2nd lesson with bsja accredited coach

[ann-jen]

Well it was a lot harder than the first one! LOL. I really feel positive that Jen and I will be able to sort out our long list of problems though. The instructor notices everything - even things that some instructors I've had either haven't noticed or have taken weeks to notice.
Spent quite a bit of time on the flat working on Jen's stiff rein as on that rein she often falls in round corners and then fires into the jump. Basically Jen's trained me to hold her up on that rein and so we worked on getting her to hold herself and bend properly round the corners.
And I am dreadful for lifting my hands up when Jenny starts firing into the jumps and that evidently makes things much worse. When I really sit deep into the canter and keep my hands down she doesn't really fire up at all. Just a nice forward canter into the jump. Never thought that would happen.

We did have a few tail swishing humpy back moments (that used to herald a bucking episode) but whenever she did this we just kept her on a circle and did lots of transitions from walk to trot to walk etc until she settled and only when she was calm again approach the jump.
So I've got loads to think about again before next time but I've gone from thinking of giving up jumping completely to knowing that the problems we have can be sorted out.

 

[Butterbean]

Sounds like a good lesson. Its amazing how a fresh pair of eyes can help, even if you've been having lessons with a good instructor. Hope things continue well for you.

 

[ann-jen]

Thanks, I hope so too.

 

[Peanot]

Hi, it does us all good to have lessons. I think that if you get to a stage where you are not learning anything, then it is a good idea to change trainers. We all develop bad habits and we need someone experienced to point these out and tell us how to sort it out.
Keep on with the lessons, you are obviously learning stuff from them.

 

[ann-jen]

I know what you mean but I felt so sad and disloyal to leave my previous instructor. She is still a good friend its just as a instructor/pupil relationship we seem to have a problem. We just didn't seem to make any progress to the point where I was thinking of jacking in jumping altogether. She was strongly of the opinion that I should sell Jenny and whenever problems arose she'd just shrug and say well you know what I think!
Jenny and I used to jump BSJA until problems with her back intervened and caused all the behavioural problems I am now trying to sort out.
I went for a year doing hardly any jumping at all and concentrating mainly on sorting our problems on the flat out first and its only recently we started to jump properly again and feel we are making progress already.
Each time I jump Jenny seems that bit calmer and I feel that bit more confidant so I'm sure we'll get there. I've got a great dressage instructor who really helped me when things were very bad and now it looks like I might have found a similar person to help me with the jumping. Feeling very positive at the moment.

 

[Peanot]

Good. Glad you`re feeling confident.
I had the same with an old friend. She was jumping Foxhunter classes and taught people too. She taught me loads, but then we got to the stage that I didn`t feel that we were learning anything, and I felt that I needed to get someone who knew more.
The friend is still a friend and she is a brilliant teacher for novices but our time as pupil/teacher is over. I still ask her advice on things and she is willing to give it.

 

[ann-jen]

I hope that is how it will be for us too. As yet she doesn't know we are starting to jump again so I think I will have to tell her as SJ is a small world and I wouldn't want her to hear it from someone else. I don't think she'll be offended as I'm sure she must have realised we weren't gaining anything from each others time either. She is still a very well respected trainer round here and a lot of her pupils do very well but we just didn't gel that way. It helps that the new instructor didn't know Jenny when she was behaving badly and so doesn't have any preconceived ideas about her either. It sounds daft but its nice to be taught by someone who actually likes your horse.