Oh that's right; Stressage

I don't know if I have mentioned this but I hate dressage. I don't understand it, I don't get the marking it really makes no sense to me. I mean I like to ride a beautifully schooled horse, with all the lateral work and who travels in a soft adjustable obedient manner, but it doesn't seem to cross over that well. Also China can be very sure he knows all the answers at times. 

So we go to the dressage show and we are riding 1b and 1c. Nothing overly technical though he doesn't really understand the lowering of the neck in the stretchy exercises. But the problem is accuracy. Schooling for jumpers I can wait until everything is soft and then ask for the transition or something. In dressage it's so often at the marker I have just blasted past.

The warm up was terrible I didn't allow enough time and he never stopped with the reluctant away from the truck and falling out so badly towards it. Also plenty of open mouth turn and bolt. Yikes. 

That trot though! God and dressage saddles feel so damn unsafe! So insecure it wasn't a good time. In one of our canter transitions he locked onto the arena pipe and tried to jump out. I completely missed te other lead which has never happened before, but then again not being schooled to a marker only to the feel previously at home. The judge even said I had hard hands 😭. Worst comment ever. Scored 53% marks from 7-3 and honestly the marking was fair I'm losing marks in all Te important places- transitions and the left canter.

New strategy, long warm up with the addition of a drop noseband so when he went to throw his head and piss off it wasn't an option anymore you sucker horse. The trot work at the start felt a lot lot better but our transitions were awful and again I missed te left lead even though I prepared so early.

Deceptively nice picture, not representative of true test quality. Still that trot though, from my Mousey little tb. Images with thanks from Striding images photography. So the second test ended up with a 56% and still so much work to do before the next one in three weeks. Bobs gone home for three weeks but I think he'll come out for the next one which will be interesting. Dressage I so hate your guts