Videos from Little Downham PN

madhector

madhector

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www.darlingdressage.co.uk
Just for those interested, thought I would upload the videos,

Dressage would be very interested to hear what mark you would give it, as didn't get a single nice comment
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I know it isn't great, but is so much better than he used to do, and I though in a few places it was OK.

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Then our fateful SJing round... he still argues in between fences, but my new method of jumping him seems to leave the fences up (apart from the one he tried to sit on
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) But again, 2 weeks ago he was annihilating everything
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And the the beginning of the XC, think I have got the hang of the napping at the start at least
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The sj is looking much more fluent.
What sort of comments did you get in the dressage? To my eye he's behind the vertical and a bit wobbly- just baby things though, you can see he's moving freely forward and not being resistant
 
his wobbly head and neck don't help, and he did take the mick a bit, but sounds a lot better than he was going. no idea really as to score... low 40s?
xc start looked very fluent. i didn't watch the sj vid as i saw it in real time!
(btw, if i think they're a bit nappy i don't go into the start box until the starter says "4, 3"... straight in the back and straight out the front, it's always worked so far... stops them stewing in there, i reckon.)
 
Unfortunately he is still very green and wobbly and drops behind the vertical a lot. He 'drifts' you on the circles too, you can see it on the SJ video as well. I am betting your 'resistant' comments were for the halt at C and both canter transitions? I don't think there is anything fundamentally wrong, but you just need to remember that he isn't being judged against what he used to be like, he is being judged against a marking system and scales of training (in theory - but that is a whole other debate!). Also remember that at PN a lot of people will be having a go on very established horses which are out competing at elementary etc.

I wouldn't be too disheartened - it is only now, after two and a half seasons, that I am starting to get the work my horse is capable of, because as a big TBx he took a long time to mature. I look back at vids of my tests which I thought were good at the time, and they were, for where he was at the time, but the marks I got were totally deserved and I can be far more critical now, whereas at the time I was really disheartened and felt a bit rubbish.
 
Dressage does need alot of work IMHO. On each turn/ circle the quarters are swinging out, the neck appears short and he looks out of balance and on his forehand. He does resist quite a bit , the head is not steady. Plenty to work on and the standard is so high now, but the jumping is much better and you have plenty of time to improve. That is the great thing with eventing , each time doing just that bit better.
 
I agree, there were nice moments, but, as I realised the other day, it isn't really what you do between the transitions which earns you the marks, it is the transitions themselves, and at the moment, those are what let you down - it'll come with time, heavens it wasn't so long ago you couldn't stay on him, so give yourself a break!

As for decent dressage and then cocking up the jumping, I did that in fine style at Stockland Lovell and felt a pleb about it too....
 
To me, the dressage still looks too hurried, it may just be the video of course but that is how I see it. But he has a nice swing to his movement and is going forward. I think you lose marks on turns and transitions because this shows up weaknesses and also it looks like his head is wobbling from side to side? But I think he has improved HUGE amounts and you should be extremely proud of that fact because that's all YOUR hard work.
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The start of the showjumping was looking heaps better but then it all rather fell to pieces but again, he is looking less difficult.
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And the xc just looks easy
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i'd agree with that, the standard of dressage at pn is really unbelievable to me, after a break of a couple of years!
madhector, there's a lot to like, honestly, and once you iron out the resistances, he'll be very impressive.
 
Not bad Ells!! You managed to return in one piece!
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Dressage, looks like he needs half halting, lots. Hard to see properly from vid and give much constructive comment though.

SJ looks much improved - was lovely to see how confident he was in the XC vid.

He has improved loads recently and hopefully will continue. Well done!
 
Watching the dressage you are going to have to work really hard on his straightness as that is totally missing at the moment. He is not working from behind properly because you are getting all this movement in the head. Once you get the straightness I think the rest will become a lot better (head, trot and marks)
 
hi you where in the same group as me, and i was told by my friend how was dressage stewarding today that he is a very harsh judge so don't be to down.
 
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Everything always comes back to his mouth, he is so fussy in it that it effects everything, he will never be truely straight till accepts the bit and stops fussing.

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I don't know if I actually agree with that - some horses are very fussy until they are straight, then once you have the straightness the rest follows naturally.

I had a very interesting session on Sat with my new trainer who basically said not to bother trotting in my warm up as TBs are not bred to trot, they are bred to canter. He made me go into canter with a light seat and work on straightness - as soon as I had him straight, he rounded his back and was much more accepting of the contact. I then came back to trot and he was super. As soon as I lost the straightness, I lost everything else. I think you need to crack the straightness first then worry about the contact, though I could be wrong and am probably not best placed to give dressage advice really so should leave it be!
 
It's hard to see from video as sometimes it speeds things up a little, but he looks a little rushed through the test to me, which causes him to become unbalanced and fall out through his shoulder. Yes he is resistant in his transitions but I think this stems from being unbalanced as much as 'attitude'. He looks as though he is trying really hard in his trot work and he has a great walk, by slowing the rhythm you will help him with self carriage.
Not sure on mark - 40/41?
 
That's ok - I feel like I have had a dressage revelation recently. It was same trainer who mentioned about the transitions too...I was moaning because in one test I got 6 for medium trot and 'not enough shown' and in the next test I really went for it and got 'try showing less as losing balance' and another 6, which led me to question what exactly they are looking for! After this warm up he spent the session showing me how to do transitions from working to medium to working again, and how to crisp them up as he thinks that is how I will get the marks higher, not by showing more over x then progressively coming back to working as I was doing. It's really fascinating being taught by him.
 
I think you should forget about the head and think about the back end. I have a very fussy horse but as he has got stronger and the back end is now working the head has got better. Mine used to use being fussy in the mouth to avoid working correctly. Even now if he is being gobby its because he is not truly straight and is not connected.
 
madhector, what bit do you have him in for dressage? cos my mare sounds so similar to him and the fat bendy rubber snaffle is the only thing she'll trust at the moment, she doesn't fuss at all, she thinks it's her friend! of course, then she starts leaning on it, which is a whole other ball game, but at least i've got a contact so i can do something from there. just an idea, anyway. haven't tried a nathe yet, might do that next.
 
I'm not going to offer you training advice becuase a) why should you listen to me?
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and b) I think it's impossible to get to the root of anything without seeing - and riding - for oneself. Absolutlely, there are absolutes, but it's how you apply them to the individual situation that makes the difference between "wow" and "eh".

But on the subject of judging, remember that first impressions count - if a horse starts too quick or low in the poll or resistant in the contact the judge will doubt everything that comes after. This might not be "fair" in the way of having every movement judged independently, but it is both inevitable and, to my way of thinking, correct. Tests are to judge training, not a collection of tricks, so anything that calls into question things like straightness, consistency of contact, relaxation etc. are - and should be - harshly penalised. Losing marks in the fundamental areas that test the basics, like the lose rein walk and the collectives, are doubly (literally) damaging to the score.

As far as what you can "do" about it, if things are improving as you wish then it's likely just a matter of time and committment to the cause.

Calm, forward, straight . . . there is, alas, not much more too it. You have a bit of a struggle if these things are not natural to the horse so you know going in that you have set yourself a difficult task. But, as you say, his other attributes make up for it! Plus, you have to ride what you've got!

Does your instructor ever go to competitions with you? Does he/she feel the horse is the same as at home and/or in different situations? If you're finding a wide divergence in your marks perhaps it really does look different?

Then again, sometimes dressage marks are just a mystery. I rode one horse I felt was working well but was often judged quite harshly until one day, by a complete fluke, I rode infront of a foreign FEI judge. He was super positive, marked the horse well and told me I was totally on the right track, saying the horse had a bright future and even taking the time to talk to me for a minute at the end about where I needed to apply my attention next. Perhaps it was "wrong" of me but I took great heart from that test and figured he probably knew a bit more about it than some of the people who were less complimentary. Sometimes you just have to shrug, not get too bent about it, and stay on your path.
 
He is back in a loose ring lozange snaffle, had him in a rubber snaffle but it was just getting rediculous, both me and my trainer decided that it wasnt working, he just completly took the mic, which with J is never very fun
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The contact was loads better in the ruber bit though, but the downsides were greater than the upsides
 
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