We arrived on Good Friday and Sabio was an absolute dream - he settled into his stall nicely and we got ready to ride on day 1. Sabio is my off the track Thoroughbred gelding I purchased in the fall, and have only shown twice (January and March) before riding at Can Am.
My key takeaways from Day 1 included:
- Take a deep breathe and try to relax and focus... remembering courses is key
- Collection is important - be able to adjust strides easily from shorter to longer
- Precision is important - riding every jump with a plan, riding every transition with timing
- Use poles at the top end of the ring to encourage riding the whole ring
From Day 2:
- Ask, Tell, Demand - this is similar to the Parelli phases
- Transitions need to be snappy - the horse needs to respond right away
- Practice lengthening and shortening strides in the same line (although Sabio really just needs practice with shortening)
- Practice transitions within a line of jumps
- Have a mix of trot and canter approaches to jumps
- Gymnastics are key to teaching form and patience to horses while jumping
From Day 3:
- Outside aids hold a turn together
- Plan turns a jump ahead - e.g. taking a jump on an angle to set up better for the next jump
- Practice Figure 8's with jumps along the outside wall.
- Practice roll backs for smooth turns and centred to each jump
- Count strides and know your plan of strides for every line and turn
All in all it was fantastic but I did have my fair share of blunders with successes - watch the footage and get my take on things... with both the good and embarrassing moments... http://youtu.be/1xpE6OMMpYc
