vid for critique (altho i've done a pretty good job of bashing myself LOL!!)

[shoveltrash]

i'm putting this vid here, avail to all member, in hopes of getting more feedback (not everyone frequents the blogs, but i'll link it from my blog as well http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/ee/boards/index.php/topic,43223.new.html#new).  

omg, i video'd my ride yesterday......

what in the WORLD has happened to my position???  how can i expect my horse to go well? well, it's a good thing i guess, because NOW i know:
KEEP MY "L-bows" for God's sake!!!!!!
upper body, capital "D" (not a "C" )
lower legs down, instead of creeping up!
nape of neck nape of neck nape of neck - press it into my 'collar' and keep my d*mn head upright!
at the end is a bit of sitting trot, nodding head collapsed/floppy torso and all  
left canter, i'm losing his outside shoulder (felt like that...).

any other feedback for improvement is most welcome (i'm my own worst critic, so don't take offense at other's comments ).

how can i have backslid so badly?

vid:  

5/21/11 schooling

(first part 50 secs is boring walk work)

[winnieandben]

Way too hard on yourself!!!!!!

[Lyndsey Lewis]

how can i expect my horse to go well?

I'll leave the riding advice to those who are more experienced teachers but I will chip in my 2 cents worth about the whole picture. Your horse looks absolutely lovely!!!!!!!!!! You have got to be doing something right!!!!!!!!!!! There are lots of riders who have 'better' positions maybe but their horses are blocked and unhappy. Your boy looks so soft and pleasant and to my eye he is extremely well balanced.

The first halt was lovely. And the change of direction at the trot was also just lovely (and that's a place where horse's often will bobble with their balance!). Canter transitions really tidy...canter left looks harder for him but you supported him nicely without throwing him off balance! I found it really nice to watch.

So...you can see stuff you might not like about your position but don't throw out everything you are doing right. You follow him so nicely and you yourself are so balanced.

When I very first had lessons I was on the lunge line which was great but one of the first things I had to learn was to just follow the horse's movement and stay balanced and centered on the horse. Until I could follow and not lose my balance, I wasn't allowed to have the reins or try and influence the horse in any way (not allowed to use my seat or leg!). The teacher who was lunging me completely controlled the horse. That was such a good experience for me because I learned that we didn't have to ride perfectly and our horse could still go well! We just needed to not interfere. And of course as we got better balanced and strong etc we could improve our position and become skilled enough to influence the horse without blocking.

So pat yourself on the back for doing heaps right and the way your horse moves is proof of that!!

I didn't think your sitting trot was so bad!! You were absorbing the movement quite well I thought. And of course you can improve your position (can't we all!!) but you have a very solid and nice base to work from. I would never let Anky or many other olympians near my horse but you can ride my horse any day!!! 

[issywizz]

Hahaha! you are funny! I was expecting it to be really terrible from what you had written 

Thought it was pretty good actually, the only thing I would add is to watch the lean to the inside esp in canter and esp on the left rein as I think its that which is causing you to lose the OS shoulder, although that is improved from the last vids.

[shoveltrash]

Sarah, i was devastated when i watched it!
the head-bob at sitting trot is probably the worst bit .
good thing my 'lean' is a bit better - i just need to be more 'aware'.

Lyndsey you are WAY too nice!
and how lucky you were to start off on the lunge, correctly .  but i still believe that rider position is key - even down to the minutiae. 

you can ride my horse any day!!!

was that an invitation to come visit you? don't tempt me!!!
however i do need to keep in mind that i myself have trained this horse, from groundwork to under saddle, all by myself (had him since he was 6 mos old).  so not TOO bad.  it's ME that i'm so aggravated with .  never the horse .

i think i'm gonna stick a dressage whip down the back of my breeches next time to keep myself *straighter* and more upright

[Trudi]

Waaaay too hard 

He's looking lovely Trish and the only thing I would say is stop worrying about the 'contact' and work the horse you have under you because you've obviously done quite a good job so far!!!

I didn't like the lunge with side reins anywhere near as much as this!

[issywizz]

Well you did go a bit floppy from the middle up in the sitting trot BUT actually what it meant was that you did absorb it and stay soft to him which is the most important after all. 

I would think you need to concentrate on keeping your pelvis in tune with his movement so that its absorbed there rather than further up.

Agree with trudi re the side reins so you must be doing something right 

[DollysMum]

Ditto everyone else, lots there to like! You look really balanced and in tune with him so whatever you're doing, keep doing it!

[ParisDiamond]

Hiya, I think you're way to critical, but that's what perfectionist are eh?  What I see different in the last few vids you've posted is the slightly forward tilt of your upper body, and your shoulders curling forwards, I think these two factors are allowing Nico to be a little deeper in his outline than he can be....remembering pictures of him at a show in his Spainish kit a year or so ago.

To correct it (something that's been helping me lately) is LOOK UP AND AROUND AT WHERE YOU'RE GOING.  I always look at my horse's head and it makes me tip forwards, when my instructor reminds me to look up (both in dressage and jumping) it changes the horse's way of going.

 

[SueC]

I would think you need to concentrate on keeping your pelvis in tune with his movement so that its absorbed there rather than further up.

 

Have a quick look at Heather's simulator videos to remind you. 

Sticking sticks down your back and jamming your neck against your collar will just make you stiff. 

[Naiad]

Hahaha! you are funny! I was expecting it to be really terrible from what you had written  

Ditto that!!

Now, I feel dreadful making any comments when any one of you could fire a zillion critiques of my riding right back at me. But my obsession with my riding position issues and a week of admiring the SRS rider positions in April has made me have a pretty good eye that far outweights my own riding ability!!  

Your overall alignment and balance looks very good to me. And your horse looks happy. This is a nice ride! Methinks I sense a perfectionist and self-critical personality like my own!!

What would I critique (since you asked)? Mainly the shoulder/upper body (slightly forwards at the shoulders?) and head looking a bit too down that caught my eyes. My RI tried telling me "Think like a princess" or sometimes I tell myself to imagine that I am an SRS rider with their elegance. Amazing how that imagery for me works more quickly than anything. Do you think you might be overall moving a bit too much with the rising/posting trot - not too high or anything, but rather just working a bit harder than you have to?? Not sure about this, but I do remember how subtle some of the rising/posting movements were in Heather's youtube simulator videos.  

[shoveltrash]

you are all so right!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
and yes, i need to *channel* an SRS rider!
what i noticed most was the curling forward of the shoulders (nodding aside ).  LOOK UP
and i do believe that MY curling causes my horse to curl.
off to find the simulator vid...........
(and read the side rein thread commentaries )

[Naiad]

Check your inbox for a message from me! 

[shoveltrash]

got it, thanks!

[Flyingfox]

the head-bob at sitting trot is probably the worst bit .
good thing my 'lean' is a bit better - i just need to be more 'aware'.

Can I chip in my little input?

1. I think it is very brave to put a video up for critique.
2. I LOVE your horse
3. I think your horse looks soft most of the time so you cant be doing a terrible job
4 The head bob. OK Well I am doing the EETT course, but I am a real beginner of EETT - so - diving in - I think its probably caused by your seatbones moving together and not separately in trot. If they move together it makes the head bob and the lower legs flap. If you move the seatbones in a one two rythm in time with the horses hips moving back and forth this will cure it I think. Riding without stirrups with your toes pressed deeply down might help you find this rythm easier. Use a strap on the saddle for security.
5. Wear a hat!!! LOL