Before delving into my Rolex recap I need to let you know that by the end of this week I will catch back up on the last 6 weeks of blog posts... I've had so many ideas to share but somehow I never happened to have my computer nearby and there was this little event that kept me a bit preoccupied. Check back soon! 

Rather than sharing any specific training insights following our Rolex performance I thought this would be an ideal time to give a look into how I deal with a difficult cross-country run. First and foremost I look at the positives, then I replay the round over and over looking for any areas that I could have improved, then I come up with a plan to make those improvements. I'll start by giving some insight into the lead up to Rolex 2014 and what my main focus has been..

My initial look at producing a horse that is "in front of the leg" began with questions to ask while on the ground. While there are many ways to continue along that route, my favorite being long-lining, I'll give a few tips that I use to get headed in the right direction once I'm in the saddle. As in everything I do I try not to skip any steps... By that I mean that the simple process of getting in the saddle should not be overlooked and a little time spent making sure that the horse will stand relaxed until you ask it to move forward will make a difference.  

I focus a lot on the walk... whether it is in the ring or out on a hack.  It's not to say that I believe in constantly nagging as I am very happy for the horses to be able to walk on a long rein in a nice relaxed manner.  Just like my work on the ground I believe in asking questions and working to achieve consistent correct responses. To me, the walk is the best gait at assessing how correct the response to your aids really is

Just a little slideshow to show how I create cross-country questions in the ring.  I like to present technical challenges in an environment where there are not many variables to begin with (ie footing, terrain, etc) and in a way that I can break them down to a size where a horse can literally walk up and pop over them so they don't lose confidence or develop bad habits.  I'll add photos on occasion so check back from time to time.  Feel free to comment if you have any specific questions on the set up of the different lines.

A great way to continue legging up a horse coming back from winter break while continuing to improve the technical skills is to use cavaletti exercises. Once my horses are comfortable with the basic version of this exercise as I described in March I like to add small jumps in to work on what I refer to as "flatwork over fences". The exercise in this photo is fairly straightforward and works a lot on maintaining a balanced medium canter while coming through short approaches and changes of direction. Something we can never practice enough!