The next function for Ella and Midge is a clinic with Michael Barisone. And since both of those are a long ways away, I’ve been just focusing on the basics: Ella’s been in a snaffle, no spurs or whip, and almost exclusively out in the field, and Midge has been hacking and stretching and not much else.

So I put them both back to real work on Sunday, and wasn’t really sure what to expect when Scott Hassler came to give lessons on Monday.

Um, WOW. I have some really stellar horses!

I rode Fender first, who has been really plugging along. The bits and pieces of the 5-Year-Old test are coming into play, and while far from flawless, I feel him learning and getting stronger. The two things missing have been the leg yields and the trot lengthenings, and we addressed both. With the leg yields, Scott had me ride shallower lines, focusing on straightness; I’d been allowing him to be crooked thinking it would help him figure out how to get sideways, but it was really hindering his hind leg activity. And for the lengthening, Scott had me hold my leg on instead of driving, then removing it, to help stabilize his energy level. I’d been having problems with him breaking to canter once he got to a certain acceleration point, but with the different leg pressure, he was more consistent. Hoorah!

Midge was next, and I told Scott that I’d really been working on the quality of the canter, making it MUCH more forward, and more pure in the rhythm. I showed him all the movements we were working on, and they all got a big thumbs up. But the work between the movements is what needs improving now, Scott says. Not leaning in the corners. Taking a half-halt straight, instead of getting crooked. Not being overbent in the flying changes, like after half-pass. Those are the details that are going to make him beyond special as a Grand Prix horse; it’s not, after all, just about the movements.

We also played with making more expression in the trot half-pass, something I’m still not really able to achieve with him yet, but it’s getting better. And we spent a bit of time on the passage, as he is really fairly convinced I want piaffe, and has taken, as of late, to just offering me big, ground-covering piaffe that I can’t get out of. Scott had me stick with it, ride him really forward, sit light and think slow in the rhythm. That helped, as did just making passage-trot-passage transitions, to keep him from thinking piaffe. And when Scott picked up a whip and just stood there, really quite far from Midge, not waving the whip around or anything, Midge got very animated; that’s something I can easily have a working student do when I need it. Cool.

Last was Ella. I rode her in the snaffle, though I did put on my little rounded spurs and carry a whip. And she was FABULOUS. In front of my leg, good to half-halts, and best of all: happy! She trotted around like her usual princess self. I basically just did a tour of work, getting Scott’s input on a few things: keeping her more in my right rein in the left canter pirouette, and keeping my left thigh on to keep her from turning too fast. Not keeping so much right rein in the tempis. And getting a CLEAR, CRISP answer to my first aid in the piaffe and passage. Scott also picked up a ground whip for Ella, and just gave me a little support in the transition from piaffe to passage, which is something I still struggle with mentally.

A great day of lessons, as always, but for me the best thing is that even having not had eyes on the ground since Lendon’s in early July for Ella, and much, much longer for Midge and Fender, they’re all progressing well. It’s frustrating not having more regular help, but it’s great for my confidence to know that I’m not a train wreck when I’m all alone!

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