Hard work paying off - flying changes teaching.

[star]

Went to a clinic with Roland Tong on Friday. Not had a lesson from him before but found it really useful. He asked a lot of us - never cantered so much but Monty ended up going really well. I did specifically ask to work on canter half pass so we broke it down into leg yield, shoulder-in and travers then the half pass. To finish with I asked if we could just do a little on the changes as difficult when you're working by yourself teaching a horse a brand new thing that you yourself have never ridden before to know if you're doing it right. Turns out they're worth 7's and we should definitely be aiming at Advanced Medium this year. Who'd have thought my little orange giraffe would be doing Advanced Medium! So excited - it's almost worth giving up eventing for (I fell on my head yesterday doing an arena XC clinic so forgive me for thinking dressage is a more attractive prospect at the moment!)

Here's a little video of our changes
http://youtu.be/0cWwturJcVY

 

[milliepops]

Fantastic! Feel like we are (hopefully) on the same trajectory with our unlikely dressage horses... subject to final vet check this week I'm aiming Millie at AM this year. She's just come back into work and is changing without a fuss, rather than leaping and charging off with her ears up my nose. She's not quite as polished as yours yet... we've got some catching up to do

Well done he's looking super!

 

[JFTDWS]

The look awesome to me - well done!

(Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about!)

 

[only_me]

Fantastic! Very well done

They look great

 

[LizzieRC1313]

Went to a clinic with Roland Tong on Friday. Not had a lesson from him before but found it really useful. He asked a lot of us - never cantered so much but Monty ended up going really well. I did specifically ask to work on canter half pass so we broke it down into leg yield, shoulder-in and travers then the half pass. To finish with I asked if we could just do a little on the changes as difficult when you're working by yourself teaching a horse a brand new thing that you yourself have never ridden before to know if you're doing it right. Turns out they're worth 7's and we should definitely be aiming at Advanced Medium this year. Who'd have thought my little orange giraffe would be doing Advanced Medium! So excited - it's almost worth giving up eventing for (I fell on my head yesterday doing an arena XC clinic so forgive me for thinking dressage is a more attractive prospect at the moment!)

Here's a little video of our changes
http://youtu.be/0cWwturJcVY

Have been quietly following your posts & blogs, and have to say Monty looks fab. You and a few others have inspired me to make BGR my ultimate aim with my boy, so have very much enjoyed reading all about your experiences last year and hopefully this year too. Also as a med student, it makes it all the more interesting when someone is in a fairly similar (and demanding) field of work. Keep it up!

 

[Lyle]

Yippee! Those changes looked really fan. I'm sure you'll keep updating us, but I can't wait to see your first AM report!

 

[Sportyspots]

Well done, sounds great. I started training with Roland Tong from last September with the intention of having one lesson a month and have enjoyed them so much (never enjoyed flat work lessons before!) have ended up doing loads of overtime in order to have 2 a month. He's even persuaded me to join BD, although so far only entered one show and it cancelled :-(. It's nice to hear of other eventers useing him as the clinics I've attended have been full of top class serious dressage people and I've turned up trying to explain that at grassroots eventing we only do the eqvilent of prelim! You must be good, we often get sub 30 dressage and Decembers lesson was the first time he let us canter lol
Good luck, looking forward to reading the AM reports

 

[Horsemad12]

WOW you two are really progressing on the dressage front! Very impressed.

 

[Wheels]

You look a great team!!

 

[j1ffy]

Looking good!!!

 

[DD265]

I don't have a clue, but they look lovely! So smooth and you both make them look effortless.

 

[star]

Fantastic! Feel like we are (hopefully) on the same trajectory with our unlikely dressage horses... subject to final vet check this week I'm aiming Millie at AM this year. She's just come back into work and is changing without a fuss, rather than leaping and charging off with her ears up my nose. She's not quite as polished as yours yet... we've got some catching up to do

Well done he's looking super!

Ours aren't all that good by any means but they're getting better all the time. So funny as a few months back he just couldn't understand what on earth I was wanting and now suddenly the penny has dropped he wants to do them all the time which is making counter canter suddenly very hard work after being one of his strong points for years!

 

[star]

Have been quietly following your posts & blogs, and have to say Monty looks fab. You and a few others have inspired me to make BGR my ultimate aim with my boy, so have very much enjoyed reading all about your experiences last year and hopefully this year too. Also as a med student, it makes it all the more interesting when someone is in a fairly similar (and demanding) field of work. Keep it up!

Thanks Very proud of him. Hope I still say that after Grassroots this year. I'd quite like to get round in one piece after landing on my bum last year or I might start to go off eventing and aim for PSG instead!

 

[star]

Well done, sounds great. I started training with Roland Tong from last September with the intention of having one lesson a month and have enjoyed them so much (never enjoyed flat work lessons before!) have ended up doing loads of overtime in order to have 2 a month. He's even persuaded me to join BD, although so far only entered one show and it cancelled :-(. It's nice to hear of other eventers useing him as the clinics I've attended have been full of top class serious dressage people and I've turned up trying to explain that at grassroots eventing we only do the eqvilent of prelim! You must be good, we often get sub 30 dressage and Decembers lesson was the first time he let us canter lol
Good luck, looking forward to reading the AM reports

I didn't give him much choice TBH - went in and asked to work on canter half pass and changes! Trouble is we've forgotten how to do a basic prelim now - he'll probably get rubbish eventing dressage scores this season as his canter is way too collected now for BE100!

 

[GinaGeo]

I love reading your posts. I have my own Welsh D x TB, and your boy reminds me greatly of him. I only hope we're half as successful! He's seven this year, and we're off to have a play at our first Elementary in a couple of weeks and have our first season BE planned. So looking forward to it - hope you have a good season too!

 

[foxy1]

Looks great!
Is there anything that helped him understand what you wanted when you asked for a change? Did you do canter, walk, canter first?
I'd love any tips if you have any?

 

[star]

He's been doing simple changes for years. They didn't help him understand. We played around with lateral work into the changes. Leg yield helped. Travers helped more. Then suddenly something just clicked. Initially could only do them to the left but now right is actually better. They are improving all the time but it's been a long, slow process.

 

[meardsall_millie]

He's been doing simple changes for years. They didn't help him understand. We played around with lateral work into the changes. Leg yield helped. Travers helped more. Then suddenly something just clicked. Initially could only do them to the left but now right is actually better. They are improving all the time but it's been a long, slow process.

I've used leg yield to help with flying changes before - how did you use the travers?

 

[Booboos]

What super changes! You make them look so easy!

 

[Mavis007]

You are both looking great! You have definitely got to go for it- he is obviously talented and finds it easy! I am also just starting advanced medium and aiming for PSG (having never done BD before getting my present horse)- looks like there is a few of us on H&H- need to form a club!😀

 

[star]

I've used leg yield to help with flying changes before - how did you use the travers?

It was Nick Gauntlett's idea. He said the leg yield left the new inside hind trailing so difficult for him to be clean behind. He had me go up the centre line on the right lead, change bend to left and into left travers and then change. He started changing for himself as the aids to travers are pretty similar to the change and some kind of penny just dropped. Nick said he'd used that technique before but never seen it be such a lightbulb for a horse. Before that we had tried changing from counter canter on a circle with no success, coming across the diagonal and asking for the change then continuing on the circle in counter canter with no luck - you name it we'd tried it. Then the penny dropped and now here we are. A huge amount of it has come from a lot of work on his canter, his self-carriage and his submission though as well. Before he was just not soft and through enough to be able to create a clean change - his canter doesn't have the natural jump to make it easy for him so had to make sure the basics were thoroughly in place before he could manage a clean change. Now he wants to do them everywhere which is making Medium rather difficult! Might just crack on with Advanced Medium as it looks more fun. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to master 4 time changes as already done a couple so Advanced is next on the cards. He's doing working pirouettes so maybe PSG isn't that far away. Ha ha! Gotta have dreams!

 

[star]

You are both looking great! You have definitely got to go for it- he is obviously talented and finds it easy! I am also just starting advanced medium and aiming for PSG (having never done BD before getting my present horse)- looks like there is a few of us on H&H- need to form a club!��

I rode to Elem on my last couple of horses but this is whole new territory for me and teaching it to the horse as well is a big challenge as we're both learning at the same time. I'm just paranoid I'm gonna run out of time as he's 16 now so aware it will start getting harder for him. We'll keep on going as long as we can though!

 

[meardsall_millie]

It was Nick Gauntlett's idea. He said the leg yield left the new inside hind trailing so difficult for him to be clean behind. He had me go up the centre line on the right lead, change bend to left and into left travers and then change. He started changing for himself as the aids to travers are pretty similar to the change and some kind of penny just dropped. Nick said he'd used that technique before but never seen it be such a lightbulb for a horse. Before that we had tried changing from counter canter on a circle with no success, coming across the diagonal and asking for the change then continuing on the circle in counter canter with no luck - you name it we'd tried it. Then the penny dropped and now here we are. A huge amount of it has come from a lot of work on his canter, his self-carriage and his submission though as well. Before he was just not soft and through enough to be able to create a clean change - his canter doesn't have the natural jump to make it easy for him so had to make sure the basics were thoroughly in place before he could manage a clean change. Now he wants to do them everywhere which is making Medium rather difficult! Might just crack on with Advanced Medium as it looks more fun. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to master 4 time changes as already done a couple so Advanced is next on the cards. He's doing working pirouettes so maybe PSG isn't that far away. Ha ha! Gotta have dreams!

That's really interesting, thank you

I have one that sounds similar - tons and tons of work on strengthening the canter which is really paying off now. He's pretty well established in the Medium movements now and we just need to crack the changes. I've also had no joy trying from counter canter (I think they get so established in it from doing the Elementary work), but is better doing them on a figure of 8 of 2 x 12-15m circles. The travers idea sounds like it could work, I'll give that a go, thank you

 

[monte1]

Love reading your blogs and threads, fantastic to hear you both doing so well

 

[Twiglet]

I have such a soft spot for Monty....everyone should have a horse that can jump a hedge from a dressage prizegiving! His canter really looks to have improved, you must be super excited for the season. What's the first event?

 

[star]

I have such a soft spot for Monty....everyone should have a horse that can jump a hedge from a dressage prizegiving! His canter really looks to have improved, you must be super excited for the season. What's the first event?

Weather dependent hoping to go to Aston then Swalcliffe BE100's. Then possibly Aston UA Novice if all is going well - eeeeeek!

His canter has come on loads but need to re discover a more forwards one for BE as discovered last week at eventers dressage that canter isn't quite desired when doing a BE 100 test!

 

[pootleperkin]

Excellent stuff! I love this dressage malarkey - G and I are starting to play with changes, he's not quite there yet, but knows what I am getting at. He is doing quite well with canter half pass on the right rein (left one doesn't exist yet!) and like the idea of changing when he hits the track after half passing from the 3/4 line Good luck this year!

 

[star]

Excellent stuff! I love this dressage malarkey - G and I are starting to play with changes, he's not quite there yet, but knows what I am getting at. He is doing quite well with canter half pass on the right rein (left one doesn't exist yet!) and like the idea of changing when he hits the track after half passing from the 3/4 line Good luck this year!

SOunds good! Just don't let him do that every time or you'll have real fun when it comes to M75 where you go HP from centre line to track and then counter canter a half 20m circle. Now we've got the changes he thinks it's real fun to stick them in everywhere! Counter canter has gone from being easy peasy to flipping hard!