Had an absolutely fascinating session on Douglas, Sue Gould-Wright’s Racewood eventing simulator over in Suffolk today. Sue teaches pilates and approaches correct riding from a very anatomical viewpoint, which works really well for me as my hypermobility leads to a number of issues that I feel I’ve never really got a grip on with other instructors. The use of a simulator is also great as Douglas is super obedient and just carries on with what he’s supposed to be doing and let’s me work out what I’m supposed to be doing!

This is Douglas: https://www.facebook.com/equestrianpilatesuk/videos/1848953155132473/

Douglas gives a very detailed reading whilst you have him in ‘perfecting your seat’ mode. You can just about make out the screen at about the 1 min mark in this promotional video:

He has a bunch of sensors so in his back, on his sides and round his mouth so you can see if you are sitting squarely and moving straight or if you’re a bit wonky and blocking your horses movement! We very quickly discovered how my hips are affecting Dino’s ability to move freely. I have very tight hip flexors which are tipping my pelvis forward and causing me to clench my buttcheeks a lot (glamorous this, no?). Once my pelvis is tipped forward I’m not really able to move my spine very freely so I’m not absorbing his movement, my lower legs are waggling about and my chest and shoulders are moving more than they should. No wonder the pony doesn’t walk forward very smartly!

So, I need to concentrate on:

• Released my clench bum muscles and gently rotate the pelvis back so I’m sitting squarely on my seat bones
• Allowing my thigh to turn inward, bringing the inside of me knee into contact with the horse and then wrapping my whole leg quietly around the pony
• Relaxing all of this, and my lower spine so I can abosrb the horses movement
• This should allow my feet to more naturally turn forwards and rest my feet in the stirrups, not jam them down
• THEN I need to concentrate on keeping my shoulders and head stiller, bringing the bottom of my rib cage gently toward my spine (but not clenching those butt cheeks!)
• Finally (!) I need to widen my shoulders slightly, dropping the weight into my elbows and bring my head back so my chin isn’t sticking out

Ok then! After an hour mostly at walk I could sit quite nicely on Douglas’s collected trot:

Back to Barnfields and hopped onto the real pony, in the rain, and I can certainly feel the difference!! And so can Dino!! It was very much coming and going, as I ‘got it’ for a bit and then tightened and lost it but when I ‘had it’ Dino was moving much better and offering to hop into trot without really being asked. The key question is keep asking is ‘where I am using more effort than I should? What’s tense that shouldn’t be?’. So I shall be doing some practising but I will need to go back a few times over the next three months I think so really get to grips with this ‘new’ way of riding. Also I need to get to grips with rising trot and canter! But a wonderful lesson and well worth the cost and the drive. Maybe I can actually learn to ride after all these years….

Dino was on super form yesterday! We had a bunch of canter I didn’t ask for which was still an evasion from the trot I was asking for, but I’ll take it over the lack of motivation we had before. It’s safe to say this clicker stuff is really beginning to bear fruit. We had a hiccup at the start of the week where he got a bit stuck in a very go slow frame of mind as I think I was either blocking him, or wasn’t being clear enough about what I wanted. We took a couple of days to lunge and have a day off and then he was much better yesterday! So lovely to see!

I’m arranging a session on a simulator for later this month to see if I am blocking him or not sitting straight. It’s so hard to tell from aboard the horse but the simulator has pressure pads which will show if I’m sitting too far to one side or something. Really looking forward to it!

Full health and beauty day for the pony! Trimmer up at 08.00 and osteopath at 12.00….so nice fresh polished toes and a regular untwangling. That left hip of his was jammed up again, pretty much the same as usual. It’s a bit annoying it keeps happening…but I guess that’s why I pay David! As ever we should be doing more polework and riding slightly more on the right rein than the left.

Ho hum. Lesson with Katie this week and hopefully we’ll do some work on the lunge so I can practice smaller, quieter leg aids in trot, assuming the pony is agreeable!

Summer is nearly over but we get a few more warm days at least. Getting to the point where sunset happens as I’m at the yard of an evening and I’ve had some wonderful low sun evening views this week, hopefully get a few more before we head into the dark of winter!