The 4 highly ineffective habits of upper level event riders

I'm sure this is not the habits of all event riders, but they are bad habits of mine that I feel most of my friends trying to compete at this level (especially those of us on a shoe string budget with one or two horses)

1.  The tiny basket full of eggs.  First off, those of us that have one or two horses basically has all of our eggs in one tiny basket.  I found this past season that my poor basket had some seriously BIG holes.  I've been riding at home with Reese and Craig for dressage and SJ and made some HUGE improvements over the past several years on those two phases.  BUT I was hoping that have influence from those two sides of the spectrum would just magically keep my cross country on the straight and narrow.  Though i dont think that riding at this level is easily achieved with just the help of one eventing coach.  It is important to get the help in all 3 phases from an eventing coaches perspective even if it is just time to time.  The show jump trainer and dressage trainer (unless they once had a background in eventing) do not have the perspective to get their teachings flow into another phase.  But from the eventing coaches/trainers perspective he understands how all 3 disciplines have to communicate with each other.  This, I believe, is very difficult for trainers specializing in one phase/discipline.  
I also will add that I do think that the outstanding training that I have received from my dressage and show jumping trainers has made me incredibly competitive in those areas!

2.  We tend to tell our horses what not to do instead of WHAT to do.  I am so guilty of this with Lewis.  Mainly "stop spooking at that stuff near the fence!".  It would be a better use of my focus and his, to tell him "jump this" or instead of "stop spooking at 'M'".... "sit on your hocks now or shoulder in now".

3.  Looking at the stuff you are trying to avoid instead of looking at what you are trying to accomplish.  Lewis being a very spooky monkey, has trained me to look for the stuff he will spook at.  So i find myself on xc or in sj starring at the pile of brush or banner on the rail that I KNOW he will spook at.  I then will miss my line to the next fence because I wasn't focused on where we were putting our feet in the turn.  Or I could be on xc and have a group of people get in my way, that is always unnerving.  They will move, you just focus on your line to the fence.


4.  Taking it personally.   I think the biggest problem I had last season was that I took every stop, run out, spook, dropped rail, bad fence, tense dressage test, lackluster preformace PERSONALLY.  Like someone was physically ripping my heart out of my chest.  To me this ONE horse is EVERYTHING.  (Again all eggs one basket). I felt like every problem was jerking that dream of ROLEX further and further away.... taunting me!

I was so deflated every time I had a problem it was chipping away at my confidence.  And in the mean time, I think it was making my horse really dislike me!  Somewhere between Ocala and Lexington after Christmas my sweet Lew was asking me to scratch is spot and picking my pockets for treats.  After our disaster at Poplar in Nov Lewis has stayed in the back of his stall, avoiding me like the plague, no interested in being touched or given any treats.  Apparently it took a 12 hr drive to FL, about 30 run outs, then some rebuilding confidence, and a 12 hr drive home for my horse to like me again.  (and before people blame gastric ulcers he was scoped and we found none, and just to be safe I had also put him on gastro gaurd!  none of it helped, he really was avoiding me) Today was the first day I have been on him in my dressage saddle in over 2 weeks and I had the best ride I have had on the flat in months!  Flying changes every 3 strides with no kicking out!!!!  And his ears were up.  Oh joy!

I guess to sum up my ineffective habits of upper level event riders:  fight like you train, train like you fight

Keep your ears up
Jenn

Merry Christmas!  I hope that everyone had a great day and had time to visit with family and friends.  I know too well that having horses makes getting to family tough!  I have had to slug through the barn chores more than one holiday in my life.  Horses don't take holiday.  I was lucky to find two local girls to take care of the barn while I drove to Indy to see my family.  I just got back from FL on the 23rd drove to Indy the 24th then back here to Lexington today.  Shew... in the past 10 days I have logged nearly 2500 miles.
Katie dog (my faithful companion of over 10yrs) was with me every mile.  She did start to complain this afternoons as we drove back to Lexington (she is also a terrible navigator as she rides 99% on the passenger floor).  

When you choose a career path of a professional horse person you had better be prepared to work holidays, spend more time with the trailer in the rear view mirror than you do with out, and you better love it!  I stopped down at the barn on my way home to slip Lewis his holiday treat and scratch his "spot'.
He is so more than "just a horse"
Here is a peom by Jess Schwarcz that most horsey people have read, but it never gets old!

'Just a Horse'

From time to time, People tell me 'lighten up, it's just a horse.' From time to time People tell me, ' a lot of money spent' From time to time People tell me, 'it's just a horse.' If you really think it's 'Just a horse, ' Like 'just a promise, ' 'Just a friend, ' Than you can't see The beauty of it all. You just can't see. The distance traveled, The time spent, And the costs involved for 'Just a horse.' The reason to rise, Early in the morning, Taking those long walks, Even when it's pouring. It's my proudest moments, My only company, The saddest moments, And the gentle touch, That gave me a reason to go on. It's the hopes and dreams, And the coming of the future. The fond memories of the past, And the unforgettable joy of the coming day. So... If you really think it's, 'Just a horse, ' Like 'just a promise, ' 'Just a friend, ' Than you can't see, The beauty of it all. You just can't see. 'Just a horse' Brings out the best in me, 'Just a horse' It gives me who I am and Keeping me from being, 'Just a girl.' 'Just a woman' 'Just another passing being' I'll smile and nod to agree, knowing deep down I don't. you may think it's 'just a horse, ' but it never will be for me. If you really think it's, 'Just a horse, ' Like 'just a promise, ' 'Just a friend, ' Than you can't see, The beauty of it all. You just can't see and a great video someone made with the Poem in mind  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR6Qk7AdVgE

  Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
Peace
Jenn

Trainer Head Tilt

After yesterdays grueling school on Lewis (Kyle did get on him at the end of my ride to work on some stuff I was still missing... Lewis looked like a 13hh pony) I decided to give him today off.  I hopped on him bareback to go on a hack around the farm.  Most of the farm where we are staying is reserved for cattle, mainly longhorns.  Lewis isn't scared of these guys, ambles right by them when they are on the fence, but a leaf by the gate almost sent me flying.  When in doubt hold the mane.  Lewis' next career move maybe reining, I have never ridden a horse that can spin as fast as him.

Anyway, I ventured over to Five Ring Stable (Kyle's aptly named farm) with Hannah Williams and Liam (whom she purchased from us at Antebellum) to watch her dressage lesson.  Kyle, as always, was full of insight on how to correct some issues that seem to be reoccurring not just on the flat but when jumping as well.  Being a trainer and teaching lessons myself I always find it amusing to watch other people teach.  Where does the "trainer head tilt" start, and what in the world does it help us see?  We ALL do it, I, like most others I have noticed tip my head to the right...  has anyone else paid attention to this?  Is this some way to access the right brained part of our thinking?  Are we trying to make the horses look more "uphill"?  I wonder if I should conduct a study on this.   Do people that coach other sports also have this mysterious head tilt?

It is amazing how crooked we can make our selves while yelling at the riders to keep their horses straight.  Is this some sort of butterfly effect where we take all the crookedness away from our riders and horses and put it into ourselves?  After a long day teaching my neck gets sore.

Final FL lesson on Lew tomorrow before the long drive home.  It is really difficult for me to remember that it is December only days before Christmas in the warm upper 70 degree weather down here.  I can't seem to rationalize the decorations and Christmas music on the radio.  I dread going back north, I know its been warm there the past few days, I'm sure I will be punished by mother nature as soon as I get back to work!

Hoping for a mild winter,
Jenn

Fight Like you Train, Train like you Fight

Greetings from WARM sunny Ocala (ish), FL!
(Ocala (ish) was the panicked location I gave the officer at the Agriculture Station when he asked where we were headed... I am in Micanopy which is just north of Ocala)

I'm going to give this Blog thing a try, though I am pretty sure I told a few people that I would start it when I began this trip to FL.  As this trip is VERY short (1 week) you have to give me some what of a break, starting the blog before today would have conflicted with my very much needed nap time!

As most of you know I try to make the crazy 12hr trip down to Ocala (ish) a few times a year to meet up with Kyle Carter to polish my cross country skills with Lewis.  This past season of 2010 seemed to have put some serious tarnish on those skills.  Today was my 3rd jump school with Kyle.  Today was a continuation of the severe angle lesson we had on Sunday.  Today we built the questions around xc fences instead of show jumps (which I was pretty good at running into the early part of Sundays lesson).  After having several run outs at a very angled log to a table I was at the verge of tears with frustration.  I can answer the question by putting a slight turn in the line... "dumbing it down" as Kyle said.  I just couldn't figure out how to ride through straight (man that SOUNDS so easy).  Then we had a talk about me giving in, I wouldn't give in so easy to allow the run out to happen if I was in competition would I?  Well, that was Kyle's question to me... quite frankly YES I had been giving in that easy.  Hell, I had trained me to train the horse to train me to give in.  (does that make sense?  Lewis if a human would have an IQ of 220... thus most of my problem the horse is lazy and smarter than me, great!)  "fight like you train, train like you fight" Kyle told me... (apparently this is from some military handbook).  SO now I need to train myself to fight to train the horse to fight.

If I put a jump in front of him, no matter how difficult, I must expect him to find a way over it.  He has plenty of scope, power, ability, (and... sigh... brains) to figure out how to accomplish what I have presented to him.  Now to BELIEVE it can happen.

This, ironically, ties in with some of what I have learned from taking meditation classes the few times I have gotten to go.  Riding IS so much a mind game.  Obviously, you need to have the skill and horse to accomplish  the questions presented to you at whatever level you are riding.  No matter if you are a Beginner Novice rider coming to a down hill fence or a 4 star rider turning to a line of offset corners.  The belief must be there.  So FIGHT LIKE YOU TRAIN, TRAIN LIKE YOU FIGHT

Take the leap,
Jenn