How did I get HERE? : Clinic Day!

Today I took my mare Sera to a Dressage clinic. It was a "ride-a-test" clinic where we each rode a test and then worked with the judge to have a lesson after our test to improve things that would make our tests better, our horses better and us, as riders, better.

It started last night with a theory session. We watched Reiner Klimke on Ahlerich perform the famous Pas De Duex with Anne Grethe Jensen on Marzog, discussed the USEF rule book and discussed questions people had given prior to the theory session.

I got home too excited to sleep. I love Dressage, it's theory, principles - really everything about it. I was raised Catholic and went to all girls Catholic school so I can say this... it's like if you want to be a good Catholic and go to heaven you have to study your bible and work really hard to follow the Catholic doctrine and church teachings as close as you possibly can...

I don't like organized religion so much and I stay pretty far away from it these days for reasons of my own. I'm only using it as an analogy. Dressage to me is like my religion... I work really hard and want to be the best I can be. The USEF Dressage rule book is my bible and I worship at the alter of the horse!

It was a beautiful day outside - cool and overcast but not COLD - no wind and no rain. I rode Second Level Test 1 and it was my first time riding Second Level but my trainer Rex said I was ready to move forward. I was her only student to ride Second Level - everyone else rode Training or First Level - so yeah - no pressure or anything!

I watched the other rides during the first 1/2 of the day, went home over the lunch break to get my mare, Sera. Back to the clinic to saddle up, warm up and ride my first Second Level test.

We did well - I know our simple changes aren't good but the rest of the test went well. We actually ended up scoring a 66.8% which is an AWESOME test score! Even with our bad simple changes... Sera can get tense in her neck and jaw and this is our biggest issue. In our lesson after the test we worked on getting Sera more through and relaxed which then helped us to work on our simple changes. We got a couple really really NICE simple changes!

It was a really wonderful day. I was with good people, good horses, I rode well and enjoyed my mare immensely. What more can you ask for?

Oh - in the pix below she has hot pink bandages on her back legs...she, uh, had a bit of an accident about 6 weeks ago and cut up the fronts of her back legs up going through a fence. (another story another time!)

She is sound but they need to remain covered while the healing continues. The skin is too new and pink and soft and we are trying to prevent scarring... they are healing up very nicely so don't worry! I got the go ahead from my vet to ride her again a couple weeks ago.

Now here are the pix of me and Sera... oh, and I'm also old and I have a belly roll... dunno what happened to my 20-something semi-flat tummy - but it is LONG gone... so y'know there is that.

The judge in blue - does she look tough or what? Her nickname is "The Colonel"... Next to her is Elizabeth, who owns the barn we rode at. Thanks Elizabeth for the use of your beautiful place!

Halt at X

I'm trotting...I'm trotting...I'm trotting.... Nice day - big arena - you can't see my roll when I'm that far away! Working with The Colonel after my test...