A new rider - CLOSED

[dari]

Lyris led Bex into the arena and turned her around to face the gate. She slipped the reins over Bex's head and went about tightening the girth and running down the stirrups so that Hope could mount safely. Now, you're going to have to behave, she said quietly to the mare, I know it'll be strange, but you've given lessons before. So you'll be fine. She patted the mare's neck and waited for Hope.

[DJ]

Hope entered the arena and walked over to stand next to Lyris and Bex.

"I think I'm ready." Hope nodded to Lyris and held the reins as she put one foot into the stirrup and swung herself up. "Good girl!" Hope told the mare as she stood.

Hope moved one foot out of the stirrups and pushed her leg back. She pulled out the stirrup leather and moved the buckle up one hole. She did the same to the other one and placed her feet back into the stirrups. "There. Still at a dressage length, but feeling better."

Hope picked up her reins and asked the mare to walk on.

[dari]

Lyris smiled. All right, just warm her up for a few minutes. You'll know when she's warmed up when you feel her come under you and take the bit. She watched the pair walk around the ring for a minute. Since dressage is all flatwork, you don't have to sit forward. If you do, she'll take that as a cue to speed up, and then you'll never get anything done. So I want you to roll your hips back a little and sit more on your seatbones, and bring your legs more underneath you. There should be a straight line from your shoulders all the way down to your toe.

[DJ]

Hope nodded and felt a bit awkward. She'd need to listen closely because dressage was not her stronger phase. She certainly preferred xc or jumping. "Sure." Hope easily did what Lyris was coaching and she asked Bex for some walk serpentines, circles, and diagonals.

"She has nice movements," Hope commented to Lyris after asking her for the trot.

[dari]

Good, your position is much better. It's going to feel wierd for a while, but if you practice with it long enough it'll feel like second nature. She smiled. Thanks, she said. If I were a jumper she would have been trained that way. But she hates it and I'm not built for it. She laughed.

All right. Once you get to A, I want you to come up centerline and halt at X. Then trot on, and at C, track left. Once you get to E, pick up a collected canter and go into a 20-meter circle, then go back to a trot at E. She walked to the edge of the ring and stood with her casted arm propped against the light pole as she watched. Keep her in that frame, that's good. Remember, soft hands. And make sure your seat's even; she's drifting a little to the right.

[DJ]

"Yepp." Hope laughed a bit.

She followed the commands, went up the centerline, halted in the center of the arena, and continued on, tracking left when she came to C. Hope followed the rail and asked for the canter at E, the center of the long side, and turned Bex about a stride after E so the circle would meet the rail back at E cleanly. Hope half-halted the mare, and collected her from the working canter she moved into.

Hope remembered to shift her seat a bit to the left so she was centered on the horse again.

She pulled the mare back to a walk. "That was bad wasn't it?" Hope gave the mare her head and she happily moved into a free walk as Hope clapped her on the neck, rewarding her for being behaved even though Hope was not quite riding as well as Lyris normally did.

[femalefred]

After some general enquiries of the stable hands and other people she'd seen about earlier in the day, Ella had discovered that Hope was taking a lesson - though not, to her surprise, teaching it. She wanted to ask about getting a dressage coaching session for herself and Duke from either Hope or one of the other dressage instructors at Elysium. The young gelding lacked concentration, she knew that well enough, but she was certain that he had enough focus to learn to perform the movements required for the dressage section of an event, and so far he'd failed to even pick up leg yielding.
As she approached the arena, Ella grinned. Hope was riding Bex, and the pair looked good together for a horse and rider who'd never been together before. Lyris appeared to be giving the lesson, and Ella nodded to herself. She'd caught a glance of the girl working Rush, the lipizzan stallion, when she'd been taking Duke in from schooling a while back and she had great position and control, the two things that you really needed for dressage.
She didn't speak yet, but waved quietly to Lyris and smiled, pausing by the arena fence, waiting for a good moment to butt in.

[dari]

Lyris waved at Ella and turned back to the lesson.

It wasn't bad, she said with a smile. I want you to do it again, but this time ask for the canter more with your seat. Keep giving her the leg, but lighten up your seat a bit, and she'll go into it more cleanly. She turned to the fence where Ella stood.

Hey, Ella. What's up?

[DJ]

ooc: The fence is a small ground rail. x] Too low to lean on. :C lol. <33

[DJ]

Hope nodded at the instruction and tried the pattern again, this time lightening her seat without leaning forward when asking for the canter. The horse lifted her forehand smoothly into the canter and circled easily when Hope asked.

Hope pulled the mare to a walk again and stroked her neck which was only the slightest bit warm surprisingly on the warm spring day. "Good girl!" Hope gave the mare another pat before walking over to Lyris on the rail of one side of the ring.

"Hey Ella." Hope waved lightly to the girl. She smiled at her.

[femalefred]

"Hey guys," Ella said, smiling. She kept outside the arena for now, seeing as the other two were easily close enough for them to have a conversation without her moving.

"I was just wondering if either of you'd be up for doing some work with me and Duke on our dressage? He's not picking up leg yielding at all well, and I'm a little worried if he doesn't start to learn soon that he'll never make an eventer because he can't do dressage!"

[dari]

Much better, Lyris said. Now, keep her going at a nice trot. If she stops in the middle of a lesson she thinks you're done, and then she gets lazy. When you get to A again, turn her onto the quarterline and ask for a leg yield. This is something she knows, so don't let her fool you into thinking she's ignorant. Just step lightly into your outside leg and give her a soft push over with your inside leg, but keep her on the bit. If she starts stargazing, straighten her out, get the frame back with a soft hand, and ask for the yield again once her head is down.

She turned to Ella. I can give you a few pointers if you want to wait until I'm done here.

[DJ]

"Sure." Hope brought the mare down to the end of the ring and turned down the quarter line, pushing her with her inside leg. The mare's head bulged to one side and Hope straightened her head out and asked again. The mare kept her head straight this time and crossed over nicely down the arena.

"Good girl." Hope brought the mare back up to A and went down the other quarter line, asking for the other direction. This time, without hesitation, Bex yielded easily and smoothly.

"There. Nice job." She patted the mare again.

[femalefred]

"That would be great, actually. I haven't worked him so far today so he won't be tired out or lacking concentration," Ella replied, smiling thankfully toward Lyris. It'd be great to get some proper dressage schooling done with him, seeing as she wasn't nearly as up on that as she was at cross country or jumping. Sure, she could get a horse that already knew the moves to do them, but she was so far much less successful at teaching a horse that didn't know them to do them.

"Duke's still out at paddock, and it'll probably take half an hour or so to get him in and clean him up enough to be ridden. How long do you think you'll be working with Hope and Bex for?"

[dari]

Not much longer... I just want them to get used to each other so Bex'll get the exercise she needs while I'm out of commission. She laughed and tapped the cast. If you want to go ahead and get him out and ready, I'll meet you in the grooming stalls once I'm done here.

She turned back to the lesson. Very nice. Keep her tempo even, don't let her slow down or speed up when she gets to the rail. She'll try and anticipate your cues, so you can't let her do that. Now, when you get to F, I want you to pick up a canter and go across the diagonal. Ask her for a flying change of lead at X, then when you get to the other side I want you to trot until you get to M, canter the diagonal, trot until F, and then canter up the long side. The diagonals should be a good working canter, but when you get to the long side, I want you to give her a release and just let her canter. She should keep her pace herself. If she speeds up or slows down, use your seat to keep her at the pace you set.