Todays’ Test was a Triumph!

Today Lynsey Rowan rode my horse Biasini in the FEI Prix St.George dressage test. I know from when I have ridden him in the competition arena that he can get very strong and start to pull like a freight train! But today I could see there was none of that. His frame was in the ideal shape and he maintained it throughout the entire test. He looked steady and even throughout. When Lynsey came out she told me he was light in the contact through the whole test. This is a triumph for this horse and it is a tribute to Lynsey’s riding that in her training with Belinda Trusell and her work on her own she has got the message across that he has to carry himself and not pull down and expect his rider to carry his head and neck. This is not something that can be accomplished quickly it takes the building of muscle in the horse to be able to carry itself. And it also requires absolutley consistent training. Everytime Lysney has ridden Biasini she has said: “No! don’t pull,carry your own head and neck”And today we saw the result of that hard work.

A riders natural tendency when a horse pulls is to pull back but this only makes matters worse. Belinda has Lynsey use her knees to half halt and not her reins. She has to use more leg to push him up into the right frame.

I am very proud of my horse and also of his rider today!Here are some photos. Below is the extended trot.

Above the shoulder in.

Above is the trot half pass.

Canter pirouette above.

The final halt and salute.

Here is a video of the test . My husband had a difficulty with my phone camera and it suddenly went to a selfie of him! I have edited this out but in doing so I have lost the canter half pass zig zag. Lynsey and Biasini scored an 8 for this movement. That is an excellent score from a dressage judge. Their final score was 71.617 for third place in a large class. Here is a link to the video.

So I hope you will understand now why I saw this day as a Triumph!