As of Friday September 8, I will be “Out of the Office”. My husband David and I are off across the pond to London , England to see our son who lives there. I will still be checking in to see what my fellow bloggers are up to but may not be posting on my usual schedule. But before I go I’d like to tell you about “The Moment”.
If you are a dressage rider you will know we live for the good moments. Dressage is such an exacting discipline that we can never get it all perfect so we focus on those moments when it is right and good. Sometimes we have amazing moments when something we have been working on suddenly comes right. WOW! There it is! And then in a few more strides it is usually gone again. But we got it . We got it for that Magic Moment. And that means we will be able to get it back and get it back more often until it becomes what we expect as the normal. So here is my moment.
I am riding without stirrups. If you follow this blog you will know that my coach Belinda Trussell has been asking for a lot of this work. We are working on the canter. The goal is to have Biasini collected and his hind end engaged and his shoulders up. How do I accomplish this when what he would like is to have his body nice and long and his head reaching for his knees. Here is how I ask for that engagement and lift.
I sit up. I keep my lower leg on his sides and then give a push with the insides of my ankles and a second later I pinch my shoulder blades together and, if necessary, with my fingers I ask him not to speed up.
THE MOMENT
I was going down the long side of the arena and the canter was going very well. Then I gave that push and then the request for him not to speed up but to bring up his shoulders and his head. And there it was……Boom! It felt like this…
But I knew that it may have looked like this….
This is US Olympian Laura Graves on her horse Verdades. This is a brilliant canter; uphill and bounding and wonderful. Maybe Biasini and I did not look exactly like this but I believe, yes I do believe, that we were very, very close to this. It lasted till we turned down the centerline for a different movement. In that lesson I got it back once more. I know that since we got it once we can get it again. How long has it taken us to achieve that ‘moment’? Well I would say we have worked on the canter this spring and summer for about 100 hours. A hundred hours for one moment? Yes! That one moment is the opening of a new door. It makes is all worth it.
HorseAddict 
It really is worth it! And eventually those magic moments string together to make many magic moments!! I love chasing those moments!
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I agree it does make the work worth it. Thanks for your comment!
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i love how you described the moment. It’s worth the 100 hours for that one moment isn’t it! I am still waiting for my moment, my uphill canter and this has given me a little more motivation to be patient and wait for it. Thank you for that. x Have a lovely trip
Mel
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Thank you and keep on working at it!
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Have a fantastic time in London. Enjoy! 🙂
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Enjoy your trip, and especially seeing your son!!!
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Nice to know this ma’am, that helps to know the beauty of hard work
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We can’t all be as good as Laura Graves, but we can try. Sounds like you got close.
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True! But it is nice to have a rider like Laura Graves to aspire to even if we can’t match her. I happened to have the photo of her and Verdades that I took last winter and I thought it was such a good representation of the uphill canter! Thanks for your comment.
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Hope you guys will have a wonderful time with your son!
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Thank you Elizabeth!
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Brava! And Godspeed.
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❤
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Oh those moments! I’m so happy for you both! Enjoy your adventure across the pond and come back with stories!!
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Thank you!
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Yahoo!! Well done! And yes, you will get again! Have a great time in London!
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thank you!
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Be safe Anne and we look forward to your return to hear about your adventures.
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Thank you and fear not if I find something horsey to speak about I will be doing that!
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Great.
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Yay! So well put Anne! It’s such a strange sport when you get right down to it – hours of hard work for moments of brilliance
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You got it! We have to enjoy those moments! Thanks for your comment.
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Hope you have a lovely time in London. 🙂 xxx
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Thank you! We always have a good time here. ( we just arrived !)
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Those moments are so exhilarating! They make all the hard work practice and patience worth it I find. For me those moments are what make dog training so addictive. Lol. Congratulations!!! Huge congrats!
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Thanks so much! I know that you will have had similar experiences with your dog training! And yes that s what makes it addictive.
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Those moments are so special and even when it becomes ‘the new normal’ it will continue to feel amazing. Well done to you and Biasini and we wish you and your husband a wonderful time in London ☺💖 xxx
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Thank you so much. We have just arrived and are having some breakfast in the BA lounge before heading in to town.
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Welcome back to the UK Anne and have a wonderful time! 😉💜 xxx
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I know this is going to sound a little strange, but dressage sounds a lot like dealing with chronic illness! We work hard to get ourselves to a point where we can do something, and sometimes it is only a one-time thing. Others we could be trying to get ourselves ready for a job, school, surgery, etc. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t. Our bodies (or minds) are the horse that we are trying to train to be ready. As you read, my “moment” was making a cake.
I have always loved horses – both watching them and riding them. Dressage is beautiful and looks very demanding. I am happy you and Biasini found your Moment!
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Actually it doesn’t sound that strange Lydia. I think it is also similar to recovering from an injury; we start to feel better and have moments of feeling fitter and know that in time we can get back to where we were. Your comparison to your cake is a very good one. Thanks for this comment.
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🙂
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Congratulations Anne. Sounds like a great moment.
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