but they were actually pretty good and it was nice to be able to have a birds eye view of the whole arena. It also made watching the geometry really easy since we were looking down from above.

I got some very cool, if tiny, pictures of some of the competitors. I feel like Mister X won the adorableness category but Laura Graves and Edward Gal were my favorite riders. Both were just so smooth and quiet. Laura Graves showed second to last and was in first place with just Isabell Werth to go. I had my fingers crossed but also knew how unlikely it would be for her to place over Isabell and I was right, Isabell showed last and came in with the only score over 80 of the night. She was so precise and wonderful but I personally still think that Laura should have won.

Laura Graves!!! She had my favorite ride but tough to beat Isabell Werth

It was completely amazing to be there no matter who won though and I can't wait to attend the Freestyle on Saturday!

After the competition I walked to Starbucks and saw this poster. So cool!!!

I had thought of getting tickets to show jumping on Friday but my mom was already getting a little tired of watching this and since we've already got tickets to the Freestyle on Saturday we decided to check out the Omaha Zoo tomorrow and do some other sightseeing.

Third Time's The Charm: Lesson Recap 3/28

I'm blogging from Omaha, NE right now but we just got here late last night and haven't been over to the Century Link Center yet so other than a late and rainy drive I don't have much to share yet. So EXCITED to be here though!

At any rate I wanted to recap my lesson on Tuesday because after an ok lesson last Saturday and a decent lesson the Tuesday before this one felt really great.

Katai certainly didn't have much energy and Jane always has a lot of empathy for her (Jane says no sympathy, just empathy :) so she kept it pretty easy during the warm up and gave her lots of walk breaks. After a nice walk warm up with some head to the wall leg yields and a bit of trot when we took a walk break Katai dramatically threw on the breaks and scratched her head on her leg. Jane started laughing that Katai was rearranging her hair and then said that Kati would be "one of those girls that take selfies all the time". We both started giggling pretty hard at that point because she absolutely nailed Katai's attitude.

After some of the best, most consistant canter that we've ever had (again Jane was pretty gentle with us and didn't do much) she had us do some shoulder in. It went ok, it's been way too long since I've worked on it (my fault really but also the two weeks off) so I was really on the struggle bus and couldn't get my aids to work together. Jane took pity on me and gave us a walk break. I was thinking we were maybe done but she asked if we'd like to do some haunches in and since I was hungry for a second chance I went for it.

I struggled through the first direction but going to the left we NAILED it down the entire long side. It felt amazing and Jane said it looked perfect! We did a bit of stretchy trot and then called it there.

My main take away was that I need to get her more forward off my leg. Most of the time she's like a run away freight train which means I constantly have the brakes on. I get used to not needing to use my forward aids strongly but on days like Tuesday she needs more forward and I need to use them more. I'm also realizing that this might have something to do with our transition struggle since if she's not used to me using my leg it might be more of a big deal to her when I do use my legs.

The other really exciting thing is that Jane mentioned at the end of my lesson that we're going to work on half pass again next time and we're going to start doing shallow loop serpentines! I'm so, so excited and I've been wondering when we're going to start introducing counter canter. Not that we could start it when her canter with the correct lead was a hot mess but I've been looking forward to starting some counter canter work so I'm excited that we're finally there!