Is this you Gwen?

[musical comedy]

https://www.usef.org/network/coverage/DuttaFOC2017/

This looks like Gwen's pony having a lesson live at the USET Festival of Champions.

Well, it's over now and it was Gwen. Good job!!

[Ryeissa]

WOW! How come we didn't know about this awesome-ness? congrats!

[musical comedy]

She made the front page of COTH. She had a lesson with Laura Graves! Wow. Go Gwen.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/lau ... gh-tension

[Dresseur]

Very, very cool Gwen! We expect a full report!

[demi]

So exciting! Great job. And very nice pictures!

[Chisamba]

Nice article Gwen.

[Josette]

Looks like a great lesson! I really enjoyed the article and pics.

[orono]

What a great article!! You both look terrific!

[Gwen]

Ha - yes, that's us! It was a cool experience, Laura was super helpful and kind, and we learned a lot. I have to admit, in retrospect, I was incredibly naive about the whole thing. For example, I had no idea the article above was going to happen until I saw it on this thread, I didn't know until a few days before that it was going to be live streamed, and I didn't know we would be featured in Dressage Today until we got to the grounds the day before, but it wasn't a surprise to the other participant so I think I'm just a moron.

I love the USET show grounds for reasons I can't really articulate, I just love the history and the beauty of the setting, and I love that they do the Festival of Champions there because it means getting to see people and rides I wouldn't be able to see without going to Wellington. They wanted to do these clinic rides as a fundraiser for the USEF, and to promote the event, but it conflicted with the Saugerties show so a lot of people weren't around, which explains how we got involved. I think they would have had a better selection otherwise!

I knew that Callie would be nervous, we've shown there before but Laura asked us to not warm up to make sure we had the tension to work on - it had been 90+ degrees the day before, and that morning it was raining, windy, and low 60s, so we ended up having the expected tension plus quite a bit more! I had to be on the ground to get a mike (both our voices were getting broadcast around the arena), so we did no lunging or riding - Callie was hand walked around in the rain, and then I hopped on and went in the ring. As a funny side story, as Callie was getting walked around she made a dive to get a bite of some of the flowers - she's a stress eater, and needs to eat her feelings on days like this! If there had been a bag of chips I would have done the same thing.

So, there were loudspeakers, umbrellas, an unusually high number of judges boxes, spectators, cameras, cold, rain and no warmup for either one of us. I hadn't factored in how much of our usual warmup is about me, as I'm always thinking about Callie, but I realized yesterday that I also need a bit of time to get oriented, feel her out, feel me out, and see where we both are on a given day - I'm just not a good enough rider to hop on and go, so doing that in front of a whole bunch of people and on camera was more pressure than I had anticipated.

I've shown with Callie when she has been tense about her surroundings, and we've put in our share of ugly tests, but I've never had her be so nervous that I didn't think I could have gotten her to the final salute. Yesterday, there is not a chance that we could have completed any test, let alone 2-3, even by the end of the lesson! She (and I) also have asymmetries that are exacerbated when we are nervous, so those were the first things we focused on - it was a good reminder that in addition to managing tempo with my body and not the reins, if I can bring the attention to just being symmetrical it helps us both feel more balanced, focused and calm.

I think my biggest take away is to remember to put my leg on when she feels like that - I've put so much energy into getting my leg off, I have been an overgripper in the past when she feels like she's going to head for the barn and I've really fought to learn to not do that, so it was interesting to learn that I've gone too far in the other direction. I haven't learned to do a soft "hug", I've just gone from death grip to nonexistent! I could feel her calm down as soon as I put my leg on in the walk, and also felt her surprise at my canter aid when we went from no leg contact at the walk to "go" - when she's that distracted I think she forgets I'm up there, especially if I'm trying not to get in her way or make things worse.

I think Dressage Today is going to edit together some clips, along with a retrospective video interview (which, again, I didn't know I was doing until shortly before - I found out they wanted to interview me after the ride but I thought for an article, didn't realize it would be on video - I literally hadn't looked at myself in a mirror since 5:30 that morning, so I have no idea what I look like in it!), I don't know when and where it will be available to view.

I hope it was a relatable amateur ride, that other people are able to get something out of watching, I hope it helped to promote the venue and the event, and I hope I didn't look like too much of an idiot. No matter what, if it goes up I'm not reading the comments!

Here's Callie all dolled up before the ride! She is just the cutest.

IMG_5527.JPG (86.11 KiB) Viewed 12909 times

One fun outcome was that my parents were able to watch it live streaming from Vermont, and half way through our neighbor of over 30 years happened to stop in - when we were kids he used to keep his mules in our pasture. He stayed and watched as well, remembering when I was 7 years old playing with Sam, "riding" him (really more sitting on him while he grazed or napped!) all day. I thought that was really sweet, and I'm happy they were all able to watch it.

[demi]

Thanks for the report. I appreciated all the details and found myself quite nervous for you while I was reading! but at the same time the excitement of the whole experience was so special. I could just see Callie diving to get a bite of the flowers. And potato chips! LOL. Stress eating...such a mare thing!

Thanks again for taking the time to share this with us.

[Flight]

That was very cool! Thanks for the report on it too. It would have been a bit nerve wracking with the live streaming etc but what a good opportunity!

[Rosie B]

WOW Gwen!! Good for you and Callie! To go in totally cold like that must have been super stressful. What tools did she use to work on the tension with you guys that worked best?

[exvet]

Very Nice Gwen

[khall]

Being a demo rider definitely can make you braver! Great job in challenging circumstances.

[Ryeissa]

I feel like we have a celebrity in the house now...!