So what can I say, since the last time we spoke I have had a fantastic month!
My Rui lessons went really well, working on the half passes and ensuring I’m riding correct lines for them. Halfway through one of my lessons Rui said to Leonie “Put her in for her Medium tests she’s ready for it!”
Now Leonie and I had been talking about doing our first Medium test for a while, and couldn’t quite decide whether to take the plunge. Well after this we did! I booked to go to Prestige Equestrian to do the qualifying Elementary test and Medium 69. My main concern with the medium tests is not actually the movements as we can do those it’s the sitting trot.
Rabbit is a very bouncy boy and I have a very stiff lower back so find it very hard to follow his movement. This makes me feel like I am bouncing a lot, which i dislike, so I slow the trot down to control it. Then we lose impulsion which makes it even harder to sit. It’s a bit of a vicious circle.
So the day arrived and off we went. The Elementary went ok with a few small blips, but overall I was quite happy. Then the moment arrived and off we bounced into our first ever Medium test. Rabbit was a complete superstar and helped me out wherever he could. When we bounced down our final centre line I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t believe we’d done it!
We completed the test with all the movements in the right place looking like they should have. I knew there were bits to improve on, but isn’t there always? I was just so proud of my boy and also myself. With help from Leonie I had trained him to this level. Before I had Rabbit I’d never ridden above Prelim and now look at us!
I came out of the test and really didn’t care what the score was I was just so happy. Well for a complete cherry on top we scored 65% and came 3rd. I was chuffed!
After this there was no stopping me. I’ve been working with Leonie to improve and get more comfortable riding the Medium movements. Slowly I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of them, so on Friday we headed to Allens hill to try again with Elementary 59 and Medium 61. The Elementary was definitely not our best work as the Shetlands were out next to the arena and it fired Rabbit up. This resulted in tension and some mistakes. Despite this we still won our section.
Then onto the Medium. Once again off we went, and had managed a fairly clear round until I forgot the test one movement from the end of freestyles with an extra half pass. Despite this we scored 66%!!! Even getting an 8 for our medium canter and a 7 for our trot half pass. We came 2nd! I once again was thrilled. I know there are many improvements we can make and once I can ride the trot forward the marks will go up even more, so my current mission is to improve the sitting trot. I see lots of no stirrup work and lunging in my future.
I am planning now to go out and try a Q test at medium which will then give us enough points to do a Medium area festival which would be fantastic. I need to do this before December 31st so I’m off to look at schedules. I hope your all having a good month and your horses are well.
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2021
Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity and compassion
