2023 & 2024 Riding Journey

#16 Finally Riding Rugar!

Ever since Rugar came to my trainer's place years back, I wanted to ride him.  A particular reason was that I haven't rode him in all the time my trainer has owned him.  Of course, that makes me want to ride him all the more.

Well, I finally got my chance.   Since he hasn't been ridden in awhile by no one but her, my trainer wanted to see how he would behave with another rider.  I was definitely pleased when my trainer said I would be riding him for the lesson.

I wondered if he would need some sort of special pad, but my trainer didn't tell me anything about it (though she was pretty busy at the time, so I didn't bother her).  We had to hunt around for his bridle and finally my trainer remembered that she'd left it in the outdoor arena and had me go to look for it out there.  when I came back, she was stuffing a brown half pad underneath my saddle, so I guess she though he needed that and I'll use it next time if I ride him again.

Vivie and James both came for the lesson.  Vivie rode Cordell and James rode Riggs.  Friend did come to the lesson, but she came late, after we'd already been out riding in the back for at least 10 minutes.  She rode Mariah.

Rugar is definitely taller than Mariah or Amara.  As soon as I mounted, I could feel the difference.  But I did like the feel of him.  I think he's either 16 hh or just shy of it. 

As I moved him off in a walk, I wasn't sure how much contact I could take up with him.  He seemed to be really willing to give to the bit, and was kinda doing this bobbing thing as I touched his mouth.  I wasn't sure what it was, but my trainer didn't say anything about it...

I walked him along the fence and scanned for the muddy spots.  The arena was dryer than last time, but the northeast corner is still muddy.

My trainer told me to walk him around and do some halts with backing up.  I know from watching her ride him that he will lean against / brace / ram himself against the bit.  So you really want to keep him off your hand and not let him slip into that, which will prove handy when it comes to jumping.

So I did that for a bit.  My trainer told me then that I was doing good with the halts, but about three steps before I was going to ask him to halt, my hand would stop following his mouth and would go stiff.  Instead, my trainer told me to bring my hand back instead of just letting it go stiff.  But she also said that was being nit - picky and that I was riding him well.  Then she told me to do some rising trot - walk transitions.  I think it was a little later on that she told me to throw in some circles as well.

Rugar's trot was definitely a lot bigger and springier than Mariah's. Especially now that Mariah doesn't whiz out in a fast trot, it's pretty easy for me to keep up with it when riding her. But Rugar's trot had a lot more suspension and his stride was longer. I would ask him for the transition up to trot, and for the first step of it, I might be in sync with him, but then I'd get left behind and bang down on the saddle.

This was frustrating to me, as I hate doing that to a horse. Sometimes I did manage to keep up with him, but more often than not I was banging down in the saddle. My trainer didn't say anything about it, so I assume she either didn't see or wasn't concerned about it.

Once I did get in sync with him, it took a lot more to keep up with him than it does with Mariah. When asking him for the downward transition, he could feel how he would pull against the bit even as he came down to the walk. I knew he wasn't supposed to do that, and would then make him back up or halt to come off the bit.

My trainer was pleased with the way I was riding him and the way he was behaving about it. She told me to make sure to reward him if I felt him really try to hold himself up and bring himself back in the halt, even if he was pushing forward against the bit still.

After I'd done circles and transitions in both directions, and felt him out, we took a bit of a break while Vivie jumped Cordell over the telephone poles. My trainer then had me go after Vivie was done.  (Vivie looked great jumping Cordell.)

Now, I didn't exactly know what Rugar would be like to jump, but I knew that he couldn't rush to the jump. My trainer told me I could make as many circles as I felt like I needed. We started out coming around to it from a right turn and making a clockwise loop to come back to it, like Vivie had.

On the first try, I chickened out when I felt him speed up a bit and made a circle before taking him to the jump again. Despite that, he was very nice about it. He didn't try to wiggle out, but went to the jump and over it nicely, though maybe putting in more effort than needed. I think he landed in canter, but I'm not sure...

We jumped it two or maybe three more times. I know he landed in canter at least once, but I think more than that. On the last one, he didn't make so much of a big deal about it, didn't jump as big or anything like that, he was more calm about it. So my trainer had me bring him down to walk as a reward. Then we took another halted break while Vivie tried out jumping the telephone poles coming from the left.

Then my trainer sent us out to do the telephone poles again, only from the left like Vivie had before. But this time she told me that if the first two rounds of jumping went good, then I was to add in another jump by making a sharper turn to the left. This jump was of a small log held up on either side by two standards, and I don't think it was even a foot tall. I was more concerned about that sharp turn I was going to have to make right after the first jump. It was definitely the sharpest one I've ever made.

Sure enough, the first two went smoothly enough, so on my way around for a third try, I clarified with my trainer that she wanted me to try for that second jump. She said yes, she did.

My main concern was that I wouldn't turn in time to make it to the jump, but looking back now, I don't think I needed to worry about that as much as I did. Because I was so concerned about the jump, I don't remember if he would land in canter after the first one. He definitely did after the second.

My trainer would have me circle to help bring him down to trot. His canter was nice from what I remember, but it was a new sensation that he put into my hand of him leaning or bracing against the bit. Not too badly, but something I hadn't necessarily felt before. My trainer was pleased with the fact that, though this was a new sensation, I didn't 'stop riding', I still did what I needed to be doing in the moment.

She told me to use my body more in the turn, that I didn't need to hang on that inside rein as much. Looking back now, I also think I needed to use more outside rein, as I was just using the inside rein primarily.

I don't know if we did one or two rounds of jumping that line. I almost want to say two, but I'm honestly not sure. It's been several days now, so it's all kinda blended together in my memories.

Rugar would jump, if I remember right, but his jumps never felt as crazy as Mariah's used to.  Her leaps felt like they were going to yank me right out of the saddle sometimes!

Speaking of Mariah jumping, Friend also jumped her over the telephone poles.  Honestly, it was so perfect.  Mariah just made the most perfect little leaps over it, and Friend rode her so well, and it was a joy to watch.

At the end of the lesson, we did some more jumping for a reason I won't mention here.

This time, Rugar had figured out he didn't need to rush off to the races.  He literally trotted in and out the jump line in the calmest manner ever, didn't break to canter at all.  The third time, my trainer told me to ask him for canter after the second jump.

For some reason, my head heard it as asking him for canter after the first jump.  But he didn't take me seriously right away, so it ended up that he cantered after the second jump.  Before we'd started jumping, my trainer had told me to make a smaller circle, so small I wasn't sure I could make it on him, when he went into canter after the second jump.  (At least that's the time I think she said it.)  Sure enough, when I put him on that smaller circle, he dropped to trot almost instantly.

So we did do quite a bit of jumping, and it was good fun on him.  Except for the fact that he could get a little strong sometimes, he was a pleasure and I do hope I get to ride him again before he leaves.

I walked him out after that, then waited for awhile, then walked him out some more before my trainer said I could dismount.  Overall, I enjoyed him, and my trainer was pleased with how I rode him and how he behaved.  

Actual lesson 5/30/2023