Different instructor!

Hello everybody,

 Just got back from my lesson about an hour ago so while it's still fresh in my mind I will tell you all about it, and it also features a different instructor!

So, as everyone does, I started the lesson out by doing up the girth, mounting then sorting out my stirrups followed by walking around the outdoor arena stretching Jigsaw's neck and legs out and generally getting him generally ready for the strenuous (in his eyes) tasks I will present to him during the hour slot I had him for. During the walking he popped neatly on the bit.

I had a different instructor today, called Jon, which I thought was quite good as I got to see different methods of working with the horse etc, which made me compare the exersises and I got to see which one was best suited for me. For instance today I did a different method of asking for a walk straight from trot which was achieved by simply sitting and giving half halts on the outside rein and squeezes on both of the reins. However with Wayne, my other instructor who usually teaches my Sunday morning lesson, he simply told me to slow my rising down so that the horse listened to what was happening in the saddle, not just in the reins. I found both exercises extremely beneficial to myself so i'm stuck between  which method I like the best...

After about half an hour of the above, I then started to work in my upward and downward canter transitions.I have struggled with upward canter transitions since I started riding nearly 2 years ago as I subconsciously rush the trot to gain the energy and power which makes the horse jog the trot (Which is a complete pilot error, unless when I ride a lovely black horse called buddy with my school.. Buddy is extremely green and still hasn't gotten used to canter leads and the whole idea of picking up canter when there is someone on his back. Surprisingly so I can actually get him into a canter and I have only ever gotten him on the wrong lead about 5 or 6 times.) then go into a fragmented canter. However today I had about 3 perfect upward transitions. He went straight off my leg and went at a perfect canter pace. However just as he was being good and doing a neat extended trot around the school a small pony that was barely 12hh came plodding past the school for a quick lunge lesson, was apparently the most terrifying thing he had seen his whole life and did a tiny little rear (so small I didnt even really notice) and he went barreling to the other side of the school (I thought he was going to jump the fence and I was just thinking "Just squeeze the rein and jump off if you are about to jump the fence of the school". Luckily he didn't though) and stopped right in the corner next to C. I then regained control of him and slowly walked him next to where he spooked so he could check out the situation.

After the kerfuffle I had with the pony, I did some 3 and 5 loop serpentines. I had not done 5 loop serpentines before, so after a little guidance from Jon I got the hang of them. I didnt need to work on Jigsaw's bend as much as I had to in previous lessons which I was very thankful for. He bent around the corners like a dream horse and his flexion was spot on.

Below is a serpentine drawn by me on paint onto a diagram of a 20x40 school on google... I can guarantee my straightness was better than what I drew! :)

Today's lesson was great for me and Jigsaw, I did alot of position work and rising/sitting trot. (I requested to do sitting trot when I was doing a square as I had to use my outside leg to guide Jig and I personally find leg controls easier when sat in the saddle.) I learned many new techniques that I will carry on throughout my entire equestrian career too.
 I also got a new green ariat Taryn polo from the tack shop which topped my day!

 Eve :) xo

Canter work

Hello,

 I'm taking a break from this lovely warm weather to post about my lesson that I took yesterday. Hopefully this warmth will last, as I still have yet to obtain a tan...

Yesterday morning, I yet again woke up at what felt like the crack of dawn to have my weekly 9am lesson. I was on Jigsaw again which I was very pleased about!
 After mounting, sorting out my stirrups and girth then walking large around the outdoor arena once   I  started a simple halt/trot/walk transition exercise which is my personal favorite as I feel it gets the horse listening a lot more. after about 5 minutes of that I slowly started to introduce a few strides of canter at each corner. After I felt Jig had been successfully warmed up, my instructor explained an exercise for me to to, some down the center line in trot, do a square halt at X, trot to G, turn left and canter down the edge to start excerise again, changing the rein every time (I found a lovely diagram of an arena on google images for you to look at).

Somehow I  managed to make Jig halt horizontally at X (I can't take all the credit, he was trying to get pets from my trainer who was perched at E...), then on the second go I managed to get the incorrect canter lead and continued to do so every time I tried to change it (In my defense I forgot he is not capable of flying changes at first). After about 10 attempts, I got a perfect square halt which I was rather chuffed at. My trainer then asked me to do an extended canter on a 20m circle which lasted about 10 minutes, as Jigsaw kept trying to break into a trot. I could feel he wasn't taking my kicks and nudges seriously so I had to use my trusty red whip, which just a small tap made me mistake him from Frankel which made my instructor elated that he was going at such a good pace, as when I first started riding I barely kicked the animals. After I had a good long canter, I did the trot, halt, trot,halt, canter exercise about 2 or 3 more times, on the last time I got all the elements of it spot on, so my trainer and I had a mutual decision that I should stop there and go on a nice walk around the block to cool down the sweaty Jigsaw.

I think this was probably one of the most beneficial lessons I have had yet, as I havent really had an opportunity to canter a horse at that speed before. It really got me sitting in a good, comfortable postition and my lower legs stayed solid and wrapped around the little 15hh piebald pony.

Eve xox

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3 loop serpentines, flexion and bends!

Hello,

 I had an amazing private 1 hour lesson at 9 this morning on a horse I had not ridden before, a lovely 15.1hh piebald horse called Jigsaw who popped into a lovely and neat little outline easily which was highly appreciated from me. He was as good as gold today and I felt like my riding improved a heck of a lot in the one hour I rode him for, he's a new all time favourite of mine.

I did some walk to trot transition work at the start of my warmup, then after about 10 minutes I did some canter work. He worked very much on the forehand, so I had to really be aware of where I was sitting and sit deeper in the seat. He is one of the most sensitive horses I have ridden (more sensitive than a 15.3hh 19 year old dun Arab I ride elsewhere called Murphy which I thought would never happen) and therefore I didn't have to spend most of my lesson trying to get the horse to move into a walk and instead he just carried me along. However I did have to do quite a bit of work with my legs as he lacked bend in his body and had a little bit too much flexion. After I had ridden him successfully in the warmup I was instructed to do 3 loop serpentines up and down the indoor school. 

Above: Diagram of a 3 loop serpentine (courtesy of google)
It took a few turns to get him using his head and working with me, but it all paid off as he was there for me when I was turning about. To spice up this excerise we rode a 20m circle in canter twice upon completing the serpentine, then resume excerise so on and so forth. I did this until the end of the lesson. 

All in all I felt it was an extremely rewarding lesson, and I think the feeling was mutual from Jigsaw as I got a huge great big horse kiss complete with a mouthful of hay on the side of my face prior to untacking him and sponging down his sweaty little body.

Eve :)

Stirrupless Woes...

Hello everyone,

So in my past two lessons I have had to endure the wonders of no stirrups (sarcasm I hope you can tell)... I have to say, I can tolerate it when i'm on the correct horse, for instance I occasionally ride a very old pony who has patience comparable to a short fuse, as he enjoys kicking out most of the time if someone is within 200 metres of his bum, or when you're trying to pick his feet and keeps having a near hit with your face, however as soon as you break through his violent exterior he is such a lovely, honest horse and has a trot to die for, its so easy to sit to with/without stirrups (Tried to find a pic of him but I could only find one when he was my lock screen. He's a dark bay gelding who stands at sround 14.3-15hh and has grey hairs dotted around on his face), however in my last lesson I was on a horse with the sensitivity of a racehorse and the laziness of a cob, you can't quite explain who Smokey is without having a sit on him... He has a lovely canter however, as i discovered in the lesson before last when he decided he didn't like something in the newly built indoor and starts to do a series of three big bucks, then you start to dislike him for 10 minutes (can't stay too mad at the poor little dapple grey). After that little traumatic experience, my instructor refused to allow me to put my stirrups back (I'm not sure whether or he is trying to improve my skills or kill me......)

I'm counting down the days in which I can go jumping again! I reckon i'll go again after the Summer holidays and i'm riding with my school again (i'll do an excited blog post on my first jump since I was diagnosed with CFS). Last time I jumped has to have been in about May this year. I was on Badger - the laziest little cob i've ever known (He isn't really that little, he's about 15.2-15.hh i'd say) I blame the little children who have made him so ridiculously dead to the leg. Going back to the story, once he starts jumping he goes wild, apparently he is the same on Cross Country. When I did work experience with the stable, he did a chase me charlie and scrambled over 3ft (much to my disbelief), he really doesn't refuse anything you stick in front of him.

I have my second lot of work experience next week, this time i'm at my local vet helping out with all the animals and watching operations etc, so I won't be riding until Sunday morning, so i'll post on Sunday and i'll do an anecdote on Wednesday/Thursday.

Eve :)

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Welcome to Team Hardwick Equestrian!

Hello!

My name is Eve Hardwick, and upon writing this I am 15 years old. This blog is mainly for me to share my Equestrian journey with the people who read this blog, and to tell the story of my Equestrian life.

Here is a little bit about me:

As I have already stated, my name is Eve Hardwick, i'm a girl obviously, I live in North Hampshire, I am 15 years old and I am a dedicated Equestrian. I'm 5ft 5, blonde and I have been riding for nearly two years now and I ride twice a week at my local stable. I currently do not own a horse as of yet because I have schooling commitments (I board weekly at my school that is situated 10 minutes away from my house). I have not enetered any shows or had cross country schooling, I have only had lessons and I can jump to just under 2ft 9. My dressage skills are yet to flourish however, I strongly believe that with some real hard work, I may get to a show this year if I am lucky. 
 I am also very much into art, I like drawing in my spare time and I have produced a few decent horse drawings thanks to a few internet tutorials. (See Below)

I am currently in 5th form (GCSE year please kill me) and horses are my only escape from the grips of reality.

I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS or ME) about a month ago, however the doctors reckon I can get through it and horses will help me get through it all (three cheers for ponies woo!) because of my passion for them.

When I leave school and go through University, I hope to become one of three things either an Equine Dental Technician, a general Equine Vet or a general small animal vet. The latter seems the most likely as there are too many Equine vets and not enough jobs in our current climate.

My equestrian heroes are mainly Scott Brash (his smile makes me melt) and Charlotte Dujardin (See them below, I took the Pictures off of google) however I have such huge amounts of respect for William Fox-Pitt, Laura Collett, Carl Hester.... Let's just say I absolutely idolise every Equestrian okay?

I hope to give you some weekly updates, however if I fail to bring an update one week, don't be too angry with me, I have alot of work to do and horses to ride! :)

Eve  :):)

(P.S I think you should follow me on twitter by clicking here )