My new website is up and running, the address is www.alexandraduncan.net check it out. I am going to be putting up training videos once a month .
Jan has been away most of this week but I managed to get two great lessons in. My lesson on Thursday was fantastic, he taught me some great tricks on how to disguise difficulties in the test. Vitall is still green at PSG so a trick for the changes on the short side is to think about shaving the corner a tiny bit and making that line a slight diagonal. Riding the corner thinking about a diagonal line helps you keep the horse more between your legs without loosing the hind quarters and counter flexing too much. When I tried this on Vitall I was amazed how well it worked, my change were much more expressive and strait.
We were also working on doing everything through relaxation with very subtle aids. Making sure when I go forward that I just sit heavy and drive with me seat and leg and give in the hand so he can follow into the contact. Subtle aids are the key factor for riders especially when we get nervous or anticipate too much as we tend to overdo our aids, knocking the horse off balance or creating tension. So this week, these were my two learning moments “subtle aids” and the creating small lines within the test to improve weaknesses. Next week we will be gearing up for the Swedish Championships. I will be riding on the Friday again no mom 🙁 but she is arriving that weekend and I can’t wait to see her.
Oslo is now fully a Swedish dog and can travel freely around Europe. I took him to the vet to get his shots updated and he got a Swedish passport which I thought was kinda cool. I also had to update my FEI passport this weekend and I totally forgot that Vitall is very sensitive to shots. He’s had a bad reaction and his poor neck has a big bump and it’s really sore to touch. I feel really bad for him so for the last three days I have been doing hot compresses and applying arnica cream and hand walking him. He is kinda enjoying his mini vacation but I told him that he has to heal by Monday because we have work – fingers crossed!
The fall weather has been beautiful check out this picture from the forrest were I go walking with Vitall and Oslo.
