Critique please =)

[Aerial]

So this is from a show about three months ago, but i haven't had a lesson in a while and i want some criticism. (yes, i'm a sucker for punishment =P ) Thank you!!!

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p992622972/h2dc343a9#h2dc343a9
Just for fun cause i think it's apretty picture =)

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h22ce4762
I know my big problem is my release..i'm not sure what it is, but i have to focus on JUST releasing if i want to get a decent one. Unfortunately, i'm not jumping enough to practice this much at this point =/

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h2739477c
Oh, no critique on the mare, riding a different horse now.

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h223e7e60
bad spot

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h3890faaa
flat picture..not sure why i'm so crooked, thats just the way i ride for some reason. tips? it makes it hard for the horses to pick up their right lead unfortunately which isn't good because my pony already has problems with the right lead =/

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h2ae4e392
scary face. mare was getting revved hence the harsh hands.

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h22557920
if this weren't a butt shot and the mare's head was showing, i so would've bought this one.
http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p601671891/h22ce4762#h12fb2300
i love that mare, she's a sweetie =) putting up with me

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p821504518/h212d71d#h212d71d
that's what happens when i don't focus on a good crest release..i end up with some kind of horrible auto release.

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p821504518/ha644a63#ha644a63

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p821504518/h159a1c7#h159a1c7
hehe funny face. =P pretty sure i was going whooooaa lol

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p821504518/h159a1c7#h1cc672b8
this mare just loves her job =) super sweet. i'm too forward in this one..

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p821504518/h159a1c7#h139faba4
i don't get why the ones that my eq looks good in, are always butt shots. =/

http://lifecapturing.zenfolio.com/p1066425007/h1be390e2#h1be390e2
for fun =) i was smiling because my trainer had just made a comment about how good my mare looked =)

thanks and sorry for the picture overload!

[c.harrison1]

No critique, but you probably should take the last one off... Not the best to post some other poor girls crash :(

[Aerial]

good idea..thanks.

[EventFan]

First: I really like that you gave credit to your sweet mare several times for being so wonderful even though your release is still a work in progress. Good job!

Second: Trust. I think you need release and trust your sweet mare. (When you get a chance to have another lesson) practice your release again and again. You can practice the release on the flat, at a walk, trot, or even standing still. I also wonder if you are not releasing because you are not entirely comfortable jumping that fence height?

Third: Keep your positive attitude and work hard!

Good luck!:D

[KateKat]

I think you look good, agreed on seeming a little tense. But super cute mare!!

[Aerial]

Thanks guys! =)
Event-i'm actually pretty comfortable jumping that height on her. The mare i'm riding now, yes it makes me a little nervous because she's so green and she's bucked on me a couple of times, but i'm getting over it. I definitely needed to trust the mare more, i think maybe the reason i wasn't was because we had just gone through a round of me dropping the bridle the split-instant before the fence and she'd grind to a halt. So if i kept a tight rein and leg on her, she wouldn't stop, ever. But that came out in my release more than it usually would, i think which is why my release is really bad in this. I do love that mare though!!!! =) appreciate you taking the time to write that up.

Thanks KateKat =)

Anyone else?

[blackcat95]

i agree with everyone- trust is super important! found that out this year after a really bad fall and still rehabbing me and the horse. :D

About your eq: really good leg, seat, angles. Release: nice, but tight. However, since it's almost an automatic release, you could try just dropping your hands about 3-5 inches down the neck towards the ground, so you could keep your hands that close to your body. It'd still allow you to keep the same rein length so you have control but would be way softer on your mare's mouth. Only try it though if you are balanced and not relying on your hands for support (it looks like you're not though...) because then you'd just be setting yourself back. Horse: the mare is adorable! you look like you're a nice fit for her. good job!

[Neely]

I agree with the tense comment. Your leg and base look pretty strong, and your position in general is very pretty, but your upper body looks a little stiff. Try staying a little taller (open your hip angle a little bit) and try releasing and following in the air by feel, not locking into an artificial position. Gymnastics are great for this! You can practice staying out of her way and keeping a nice position while relaxing and following.

[Claire_T52z]

I looked at a few pictures, some of flat some of jumping.

Flat: You have a good position, nice leg position good hip angle. Things I would work on are keeping your chest up. the top half of your back looks a bit rounded which looks defeated. If your doing Eq stick your chest out like your in a victoria secret picture, tilting your chin UP will help with this.

It also looks like you squeeze your right hand in towards the neck, more so than your left. make sure you DO NOT indirect this hand, fill up your wrist. Holding your hands as far apart from the neck helps to prevent this.

Jumping: Again your legs are good, keep working on using your calf muscles so that your legs don't slide back while jumping.

As you already know, because you said it, you can give your horse more of a release than you do. IF she is being good!

Make sure you do not TIP when jumping the horse jumps to you, not the other way around.

The last thing that I noticed was that you lean to one side of your horse when jumping. Make sure you keep an even weight in both stirrups, so that you stay in the middle of your horse when flatting and jumping.

I hope this helps!

[Aerial]

Awesome thank you so much guys!

Claire-spot on about the crookedness, i do have a bad tendancy to sink my weight onto the right side. however, i think riding my small pony might have helped with this a bit. :D

tilting chin up, chest out. got it =)

blackcat- do you think i'm ready for an auto release? i just idk i've heard so many conflicting things about auto vs crest.

ok so

relax, release, straighten and stay in the middle of the horse.

thanks all!! =)

[blackcat95]

blackcat- do you think i'm ready for an auto release? i just idk i've heard so many conflicting things about auto vs crest.

I don't know, i'd have to actually see you ride... and i'm not a professional trainer/ instructor (or really an instructor at all lol) but from what i've read/ seen, if you can keep yourself balanced in two point over fences without relying on your hands/ falling forward/back over the horse, you're good to go! it's a lot harder than it looks though... i've tried and failed many times. but i thought i'd suggest it since you don't really have much of a large crest release- i think specifically what you're doing now is called a short release and that's the step before an auto release. good luck! :D

[Aerial]

ok thanks =) yeah, i don't know why i've never really done much of a crest release but and even when i do, i end up floating my hands (not pulling just floating) unless i concentrate on actually pressing my hands onto her neck.

[Hauwse]

I do not know if you are aware of it or not, but you are a very tidy little rider!

Almost everything you are doing is just fine, the only issue is your release or I think it is your hands causing the problem with the release.

Your are basically doing an auto-release now, the only thing that is stopping it from being a true "following" release is that you seem to want to hold your hands flat(ish), and consequently your are balancing slightly on your horses mouth...stop it.

If you start thinking thumbs up with your hands I think it will free up your release.

What tends to happen when the hands get flat is the elbow, and the shoulder come into play, and we tend to use them as a brace.

If you turn your hands more thumb up it is much harder to brace and the elbow stays in a giving position that requires an effort on your part to engage the shoulder for any type of pulling power, or support.

The only other minor thing I see is that while your heal is down you are turning it out, the angle of your foot should be no more than that which results from your toes touching the bars of the stirrup. You want to have as much leg surface area in contact with your horse as possible.

The hands are going to fix the release which is going to result in your doing a true auto-release, ad it is going to allow your mare to express her self more over a fence. The foot is going to give you more contact and an even better seat which will probably ultimately result in you being able to get your mare to carry a little more impulsion and get on her hind-end and use her scope better.

Good Luck !

[Posting Trot]

In the photos on the flat, you need to roll your shoulders back and down, and think about bringing your ribcage up. Don't hollow your back though, which is a common problem that people sometimes develop when they're trying to correct the slumping of their shoulders.

Your seat and leg over the jumps are really nice. Very stable, very correct (at least to my eye). But in some of the photos you seem almost to have a death grip on the horse's mouth. And you do look tense in some of the photos.

Maybe doing some gymnastics with the horse (some ground poles to three bounces in a line to a one-stride for example) might help with developing the release.

Keep having fun, though, and overall you look great.

[Aerial]

Ok thank you both of you. =) I didn't know that i was such a tidy rider Hauwse :lol: I didn't realize thumbs up had such an effect either!!!! =P

I'll definitely do some gymnastics and focus on those things. :winkgrin: