Demoralised

[little_critter]

Sorry - a rather self indulgent post.
I'm a riding school rider (I'm afraid!) and had a go at our usual monthly dressage comp this weekend. I managed to score a new all time low for me (43%) due to not being able to get the horse to a) move off my leg and b) canter at all on the right rein.
I feel like I'm going backwards in my riding - especially asking for canter. If I don't get canter at the first ask my position goes to pieces and everything falls apart.
I soo wish I could wipe the slate clean and learn to ride from scratch again because my biggest problem is my old bad habits which I can't shake off (tricky when you only get to practice once a week). My instructor's good but I ride in a group lesson so I can't get one-to-one attention. Also I don't want to move schools because it's rare you get to compete as a riding school rider and there aren't many other yards around.
I felt sooo down last night.

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[Toby_Zaphod]

Do you think that a private lesson may help you?

 

[Digger123]

First off well done for having a go. Riding school horses do tend to take the mick so prob the horse was not being helpful.
Can you not arrange a private lesson, perhaps once a month to help you with your bad habits .Maybe a lunge lesson so you can concentrate on your position and the instructor controls the paces.
You are aware of your bad habits so rather than try to cure them all in one go pick the worst habit and improve that and then move onto the next.
Don't be hard on yourself we all have bad days

 

[little_critter]

I've had a few private lessons (am now having 1 per month at Dovecote stables which are lovely) but I feel I need something more intense to try and iron out at least one habit once and for all. I can't get private lessons at my yard at a time I can attend.
I'm considering having a month break from my usual stables and trying to cram in a many private lessons as I can (could be pricy though!)
Sorry for being a 'glass half empty person!'

 

[Ellies_mum2]

All I would say is to work on one problem at a time. Trying to do too much at once will just frustrate you and make you feel worse I think.

Well done for having a go at the competition. Maybe you did get a low score but it is something you can look to improve on.

Chin up and have a (((hug)))

 

[Booboos]

Don't be too hard on yourself!!!!

First of all dressage is horribly stressful, it goes wrong for everyone all of the time and when it goes right, the judge disagrees! It's the most frustrating competition you can enter, so don't be too disheartened.

Riding once a week doesn't give you the same opportunities as riding a horse everyday, so give yourself some credit for what you have achieved! Many riders (many of them with their own horses) would never dream of trying a dressage competition!

It might be worth asking around for someone who is looking for a sharer. This will give you the opportunity to ride more often and enjoy a one-to-one bond with a horse.

As for your position, it's really tough to keep balanced when the horse is not. In this respect lessons with a schoolmaster are invaluable, as they allow you to concentrate on yourself while the horse carries itself properly and allows you to get a feel for how it should be. Is there somewhere near you that might offer lessons on an easier horse to ride? (easier in the sense of being more balanced and having more self-carriage so that you can get a feel for how you should sit). Also, you might want to try 1/2 hour lunge lessons which can help you improve your position.

But most of all, keep at it, you're doing great!!!!

 

[MrsMozart]

See if you can have a lesson on the lunge. Whilst this won't necessarily 'help' re. the strike off, it will help to deepen and secure your seat, which in turn will help with the times you don't get the canter on first asking

. Lessons without stirrups will also help

How about a week's holiday at a good school? The intensity may help you break the habit and build new and good ones

.

Have a hug and a hot choccy hun.

 

[muddy_grey]

We all feel like this sometimes. My old horse used to have an issue with right canter and I always found the best thing was to go back to walk, take a breath and try again. This usually resulted in the perfect transition as apposed to the two of us cantering round on the wrong leg unable to stop.
Does your riding schol offer hacks? It might be nice just to get out a ride for fun for a couple of weeks. Can help remind you it's not all about schooling and usually the horses are a bit more keen to go.

 

[jaynedoc]

as you are in a school enviroment...have you tried canter without stirrups....

I know when my daughter has lessons and she has problems with canter transitions and form..the instructor removes her stirrups....it works wonders for her as you simply must sit very deep and keep your form otherwise you slide out the side door.

 

[Spudlet]

I know that feeling, I don't normally have many problems but I did a dressage test on a school horse a couple of years ago and did more or less the whole thing in canter cos she wouldn't stop - not bad for a prelim test! It was quite a nice collected canter actually but it was meant to be a walk

I got like this with my lessons and went hacking for a while, which really helped - I had forgotten that it was supposed to be fun.

I'd speak to your instructor about the canter thing, even though it is a group lesson they can still help you with this issue. Are you doing some individual work during the lesson, which has always been the case in group lessons for me?

Also, remember most schoolies know every evasion in the book three times over, and won't always help you out...

 

[little_critter]

OP here - thank you for all your 'chin up' comments.
And you're right - the horse really wasn't helping me at all. At the end I apologised to the judge because it was such a scrappy test and I was a sweaty huffing heap! The judge was nice though - I didn't canter at all on the right rein (just an unbalanced trot) and her comment was 'late to canter'!
Was thinking about a schooling holiday to get an intensive fix - just not sure about mixing and matching too many instructors because they all have their own view of what is right. I'll speak to my instructor tonight and see what she suggests.

 

[Flashbacksj]

Firstly well done for having a go...
I completly agree with some of the earlier comments about riding school horse knowing all the tricks in the book...

Ive been riding for 12years and have owned my own honest and willing cob cross for 10 of those...

... i had a few lessons while at uni on riding school horses... they made me feel like i couldnt ride for toffee... so dont be down on yourself for that!

Anyone who can get a tune out of a RS horse when you dont ride that one horse regularly is amazing in my book!

When i was younger i had a loads of bad habits (still have some but not as many!) and i managed to improve amazingly by doing a horse holiday...

on 2 occassions i went to pony camp... with my own horse at a riding school a weeks worth of tuition with fun thrown in the gaps and making friends really reminded me why i love horses... and that short sharp collection of lessons did wonders for both my riding and my confidence in and out of the saddle... SO im another vote for a horse holiday/week of intensive lessons...

Good luck with it all... there are a few places that do those sorts of holidays with or without taking your own horse... and often work out a little cheeper than the equivelant lessons x

Have fun and dont be so hard on yourself we all have bad days... and i for one cant for the life of me get good marks in dressage, even on my horse who know inside out... i get comments like "against the hand to trot" which is code for "he was p*ssing off with you down the long side!"

chin up and good luck! x

 

[Kat]

Hi OP, I thought I'd post as I'm also a riding school rider, so I know how you feel. I'm lucky in that I can compete at our riding school so I do a fair bit of dressage, but it can be frustrating as you just can't get the same sort of results as someone who has their own horse that they ride all the time.

I can remember having a dressage competition to do on a little cob mare a couple of years ago and I had a private lesson the saturday before (very early in the morning so that they could fit me in) to practice, I had a fantastic time and got some great results so i was really looking forward to the comp. Got down there the next day and got her ready, hopped on to warm up and she felt awful, had a horrible time trying to get her round and soft and forward. Spoke to one of the liveries who told me that the mare had done a lead rein lesson at 4pm on the saturday with someone who couldn't even do rising trot......

I was gutted - all that hard work! So frustrating!

Seriously if you can get some half decent competition results on a riding school horse you are doing very well. Contrary to popular belief riding school horses are not easy rides. They are often incredibly tricky. It is of great amusment to our group when we are joined by someone preparing for their exams who needs to practice riding school horses in a group (we rae an exam centre) they are used to their own horse and are normally red faced, sweaty and completely unable to get the school horse to do anything useful. We allow ourselves a wicked smug grin!

Keep at it, speak to your instructor about the problems you are having and see if she can work through it with you even in the group lesson.

It might be worth considering the horse you ride too, often school horses are quite one-sided or unbalanced in certain exercises and if that co-incides with your weaknesses it is really unhelpful. A change of horse to one that finds canter transitions a little easier may give you the confidence and experience you need to get past this. Your instructor may be able to recommend one to you that you could request a few times.

Changing horse is really valuable and when you go back to the previous one you will really notice how much you have improved.

Don't get disheartened, your progress will continue, but at different speeds, sometimes you will feel like you are getting nowhere then you might have a sudden breakthrough or you may not realise how far you have come until you look back.

I've been in riding schools for many years and know how dispiriting it can be but also know how far you can get with regular good quality instruction and a variety of horses.

To help you benchmark yourself and give you some goals why not try some exams? Either the BHS progressive tests or stage 1 depending upon your level. These combine riding and care so will help you when/if you decide to get your own too.

Good Luck x x