Help me come up with some goals!

[daydreamer]

Last night I watched a webinar by Charlie Unwin and Anna Ross. It was really good and has inspired me to get my bum into gear and actually try and improve and *do* something.

I recently retired the 25 yo quirky ex-eventer that I have on loan for 6 years. We just mainly hacked and did some schooling and pole work. I did some Dressage Anywhere online tests - Prelim and Novice veteran and other than that probably went to about 3 shows and 2 off-yard lessons in the time I had him. I realised after riding him that although I loved him to bits and learnt a lot from him we hadn't really done very much in 6 years!

I have now started sharing a 15 yo TB ex showjumper/eventer. The owner is quite novicey and currently away a lot so I can ride him up to 4 times a week and pretty much do what I want. So I thought it would be nice to try and have some things to aim for to stop time just slipping away with me just doing the same pootling in the school and gentle hacking.

The horse seems very sweet, I've had 2 lessons already on him and we're just working on straightness. My instructor has ridden him quite a bit for the owner and says he has LY, SI and a bit of half pass in there. He has got away with not hacking with the owner by planting but I've hacked him out three times now with a friend and he has been good.

I'm not the best rider but not the worst. I enjoy flatwork the most and am okish at the basics. I have jumped (I had many SJ lessons being yelled at to prepare for my stage 3 jumping!) but haven't really done any for about 7 years or so. I'm not very competitive and shows seem to be a lot of effort for not much return. I'm also not the bravest rider so never did fun rides etc with my old horse because I was worried about my brakes. I just want to have a bit of fun with the horse and make it fun for him too - i'm definitely not a "joy-rider" and my aim isn't to just thrash the horse and then hand him back!!

I'm aware that we often make up excuses which limit ourselves so wondered if any of you have any good ideas for things to aim for!

 

[dixie]

Depends what you fancy.
if his flatwork is ok how about aiming for a low key dressage test. With the aim to get there, get around and generally take in the atmosphere. Don’t aim to get placed but to complete the test. You don’t need to be competitive but it’s something to aim for in your lessons and if you do well it’s a bonus.
Also with pleasure rides try looking up endurance GB and see if they have any pleasure classes nearby as I find them much more pleasurable and not so busy.

 

[daydreamer]

Depends what you fancy.
if his flatwork is ok how about aiming for a low key dressage test. With the aim to get there, get around and generally take in the atmosphere. Don’t aim to get placed but to complete the test. You don’t need to be competitive but it’s something to aim for in your lessons and if you do well it’s a bonus.
Also with pleasure rides try looking up endurance GB and see if they have any pleasure classes nearby as I find them much more pleasurable and not so busy.

Thanks for the idea of pleasure classes - I wasn't really aware of these. I've had a look and there are some in my area in September but I think given that I've only done 3 hacks on him so far that that's a bit soon! Fingers crossed I'll still be riding him next spring so I will have a look then and ask the owner if he is happy for me to take him out.

 

[SpotsandBays]

I used to be terrified at the thought of fun rides as I thought I’d just be hanging on for dear life the entire time but took the plunge a couple of years ago, made sure my friends were on semi sensible horses. I worried about riders passing us but I was shocked to care my horse only really cared about the horses that were with him! I LOVE doing them now, you can go at any pace you want, there really is no need to hare around them. Perhaps pick a later time when it’s less busy, although I go early as possible to get the best ground and once we’re off we don’t tend to see many others out on the course. If it’s something you fancied doing I suggest maybe boxing up with a friend somewhere like a private hacking facility first and seeing how you go!