HufflyPuffly
Well-Known Member
It was a few weeks ago now but the videos have just come through so thought I'd write a little report 
.
I'd had a lesson with Mark before Christmas when my friend had had to pull out so I knew his attitude and teaching style suits us. He's very funny, positive, will say it like it is and pushes enough without over facing you or the horse. Was a little embarrassed he remembered the jumping the wrong fence incident, but nice to know he does take enough of an interest in his riders to remember them
.
Warm up, Mark wants you to get them going forward into a light seat and then back again into a more collected pace. The reasoning is to instill from the start that they can go forwards but have to be able to come back to you smoothly when asked. Transitions are the key to all disciplines really, the horse has to be listening to the rider! The technical arena at Somerford is fab because there is so much space, Skylla struggles sometimes with other horses and personal space issues, which is why clinics are perfect for her. The space at Somerford meant she never boiled over being too close to anyone whilst still be able to work on her issues.
Once everyone was warm, Mark asked us to each canter over a pole on the ground, letting the horse stay in a rhythm and just canter over it. Starting from the get go that the horse has to be able to jump the jump, the rider just gets the horse there
. I was told to relax and let her do it, some habits die hard! I struggle to trust that she will stay bold and jump cleanly (yes even over a pole lol), so want to micromanage her, Mark is almost the opposite of this and wants me to let her figure it out, which I know will be much better long term, I just need someone shouting at me to let go 
.
Moved on to a small rolltop and same again, set up a nice canter and then let them just jump the fence, so simple right?
Skylla says so anyway!
Next, keeping it simple still but building a little course together, initially using related distances in straight lines before adding in a curved line of fences:
Moved to the other side of the arena where I thought all the fences looked big lol. Skylla was doing fabulously but I'm still feeling a little out of control between fences which makes me shove my lower leg forward and brace through the upper body, looking at the videos I can see she looks keen but not overly rushing so I do need to trust and relax more so I can be more effective in the saddle.
Skylla seems completely unperturbed by the fetal chair position, so at least it's just something I need to work on! I think the more I jump her the more I will un-clench... It was interesting having a range of people in the group as we all had our own issues, mine was to to relax more, others needed more impulsion, less impulsion, more straightness, more breaks, etc so it's super useful to watch and gain tools for issues in the future!
Adding this picture in as my face is hysterical, Skylla was less scared of the fish than me it would seem!
Mark was keen to keep Skylla over small fences but to up the technical aspects, he wants to get her super confident over the smaller fences at any angle or combination before moving her up the heights. So we worked on jumping fences on an angle and keeping her straight and focused to skinnies.
So homework is to relax, hands forward and down and just let her canter into the fences without panicking that I'm going to die! So far we're doing ok, we went out for a showjumping evening, which in an indoor was quite tight for Skylla so we did trot some of the corners but I think her confidence (and mine!) is definitely increasing, well I seem to panicking less at getting it wrong or duff strides at least! Also pleased with how much stronger Skylla looks, she starting to find it easier to keep her canter and although we had the odd half change in here and there she feels much more balanced and less flaily, hopefully the jumping will continue to help her strengthen up behind!
Next weekend is arena eventing at Kelsall which I am very
about but need to get out there if I want to do a BE80 this year!
.I'd had a lesson with Mark before Christmas when my friend had had to pull out so I knew his attitude and teaching style suits us. He's very funny, positive, will say it like it is and pushes enough without over facing you or the horse. Was a little embarrassed he remembered the jumping the wrong fence incident, but nice to know he does take enough of an interest in his riders to remember them
.Warm up, Mark wants you to get them going forward into a light seat and then back again into a more collected pace. The reasoning is to instill from the start that they can go forwards but have to be able to come back to you smoothly when asked. Transitions are the key to all disciplines really, the horse has to be listening to the rider! The technical arena at Somerford is fab because there is so much space, Skylla struggles sometimes with other horses and personal space issues, which is why clinics are perfect for her. The space at Somerford meant she never boiled over being too close to anyone whilst still be able to work on her issues.
Once everyone was warm, Mark asked us to each canter over a pole on the ground, letting the horse stay in a rhythm and just canter over it. Starting from the get go that the horse has to be able to jump the jump, the rider just gets the horse there
. I was told to relax and let her do it, some habits die hard! I struggle to trust that she will stay bold and jump cleanly (yes even over a pole lol), so want to micromanage her, Mark is almost the opposite of this and wants me to let her figure it out, which I know will be much better long term, I just need someone shouting at me to let go .Moved on to a small rolltop and same again, set up a nice canter and then let them just jump the fence, so simple right?
Skylla says so anyway!
Next, keeping it simple still but building a little course together, initially using related distances in straight lines before adding in a curved line of fences:
Moved to the other side of the arena where I thought all the fences looked big lol. Skylla was doing fabulously but I'm still feeling a little out of control between fences which makes me shove my lower leg forward and brace through the upper body, looking at the videos I can see she looks keen but not overly rushing so I do need to trust and relax more so I can be more effective in the saddle.
Skylla seems completely unperturbed by the fetal chair position, so at least it's just something I need to work on! I think the more I jump her the more I will un-clench... It was interesting having a range of people in the group as we all had our own issues, mine was to to relax more, others needed more impulsion, less impulsion, more straightness, more breaks, etc so it's super useful to watch and gain tools for issues in the future!
Adding this picture in as my face is hysterical, Skylla was less scared of the fish than me it would seem!
Mark was keen to keep Skylla over small fences but to up the technical aspects, he wants to get her super confident over the smaller fences at any angle or combination before moving her up the heights. So we worked on jumping fences on an angle and keeping her straight and focused to skinnies.
So homework is to relax, hands forward and down and just let her canter into the fences without panicking that I'm going to die! So far we're doing ok, we went out for a showjumping evening, which in an indoor was quite tight for Skylla so we did trot some of the corners but I think her confidence (and mine!) is definitely increasing, well I seem to panicking less at getting it wrong or duff strides at least! Also pleased with how much stronger Skylla looks, she starting to find it easier to keep her canter and although we had the odd half change in here and there she feels much more balanced and less flaily, hopefully the jumping will continue to help her strengthen up behind!
Next weekend is arena eventing at Kelsall which I am very
about but need to get out there if I want to do a BE80 this year!
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