Welcome.
This is my little slice of the internet pie dedicated to that which is my endevours as a dressage rider.
That cute horse in the picture to the left is the love of my life Saving Grace...aka "Gracie".

Dont mind the chick on her back...thats just me...I am not as cute.

Do mind the guy who is with us. That is the wonderul Tom Poulin. He is one of the great teachers that I have to help guide Gracie and I in our partnership together.

Very simply right now is kinda a "downtime" for the two of us. I say that as I am only riding her 2-3 times a week and only doing walk/light trot work with her.
Sadly over the early summer Gracie's canter started to fall apart, and she started to act out very loudly under saddle.
What we thought was a lameness issue ended up being EPM after having the fabulous vets at the Vet School here in TN take a look at her.
BUT...
We started her on meds almost a month ago and slowly we are seeing improvements.
I am working her to keep her moving as that can be one of the best things for EPM.
She was never so bad she was falling down, so light work is not a danger to either one of us.
Canter though is still off the menu for at least another few months.

I am taking this time to kinda start fresh and work through some issues we have been having.
Namely her sucking back and being resistant to moving forward/working.
This was her tactic for letting people know she was in pain.
This poor mare has kinda been through alot in her seven years....but Im sure Ill go more into that later...
But the behavoir slowly over time became a habit for her.
This time is to address that and get her willing to work freely without tantrums.

I am looking at our warmup routine mainly and seeing how I can better prepare her for the work ahead in our sessions. I think this will be the key to success.
I am also using this time to work on ME.
I am a fair rider I think..though others will try to flatter me and say I am much better than that.
My goal is to get a better seat over this layoff from heavy work.
My stirrups are being dropped once Gracie is in her zone and working. MY GOD!! My legs are like jelly afterwards. But it feels sooooo GOOD!
I think if I can gain a deeper more independant seat that going back to canter work will be alot easier. Gracie is still green in alot of ways and it does not help that I am as well.
I want to do better so I can do better for her!
I dont want to bang around on her back, jabbed her in the mouth, or give confusing aids.
She deserves a good rider.

So look forward to many posts on our trials and tribulations in the ring and the fields and even some shows later on.
Till then....