DSO Training Test 2

 

I was pleased with this test, especially because going into it I knew our canter work was “variable “.  See it HERE.  I kept my soft eyes, Cruise was calm and obedient, and our canter transitions were a little late/early.  Oh well.   I liked how solid he was and felt like the judge’s pointers on the free walk, stretchy circle, and my sitting up were valid and helpful.  Next month I’m planning on doing Training 3 and hopefully we will score above 60% as well, which would have us qualified for the year end Dressage Show Online in August in all three Training tests.  It’s a small goal to keep me chipping away at improving the canter and my test riding in general.

Besides polishing components of the Training tests, we’ve also been working on the goal of walk, trot, and canter on the buckle.  He’s solid at the walk and trot and about half a ring of canter.  It’s not far off though.  We’ve also been doing a ton of groundwork, some TRT Method with scary objects and tools, and a lot of field walks.  I feel like my deep dive into Warwick Schiller gave me a better understanding of a horse’s focus, sympathetic/para sympathetic state, and general ability to read a horse.  I’m taking all that and revisiting the TRT Method and it’s going really well.  Hopefully, leading to hauling out to SW’s in the near future.  I also found a somatic yoga video on YouTube to release my psoas and hopefully help me sit up.  The jury is still out, but I will do a post soon if I find it helpful.