Yippee!

T has some energy.

I rode her today for the first time, on a really hot day when I would not have blamed her for being sluggish. Instead, I hardly ever had to encourage her to walk.

She was great, handling my initial wobbliness with no problem. The saddle was a little loose, but once Dada tightened, I felt steady. Everyone said I looked good, too.

Dada said it was a perfect first lesson. We just rode around a while, not trying any patterns, just getting used to each other.

I spent too much time early looking at my hands and not watching where I was going. The result: I ran into a few branches or had to duck out of the way at the last minute. I tried to watch where I was going more later.

I do better later also because we shorten the reins and I am able to control steering without moving my hands too much.

The lesson was made even better because Dada, Kate and Lynne (and Mom, Claren and Brendan) were there. Dada, Kate and Lynne have been my biggest supporters and teachers since I started. I know I am lucky to have them.

To InfiniTy and beyond

My one problem with Louie was that I could never come up with anything that played off his name. As the headline suggests, this won't be a problem with the new horse, InfiniTy, or T.

I saw her today for the first time but did not ride her. Spirit was having a yard sale, and I was watching a table. Actually, I felt like a celebrity. I sat there and had my own gopher, the daughter of one of the instructors. And everyone was pointing me out or asking me if I was comfortable.

It was pretty cool.

As far as T goes, everyone raves about her. She is a 15-year-old registered Morgan mare. She looks a little shorter than Louie is. She is just a few years younger than Louie, but Dada says that means a lot in horses.

Dada also says that she is the best schooled horse she has sat on since she came to the USA. Awesome. Lynne rode her and said you just have to think left or trot or whatever and she does it. Awesomer!

And I met the woman who donated T. Wow, thanks, Courtney, for becoming a part of Spirit!

I can't wait for next Saturday -- my first lesson.

Just a pause

I didn't ride last week or today. I sure miss it.

Dada, my teacher, and Golden Dreams, the program in Middleburg, had a falling out. I am not really sure what happened and I am sad about it. I liked riding at Golden Dreams more than I thought I would. It is beautiful and everyone there treated me with great kindness and respect. Plus, Claren and the dog of the stable became great friends. And I never felt out of place wearing breeches.

But I also love riding with Dada and with Kate, and they were returning to Spirit Field, which is nearer to me, and to the program we had started in Spirit Open Equestrian Program. With Dada and Kate I feel safe. I read a story about one of the USA's para-equestrian team riders. He said he had fallen countless times. I have never fallen. I am not sure if that disqualifies me from some cool equestrian club or if it is just a matter of time before I fall. With Dada and Kate, I also know that I will be challenged and forced to give my all. And it's not like anyone is mean to me at Spirit, and I can deal with feeling out of place with my breeches.

So I stayed with Dada. Unfortunately, Louie – the horse I ride – stayed at Golden Dreams. Louie came to Spirit through the connections and work of a woman who now leads Golden Dreams, and there is a disagreement over which program he was donated to. Last night, I heard that Louie's old owners have said they donated him to Spirit. Hopefully, that means he will soon be back at Spirit Field and I will be able to ride again.

If you are confused, that's all right, so am I, and it is my life. Please, though, I ask no one to try to explain what happened or point any fingers of blame on this blog. I just want to ride.

Straight and curved

Kate and Dada accused me of taking lessons somewhere else during the week because, they said, I was riding so well.

I did feel pretty good, especially at the beginning. I wasn't holding Louie's reins taut, and he was moving at a nice clip. That is the best riding, when he moves so well.

When we did shorten the reins up, he still walked (well, expect the time he pooped), but he was not as lively. But we made some good figures. And I stayed straight, no significant readjusting my body to the left.

One thing I tried to do in the circles and serpentines was push my inside foot into Louie to keep his body curved. It must have worked. Dada said his body curved in the serpentines for the first time she could remember.

Hamming it up on horseback

I know that I do better in competitions than in practice. That's nothing new. When I was in school, I liked tests.

I always figured it was adrenaline or whatever. Turns out, though, I may just be a ham.

I had a really good lesson today, and Dada decided it was because some friends came out to watch (Thanks, Wendy and Lisa and Janelle and Thomas and Jillian and Liam).

We didn't worry much about keeping Louie too collected -- Dada said she didn't want my head to explode like I wrote last week -- but I just tried to keep my reins straight but not taut.

It worked. Louie walked great. Maybe it was less the reins and he just had a big breakfast, but he was moving, which makes it easier because I don't concentrate so much on kicking him.

Instead, what I did with my legs was post. Well, my version anyway, which I use to reposition myself so I am not always leaning to the right. The hardest part is turning right but not leaning too much into it. Kate seemed quite impressed with my repositioning and posting.

I also became convinced today how much of a Dada's boy Louie is. We were walking, and Dada said just make an easy U-turn, not too sharp, and head back the opposite way. Well, she turned to walk the other way before I even moved the reins to start my turn. Louie pivoted basically on his own so he could follow Dada.

Cowboy Trott

I need to improve my stamina so I can ride longer.

We spend a lot of the lesson working up to getting Louie nice and collected. But when he, and I, finally gets ready, I only have energy for a few more minutes. I think my tired tell is I start leaning to the right too much.

And there is so much to practice when he is collected. Dada explained it today using a stretched-out spring analogy. You want to get it back into its resting shape. To do that, you need to hold one end of the spring and push the other end.

Louie is the spring. With Louie, I am holding the reins taut and pushing with my legs. Unlike the spring thing I also need to work my fingers on the reins, which means squeezing and releasing them. And I am supposed to squeeze and release my legs at the same time.

It is entirely possible my head may explode one of these days.

Not today, though, because after that collected stuff, I got to trot. It felt really good. I was doing a sitting trot and Kate and Dada were holding me. Except for the fact that I could not see straight, it went well. Kate said it was a perfect cowboy trot.

Hurts so good

A real good lesson today, I think, even though it is 11 p.m. and my foot muscles still hurt.

To keep my legs from pushing the stirrups and my feet toward the front of the horse, Dada tied the stirrups on to the saddle in the back. My feet, which tend to drop, were held straight.

It worked perfectly: I felt steadier and I could use my legs better to urge Louie on (now, I just have to remember to do it consistently instead of occasionally). It was also easier to use my legs to shift my weight to the left so I don't always hang off Louie's right.

The only downside was that my feet weren't used to being in that position and they started hurting as I rode. By the end of the lesson, my leg was having spasms when I tried to shift my weight.

But it was a good lesson. Take a look at the photo. Louie looks pretty good, right? I think he is collected even. And he walked like that for a while, even did a few circles like that.

Apparently I am no longer a beginner. Dada used to tell me to look at the center of the circle to ride it. Today, though, she told me to watch where I was going and that you only look at the center when you are starting out. Huh.

And I am glad when I am sore. I figure it means a muscle is being tested.

Dada is one smart cookie.

And the lesson was good even after we finished. Lisa brought me a breakfast sandwich and took Claren for a dip in her pool there at Baileywyck Farm. And Kate didn't even complain about having a damp dog in her car for the ride home.

My freestyle ride

Here is a video of my ride on Sunday, the one where I came in fifth. At the end we are really dragging. I just saw the show results, though, and on Saturday I beat Athens Dude!

Pick up your reins

Uh-oh, Dada worked me today. Really. No resting on the old laurels for Matt.

Morven Park's fall show is in September, and Dada has decided I will win and there was some mention of the world championships.

We worked on three things today, my first lesson in Middleburg. It is great out there. All I have to do to win is: Hold my hands still and control Louie by wiggling my fingers, use my legs to "walk" with Louie and encourage his pace, and always, always, always keep contact with Louie by holding the reins taut. But not so taut that it in any way impedes Louie's progress. Just enough so that Louie holds his head down.

And I also have to watch where I am going and constantly shift my body to the left. that's it.

Any one of these things is a little overwhelming, trying to do all of them ... Yikes. Especially, the reins thing.

Apparently, Dada was going easy on me before, but now she is going to lay down the dressage law.

Dada thinks I can do them all by September because she said there were moments were I looked perfect. I didn't have the heart to tell her those moments were probably just luck as I was sliding from one wobbly position to the next.

Maybe, though, I will trust that Dada knows more about riding and maybe I can do this stuff. I guess we'll find out in September.

A few final words ... on the show

So close. My messed-up halt on Day 1, my easiest figure and a silly blunder apparaently cost me second place. It was that close.

Victory cake. My sister made me a yellow-ribbon cake. I loved it, even if it reminded me of Squidward from Spongebob. Thanks, em.

Photos. Most of the ones I have so far are real dark. But my sister was there Saturday and has tons. She has a top-notch camera and knows how to use it, so I will post them this weekend, I hope. Also, I have videos coming. Here are a few photos, including the cake.

Pink?

Yesterday, I was thinking about making dressage more manly. Apparently, it is not by coming in fifth, which I did today. You get a pink ribbon. At least my 4-year-old niece liked it.

I was disappointed in my ride today, even though everyone said it was good. My mom said she thought it was better than the one on Saturday. But I was frustrated.

I was supposed to ride at 3:03, but after I was on Louie they told Dada I was not riding until 3:15. I don't know what happened. I rode third like I was scheduled. But everything got pushed back.

The upshot was I was sitting on Louie way too long. I was tired. Louie was probably bored if not tired. I don't think our heads were in the game.

This was a freestyle ride, which is set to music. We finally rode in and waited at the midpoint for the music to start. And waited. And waited. It is hard to keep a horse still for so long, but we did pretty well.

Finally, it started but I was disappointed with my first figure 8. I kept trying to urge Louie on, but it was tough for both of us.

This judge was pretty sparse in her comments, too, just saying I needed energy.

Oh well. It was great fun, and several friends came out to watch. I can't wait to start practicing again to improve.

Third place, but I ain't yellow

I guaranteed a fifth-place finish, and I came in third!

Louie did most of the work, though, but I'll take the yellow ribbon. It is twice as long as any of my blue ribbons.

My first decision today was whether to make my dainty white gloved more manly.

I have some blisters on my hand, so I figured if I did not wear a band-aid, ooze and blood would leach out through my glove. It would be like in the movie "the Natural" when the catcher sees blood on Robert Redford's uniform before he hits the home run.

It would also be nasty, I thought, so I decided to go with a band-aid.

Then I had to decide on good luck charms. I went with a Bruce Springsteen ticket, a Batman action figure and my grandmother's medal from a local senior Olympics.

That might have been the toughest thing I did. I mean: You try narrowing down your choices when all of your toys are begging to go, swearing that they are the luckiest.

We got to the show and my fans started trickling in: two sisters, two nieces, two nephews and a brother-in-law, plus the women who drove Louie over and three folks Dada met in Middleburg. My parents drove me, so they were there, too.

Suddenly, though, my expectations for my finish got real low. Dada introduced me to a rider she met at the Paralympics in Athens. His name is Keith, but I will refer to him as Athens Dude.

Athens Dude had a U.S. Paralympic coach with him named Missy Ransehousen. I met her in Gladstone, and she acted like she remembered me. He also had a passle of fine-looking young ladies as his helpers. Just saying.

Then it was time to ride.

Mounting was a bit of a challenge as there was no ramped mounting block, and it had a hole in it, too.

But we made it and then I was in the arena riding.

My worst figure was the easiest one. I was just supposed to halt Louie at point A. But I pulled the reins too hard and he began to back up. We recovered, though. My figure 8s were better than I thought. The serpentines, too.

The biggest problem for the judge was that Louie and I lacked energy. I tried as hard as I could to kick Louie into a nice rhythm and energy, but it is hard to do. Louie needs to bend into curves more, and that is my fault, too. I need to lead him better.

But the judge liked my accuracy and equestrian skill. And she wrote that I had a "great mind!" and that I was "very precise." Louie got the best praise -- "lovely horse!" she wrote.

I don't know for sure, but I imagine Athens Dude won.

Tomorrow will be fun.

Thanks Dada and Kate for making all this possible.

A new color

More later, but for you, my legions of adoring fans, here are my results. I came in third, a yellow ribbon. YEAH ME!

I guess I'm ready

It was a crazy lesson today that left me a little unsure I am ready for the weekend.

First, I told Kate to make the wrong stirrup lower so I was off-balance during my whole first ride.

Then I thought Dada said I could not do a figure eight for my 10-meter circles, so I did not do the figure eight, but tried to do something else. and so on. Plus, by the end of the lesson I was so tired I could hardly move move my legs.

Dada said she had been hoping for a lesson like this -- to get all the bad things out of the way before the competition. Hopefully, I did that.

I certainly won't be getting cocky.

This was my last lesson before the show. It was also my last lesson at Spirit Field. Spirit is moving to a better facility in Middleburg. I am not going to think about that until later. Now, though, I am riding my tests in my mind.

Ride times set

This is it; I guess I am just about ready for this weekend. I have one more lesson, but they posted the ride times yesterday for the VADA/Nova Summer Licensed Dressage Show. I ride at 3:46 Saturday and 2:58 Sunday. I think that is last Saturday and first Sunday. I suppose there is strategy in going early or late, but I'll just go and have fun so I win no matter what.

I did look: There are four other para-equestrian riders. I actually know one. We rode in Colorado and at Gladstone. Anyway, I guarantee at least a fifth-place finish.

2 videos

See my tests.



`

I didn't forget anything

I may just be ready for the contest, as long as I can remember which test is which.

I got confused and kind of did a mash-up of the two tests at first, but Dada corrected me. I got it right afterward, even throwing in the halt.

Louie kept doing weird things with his head and back legs because of flies, but I did stay on.

I even did the freestyle with such good rhythm that I finished early. Apparently, the ride has to be between 4 minutes and 4 minutes 30 seconds.

If I finish early, I can add stuff to stretch it out. But that requires hearing the music. Hopefully, the arena will be louder than the field.

I am ready for the show.

Thinking straight and riding sort-of straight

Wow, Dada used "so great" more than once. I think I am getting it.

We lowered the left stirrup and I tried to push down on that all the time. I did sometimes, and that kept me from leaning too left.

I have two figure 8s in my champion test, and I did them pretty well. They looked circular even -- I was so proud. But when I got home, I read over the test and noticed I missed an element. There is a halt in there. Oops. Luckily, a halt is easy to remember and to add.

The freestyle test went pretty well, too. I have two figure 8s in that one, too. Once, I messed up the first circle by trying to turn Louie to sharp, but my other circles were round.

I like freestyle because you can cover up mistakes somewhat. You have to make an eight-meter figure 8 and a 10-meter one. It doesn't matter when or where. So if your eight-meter circles are too big, you can make them the 10-meter ones. Just change up on the fly.

I start with an eight-meter figure 8, but try to give Louie some freedom. If he is walking well and it is too big for the eight-meter, I just let him and make it the 10-meter.

I am just about ready for the competition, just have to remember the halt.

Fashion sense, oh, and a good ride

I knew I had made a total fashion faux pas when I got out of Kate's car at Golden Dreams and someone said to Dada: "You didn't tell me to wear my whites." What on earth was I thinking? It is way worse that white shoes after Labor Day, and in horse country, no less.

Well, here is what I was thinking: The white breeches have a fly and Velcro bottoms so I can get them off easily. I also figured I would dress up for Golden Dreams' opening. I wasn't going full competition fashion – I did not want to do the buttons on a tuxedo shirt. I wore a white T-shirt but brought my tux jacket. I was going to wear it and call it my "competition casual" line. As it was, they gave me a Golden Dreams golf shirt so I wore that instead. One guy, not a horseman obviously, did say I was the sharpest-dressed there. Now that I think about it, though, I was the only male rider, so maybe he was just throwing me a bone.

One more fashion note: I do like going to horse country. I never feel out-of-place wearing my breeches.

On to the ride:

My brother-in-law loaned me his weight-lifting belt so I used that for back support not the big vest. That felt good, just to be out of the vest on a nice warm day. And I did not wear any ankle braces, just half-chaps. I felt really good, though.

The only problem was I lean to the right, and well, I don't know if I actually got parallel to the ground but it was close. The worst time, I was in the midst of a right turn and Dada was yelling left side, but I didn't want to sit on my left mid-right turn, when you are supposed to sit a little right.

I think the answer might be uneven stirrups, like the left one lower than the right one. Maybe. We have a few weeks so I'll get it.

On the road

I'll be riding this weekend on the Loudoun Farm Tour at 2 Saturday to help show off Golden Dreams Therapeutic Riding Program at Baileywyck Farm. I expect it to be a tour de force.