Previous Rides: Leo

Not much is happening on the TC front other than that he got turnout yesterday and loved it! Today I'll turn him out again (hopefully) and will actually try to ride afterward. He had a much more relaxed eye after galloping around for 20 minutes, hopefully this allows me to hold on until the light goes away and the rain starts and I need to make a real decision. So for today, enjoy the story of the start of my FEI career: a Grand Prix schoolmaster named Leo.


I met Leo in 2009 when I got to ride him for a switch at my first A rating. I took the rating on Rico and was not prepared. But when you really dig into it, Leo was essentially the reason why I failed. I remember texting his owner (Katy, my then future trainer and now trainer friend from up the street who *fingers crossed* I'll be riding with again soon) and feeling really bad that I had to tell her that I failed because of her horse. Her magnificent Grand Prix horse. It was a rather embarrassing moment for me.

Mr Leo and I at PSG

Fast forward to April of 2010 and I'm in need of a horse for my second A rating because Rico had gone lame and we had no idea why (surprise! It's a suspensory AND a lesion on his DDFT). Leo happened to be available and I started riding him each week with Katy to prepare for the A rating. But Katy is the sort of overachieving person whose enthusiasm is contagious so soon she was telling me that I should do a show on him. I showed 3-3 and 4-1 in July and scored in the mid 60s.

I took my rating in August of 2010 and passed with flying colors. Katy prepared me ridiculously well and I can never thank her enough for offering me this horse and helping me to my A rating, a rating only 3 people had earned prior to me (likely because it was so new, but it's fun that I was the 4th person in the country to earn it!).

But that's not where my story with Leo ends. Rico at this point was still lame and not coming back from his surgery so I sent him down to my parent's house for retirement. Wanting a horse to ride, I kept riding Leo with Katy and began preparing for Prix St George in September 2010. Despite a trot pirouette (woops), I took home a blue ribbon and a score in the 60s.  I then earned my USDF Silver Medal on October 3rd, 2010 at Hossmoor.

Pictures of me earning my USDF Silver medal:

Pirouette left

The old man in extended trot

I felt great about my accomplishments in 2010, but with a dwindling bank account, I made the hard decision to let my lease on Leo go. I took the winter off of my own aspirations and evented a client's horse down at Galway Downs (woo! I wish I had something to event again). But I was desperate to get back to the FEI ring- I had been told by Katy that I should try for my USDF Gold Medal (about five minutes after I had earned my Silver btw, this is the enthusiasm I was talking about earlier) and I kind of laughed it off.

Ecstatic after earning my Silver, hadn't gotten the score but it
was completely obvious- a clean test

January 2011 Katy and I started working together again, and 12 rides later, Leo and I cantered up centerline at Yarra Yarra again, this time at Intermediare II. Not only did we make it through the test (with some serious faults in our pi/pa tour), we got a score for my Gold!!

In April of 2011, just one year after starting to ride Leo, I cantered up centerline again at I2 at Greenville and earned another score for my Gold! I signed up for my first Grand Prix.

Warming up for Grand Prix! 

Then, Leo went lame. He was older, so had navicular changes and typical old horse arthritis. Katy and I worked hard to bring him back in time for my GP and we were successful. Despite not cantering the week before our test, Leo, now sound, and I once again cantered up centerline, but this was our last time.  Leo was retired from the FEI levels after my Grand Prix. He soon retired for good and is now living at Katy's beautiful property.

End of a medium in our Grand Prix!

I can't describe how grateful I am that this little horse came into my life. He gave me opportunities that I didn't deserve. He made me the rider I am today. He's the reason why I was able to bring Rico back and show him at the FEI levels. He gave me confidence in my ability to ride at the FEI levels. He gave me experience at those levels so I could teach Rico the movements.

I love him and Katy for all that they have given me, and every now and then (like now) I start really missing the time we had together. I learned so much and this is now reflective in my teaching and in my riding.

Motivation and My Own Training Holes

Finding motivation to ride in this weather has been difficult! It's been cold and miserable for the last few days, and this cold, overcast weather hasn't allowed my arena to dry. The good news is that I can use the rail, so Rico is getting exercised. The bad news is that I can only use the rail, so Rico is getting bored. 

The most bored horse!

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my riding and the way my horse has been going. I tend to do this when I can't take enough lessons. I'm fairly broke these days, but on top of that, my close trainer is leaving for Florida well, today, and my far-away trainer is too far for me to ride with regularly because I usually work on weekends. So I'm feeling a little lost in my riding lately. This coupled with not being able to use my arena properly is frustrating for me.

My frustration stems from a knowledge of WHAT problems I need to fix to get Rico to the level where I want to be at, but not fully understanding HOW I can fix these problems.  I know a few exercises to say, fix a problem in the canter half pass zig zag, or in the pirouettes, but I don't have nearly the "toolbox" that I have at the lower levels. If a horse has a problem with counter canter, say, I have about ten exercises that I could name off the top of my head to introduce counter canter and fix almost any problem. But my horse struggles to the right in the pirouettes and my only idea is to do more of them until they get better. If someone came to me and said "I'm fixing the counter canter by doing more of it until it magically fixes itself," I'd laugh at them.

Perhaps the answer is more treats to bribe the pony?

This problem is likely due to the fact that I have ridden one horse at the FEI levels. I do not regret this in the slightest though!! I can confidently say that Leo was the main reason why I can actually ride my horse now. Leo helped me understand so much about riding upper level horses that it allowed me to break through the lower level problems I was having with Rico and bring him to the level he should have been at years ago when I had the money to pay for training. The problem with riding Leo the Magnificent, however, is that Leo spoiled the hell out of me.

Leo the Magnificent

Leo, now retired, was a Grand Prix horse. I had some of my favorite lessons on him, including one where I made my trainer get away from me because I was convinced that he was only piaffing because she was nearby. It wasn't all fun and games, I also had a few frustrating lessons as well, including one where I threw down my reins and proclaimed to the roof of the covered arena that I hated the Grand Prix zig zag and that I would never be able to do it.  But the problem with learning on a Grand Prix horse is that you start to get used to a level of collection and perfection that should not be expected of a Fourth level horse. Poor Rico has some big shoes to fill.

Rico the Soon-To-Be-Magnificent

So at my last lesson, I realized that I have some big holes in my training. I have never ridden a Fourth level working pirouette. I have ridden a Grand Prix quality pirouette, and have certainly ridden my fair share of bad Grand Prix pirouettes, but never a decent Fourth level pirouette. So there is me, thinking I'm pretty cool because I'm a Grand Prix rider, and there's Rico, trying to learn how to do a Fourth level pirouette as I'm asking for what I know- Grand Prix pirouettes. I'm having to learn how to do a Fourth level pirouette just as much as he is!

Good amount of collection and engagement,
needs more activity from the hind legs...?

This is what led me to become frustrated. Even though I've personally DONE all of these movements I'm teaching Rico, after my lesson I couldn't help but to worry that I'm doing this to him in the other movements. Am I asking too much of him in the half passes? The tempis? The lateral work at the trot? How do I know what to push him to do, what is too much? How do I know if I'm not pushing him enough?

You are always pushing this horse too much!

What I figure is that I have a serious gap in my riding ability. I can ride at Third level all day long. Give me a horse, I'll take it to Third level, which is a lesser known quote of John Watson's (sorry that my inner psychology nerd is showing). Give me a Fourth level horse though, and I will flail around until you give me a Grand Prix horse. There is no middle ground in my training and this is frustrating for me, and likely for Rico too. I feel lost.

Never fear, Rico the trusty trail horse will find his way home!

So my plan is to refocus my energy on learning more between now and when I win the lottery so I can take more lessons. I plan on getting through this mini-semester, which is kicking my ass, and then putting effort into reading books and watching videos specifically for training at the Fourth and Prix St George levels. I know my basics, I know the advanced work, I need intermediate education!

Stop smiling, it's your turn to learn now!

In the mean time, I plan to work more on my position. I've already started riding without stirrups more, which has been great for my sitting trot, but I also want to work on keeping my leg long and shoulders tall. I want to be able to influence Rico with lighter aids and to become even more coordinated with my seat and leg, which tend to want to work together at the canter.

And tipping, no more tipping.

So overall, I'm frustrated but I have a plan! That is, if my arena EVER lets me ride in it again... Time to break out the hair drier.