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.

Changes

I just wanted to add a main photo of me and Louie instead of one with me and Bella. But Blogger wanted me to change the whole think. I am still working on it and I am not sure if it is good or bad.

The 8M and 10M Circles of Hell

I read Dante's Divine Comedy in college, but I don't remember dressage being part of Hell. It must be, though, especially figure 8's.

Dada set out to make my circles round today in a long lesson. I don't know if we succeeded. It was pretty tough, rerwarding but tough.

We spent a lot of the lesson just doing 10-meter figure 8's. I often got one side pretty good but not the other.

The problem is I don't balance well. Shocker, I know. And I apparently don't trust Louie.

Dada says to give Louie freedom to make the circle and trust him to do it right. I try, really I do. But then his head doesn't seem turned into the circle or he tends to be short so I give the reins a light tug, which makes Louie turn sharply and ruin the circle.

Dada fixed one problem early on, or tried to. She kept telling me to look where I am going. If I learn nothing else from dressage but that, it will be a success, because I have never wAtched where I was going, even when I walked.

This wasn't really an issue but I was using a new saddle, an Australian one. It has a nice big horn for me to grab, but it does not have a little strap for me to hold with the reins. I missed that, and Dada tried to rig one up but it kept coming off. I am sure that will be better on Wednesday.

I just wish I could try again right now. It probably wouldn't be much better, but it might.

Just get back on the horse

So it finally happened. The ride today was just OK.

It wasn't a bad ride. I didn't fall or anything, just not as good as riding has been.

I was doing a freestyle test that required two figure 8's back to back. We cut it down to just one, though, and it went better.

I was also riding without ankle braces for the first time in ages. I am not supposed to use them in competitions, and I think it will be fine. But it felt a little odd. It was hard to use my legs to motivate Louie to walk.

I am going to start using the Australian saddle. Dada says the dressage saddle tilts me too much to the right.

Ride of independence

On the way home from my lesson today, mom said something like: I never would have thought you’d be riding alone after seeing that first lesson not quite two years ago.

Me either. But I am!

Today, no one touched me or Louie except to help me on and off and a little cooling-down lap when Dada guided Louie. It was great. Someone should have started humming the national anthem or something.

I performed both tests that I’ll ride next month, and Louie did so well. I still need a little work on the figure 8, but we are getting a pretty decent rhythm down. It was especially good on the first ride.

On the second one Louie decided to have a little snack during a free walk and lowered his head and stopped. I was able to get him going again and Dada said if he does that again to give him a little reminder with the reins that I am in charge. I need to remember the word little.” He started to snack again and I gave the reins a jerk that brought his head straight up. Sorry, Louie.

Dada also is working on my legs and feet. She emphasizes using my legs to get a rhythm going and keep it going. I often stop working my legs when we are going OK. Whoops. She said to use a pattern of left-right-left-right, I guess like walking. I need to get the rhythm of walking back.

When my feet are in stirrups, the front part of my foot pushes down. That is not how it is supposed to work, so Dada has started telling me to push my heels down. It is hard! But it feels better and I guess it is a good sign that Dada feels good enough about my riding to deal with the heel issue.

For my last ride I did a freestyle test. It includes a double figure 8 that is quite challenging.

But it is all so fun.

Yeah Yeah Yeah

I got an e-mail from Kate that my application has been mailed for the competition next month. Kate also took the video.

Energize me, Mr. Louie

I hadn't ridden during the week after work in a long time, and I was worried because I was exhausted when I left work. I needn't have worried. The weariness fell away as I got to Spirit Field.
From the start, it was a good lesson. I finally met Whitney, one of the people who helped me get out to Colorado for my first real competition. She is as wonderful as I had heard and had assumed.

This was also the first lesson I got my right leg over Louie without much help or struggling. Then away we went.

I did the serpentines pretty well and the other parts of the test were good. The figure 8 was a problem. I had been doing the circles too small before and I need more practice on the bigger circles. That's one of the reasons I am riding twice a week.

The other reason is that I feel something just clicked in me the past few weeks, and I am so eager to ride. I know the nurturing environment at Spirit is a big part. The strap that lets me holds on to something helps, too. Maybe the protective vest? I don't really know and I guess it doesn't matter why. I'll just enjoy it as it comes.

Getting better all the time

One of these days I will have a bad lesson, one when I think I rode poorly. But not today.

When I got there, I saw Dada and Kate had rearranged the fields so one was an official dressage ring size. The riding went really well. I need to do a little better on my serpentines and the first part of my figure eight, but I am feeling great about riding. It is such a joy to be outside feeling the ground move underneath me without any wheeled conveyance. And with good friends!

I rode one of the three tests I will be riding in June. One of the tests is freestyle, so that one is not made yet. I make it up (well Dada does). There are just certain maneuvers you must perform, and it is set to music. Yes, just like freestyle figure skating. And my partner will be another guy even, so it will be just like Blades of Glory.

I have to find the other test online tonight.

Louie was so easy to read today. I knew why he stopped or walked backward or whatever. And I didn't have as much of the balkiness I did last week.

My friend Donna also rode for the first time. She also uses a service dog and it was funny to compare Claren and her dog, Cagney. Cagney was all jittery when Donna rode and wouldn't let her out of his site. When I ride, Claren hunts for horse poop to eat.

It was also a special day because I got to meet the latest addition to Spirit's stable, Angel. I like her long white sock.

I need to get rhythm

I practiced my dressage test today, and it went pretty well.

It is not very hard, but it has two figure 8's and two serpentine patterns between the side and the middle of the ring. By serpentine I mean the pattern shown in figure 3 here but it is not the full width of the ring, just half the width.

That actually was kind of tough because our ring is a little narrow to begin width so I was turning a little sharper than normal, I think, to try to get Louie to touch the sides in the right places.

I did do the figure 8 circles a little better, not perfect by any means. One time Louie just stopped mid-8. Dada is aware of everything that goes on in Spirit field, I think, so when Louie stopped walking and stared at a shrub, she said there is something in there moving. There was, but I never saw it. Louie did, though, and he did not want to turn his back on it. Dada said to give him a little reminder with the reins when this happens to make sure he knows I am in charge.

He also stopped to relieve himself mid-test. I had trouble getting into a good rhythm. Once Dada caught me using my hands to adjust myself and pointed out that that was why Louie had stopped. Dada said I should just repeat "rhythm" to keep us walking.

Kate and the others there thought I looked great. I think Kate may be right when she said all the dressage I rode in my mind when it was too snowy or muddy to ride might be paying off.

Oh, and it was so nice out!

Best ever

Well, that's what Kate said of my ride today.

It was really awesome. I don't have any proof, though, because my dad – my official photographer – wasn't there. That did make it trickier than usual to get on Louie, too, but after that we had a good time.

I seem, just in the past few weeks, to be able to keep my back straight and sit up, not hunched forward. Louie responds so much better. I don't know why I am just now getting it.

I think a lot of credit goes to the strap that lets me hold something and sit straight. Even if it was a hassle to get on. We forgot till after I had mounted, so Kate and Dada were trying to loop it through parts of the saddle. Louie kept moving forward. Eventually, Dada said to me, he is moving because you are digging your heels into him. I thought I was just holding on to Louie with my legs. Whoops!

When we got the strap fixed on the saddle, the ride was great. Kate said I was straight and not wobbly. Louie is wonderful. He rides close to the rail and responds really easily. I tried to go through corners just using my body to turn him, not the reins. And it worked!

I used the reins on circles and I even made some circular shapes. I am not sure how I will do without Dada as the center of the circle, but I will get there.

We also figured out that I ride better when no one touches me or is even too near. Dada and Kate spent most of the lesson at a distance, so it was just me and Louie. It was great.

And we'll get a chance to show off June 9 and 10 at Morven Park at the VADA/Nova Summer Dressage show.

Cold schmold

Today was the best ride in ages. It was also the first time in a long time I have actually ridden two weeks in a row. It felt so good even though it had snowed this morning and was cold.

I was usually alone, with no helping hands, which always feels cool. It's a short video, but look at me! No wobbling, well not a lot, and I am sitting pretty straight.

Dada had a necklace thing for Louie to wear that I could hold onto if I needed. It was a little far from my hands, though, so she ran a strip of leather through holes in it and in the saddle, so I had a nice square loop to hold for extra security.

I needed it.

Dada says that I use my arms to balance in my wheelchair life, but I really need to use my back and butt. We worked hard on me sitting up straight. She even threatened me with a whip ... which she said she would weave in front of my arms and behind my back to force me to sit straight.

I tried. My balance is not good. Twice I really needed Louie's necklace to keep from falling. The necklace made me much more confident, though.

I think I was getting back in some rhythm for riding circles. A few of them were actually circular. I just hope I can improve. My big fear is that when I do something right, it is kind of luck and I may not be able to do it again despite all the practice in the world.

But it felt so good to ride sitting up straight. And even though it was cold, I looked darn good.

Plus, my friend Lynne donated some money to Spirit. We may use some of it to enter a dressage competition this summer in Leesburg. There was one in a few weeks, but we couldn't get all the paperwork in in time.

What a ride

Wow, I missed riding.

Today was only the fourth time I have been on a horse since November, and I missed it. The day was close to perfect: sunny and dry.

Kate and Dada reconfigured the riding area to make it really long rectangle. I couldn't believe what a difference it made. It was so cool to ride Louie down the long straight-aways. I didn't go fast or anything, but he builds up a head of steam and I really felt great riding with him.

The vest is a little huge, but it really does a wonderful job keeping me sitting straight, don't you think?

I am riding with a dressage saddle, so I don't have a saddle horn or anything to hold on to except Louie's neck, which is pretty strong. I think, though, Dada is going to put some other bit of tack, real or improvised, on to give me something to grab.

Again, the only bad part was getting off Louie. I think I stop before I am really exhausted to keep from riding too long, but I wonder if I should push myself more.

Of course, it was my first ride in almost a month. I think stamina will come.

After I rode, my friend Caroline rode. She hadn't ridden in almost five years when she started riding a few months ago. I couldn't believe how good she looked on Louie. I may need to ride twice a week or she'll get better than me!

Movie stars

It was rainy and snowy last week so I couldn't ride, but I played around with iMovie and posted a Spirit slideshow on this page.

Ridin' high

OK, maybe not what Bob Marley meant, but I had a great time.

It felt like forever since I had ridden, but I soon forgot that because it was so beautiful out today. Louie was wonderful so was everyone at Spirit Field.

I was a little worried when I got on Louie because my right hip stiffened up, but it felt good soon after.

Most of the lesson we just threaded through cones. Dada said it's a great way to get back into dressage and it was pretty muddy in the ring anyway.

I was trying to use my legs and weight to get Louie turning. Dada noticed, and both she and Kate said I looked really good.

I kept feeling like I might pitch forward, but I didn't, not even when we trotted. Louie has such an eager stride anyway, it seems easy to get him trotting. My head bounces around like crazy but it is so fun.

Spirit invasion

We had a board meeting of Spirit yesterday at my home. It was quite good, perhaps because one of Claren's best friends came over to play. The daughter of the Spirit president has a service dog, and he and Claren were kennel-mates. I so love watching them play.

Spirit is branching out to Middleburg! It sounds great, but I won't say much so I don't jinx it. Hopefully, I will be in Middleburg the weekend of Memorial Day to help show it off.

We'll stay in Great Falls, too, so I will keep riding there, assuming of course that the ground finally dries out.

There are unofficial rumblings that the para equestrian trials might not be in Morven Park in May, so we will wait to hear more about that. I hope they stay there, but even if they don't, the plan is to enter more local competitions even if they aren't designated as para-equestrian. Apparently, as long as the judges are OK judging me then it is OK to ride.

That will be cool. Now I just have to start riding.

Snowed out

I couldn't ride yesterday. It is warming up but is still pretty cold and the snow is covered with a layer of ice. My dog doesn't break it. I am sure Louis would, but that would add crazy dimensions to my riding. It is hard enough to stay balanced without worrying about my horse losing his footing. I am sure Louie would not like it either. Maybe next week.

Curves are tough

I got one lesson to get used to riding again; today Dada the dressage taskmaster was back (just kidding, Dada!). Actually, I was glad to get into it again. I like riding, but it is even more fun to try to guide the horse through the dressage moves.

We ride two tests that I will have to ride in the competition at Morven Park. I also have to ride a third test, a freestyle one, where there are certain compulsory moves.

The first test was the team test. It wasn't too hard, although I got confused by one of the serpentine moves. In serpentines, you make an "S" kind of shape with an extra curve, so three curves. The test called for a narrow one around the center line, but I did one between the side and the center line. I know what you are thinking, "Buy a clue, Matt."

The individual test was next. That was harder, especially the figure of eight with 8-meter circles. I do know what circles look like, but it is awful hard to ride them, especially 8-meter ones because you really need to feel your way. There are no letters at 8-meter intervals. One of the hardest things is that to make the circle look good the horse needs to curve his body. You do that by pushing with your leg, but my legs are a weak point in this killer body. My right leg is especially bad, which is odd cause I am right-handed, but I sit too much on the left I am told, and when I shift to the right, Dada likes it but I feel very unsteady. This is fixable,, I know. I am not discouraged or anything. We got some improvement by making the right stirrup lower than the left.

This was my sister Emily's favorite picture. She yelled out to our mom when she saw it: "There's a picture of Matt on the horse and four women looking up at him." Of course, they are my teacher and helpers. I will know when I have truly arrived on the dressage scene by one thing: dressage groupies. Maybe they will throw their jodhpurs at me. Maybe not.

It was a fun day, still cold. Our friend Lynne, who was one of my first side-walkers, came by to see me ride. That was great.

Now I am off to study the tests to memorize them and ride them in my mind. It will be like "The Music Man." If you think dressage, you will ride dressage.