Going Pro, part II

So, I promised you a video of Stella's dressage test with THE PRO.  Sadly my phone is a disagreeable sort and ejected the video out the window. 

To recap in boring type, Stella did great!  She got a 35, which two seperate 4.5's.  One for "I don't really want to canter in this cave like indoor lady, OK FINE I guess I can" and "HALT?  What halt!"  Other than that she was obedient and Pro was able to keep her in the bridle for the entire test.  YEAHHH!!!!


Moving on, I had signed Pro up for a Crossrails round so they could work out any kinks over smaller fences.  I didn't anticipate any problems as Stella is usually pretty good for me over the small stuff, and she was just as good for Pro. 

Then came the 2' 3" round, a division that I've been struggling with at shows.  This is the round I was really looking forward to seeing.  Would Pro have any issues here, and would she be able to correct them?  Would they be big spectacular issues? 

Stella got a little nervous and flat over a few of the fences, probably a combo of my previous poor riding and someone new.  She hit a rail, which is something she has never done with me, and then over jumped several, which is something I'm glad I didn't have to handle!  It was nice seeing someone stay out of her way and reward her for the extra effort.  She did get a few clucks and a solid WHACK over the owl fence.  This was an oxer, and Pro said she had a hard look at the things on the ground and wasn't sure she should jump the oxer but went with a solid whack.

Overall I was very pleased, and a little disappointed.  Which is a weird mix.  I guess I expected more fireworks?  Pro's rides looked relatively easy, which I suppose is a compliment to my riding being the only person to work on her with the dressage and the only person to take her over fences.  Yet considering the difficulty I'd had with her at the last show I expected more of a schooling round. 

So what's the deal?  Why does she go forward with a simple whack or use of leg with the Pro and not me?  Does she not "believe" me?  Is some part of me saying "NO!" while part of me is saying "GO!" and she just nopes it out of town?  Is this something I can fix with my own riding to give her the ride she needs, and is it something I want to fix?  Does she need a better rider and I need a more forgiving steed?

Going pro

Giving my general failings as a rider, and a trainer (who was it that said we train our horse every time we ride?) I've decided to go pro.

No, not me.

I decided to have a pro put some rides on Stella at a show.  We seem to be making steady progress in lessons but it all falls apart at shows and I wanted to try to get the bottom of 1. Her 2.  Me  3. Us 

So pro was the way to go!

I was super nervous as I've been the only one on Stella for a long time, and the ability of someone else to just hop on and go reflected my skills as a rider.  Or lack of skills.  Stella was pretty green when I got her, so did my training amount to anything?

I found a plucky young pro who came highly recommended and had a solid history of getting on strange horses and getting them to perform at their best.  She had seen Stella go in lessons and at shows and I gave her the lowdown on what I wanted from the rides.

 Her first ride on Stella was warming up for their dressage test!

Here's a video of them working together out in the field waiting for their turn in the ring.  It was about 28 degrees, the poop was frozen, but Stella performed great!  She settled into some contact in the bridle easily, with a strange person outdoors in freezing temps.

Cantering together!  Stella picked up her right lead promptly.  An indication that my work on her right lead was finally paying off. 

But would the dressage test in the scary indoor turn out just as well?  Stay tuned for more!