Day in the life of redwings stitch (2024)

21/12/2022

Stitch has been started to be ridden in some flex on green composite stirrups this week to see if it improves our performance. The trial results so far are looking good as they are starting to take some of the concussion out of my joints. It is making it a lot more comfortable at the moment when riding as I am holding far less stiffness and tension in my legs and spine. She has been bending a lot more round my leg aids when I am schooling her and has become more forward going in her paces. She is also working more over her back and working into a contact since I have changed the stirrups over. She was meant to be going out competing this weekend but it got cancelled as it is such cold and bad weather. Stitch has been working on more schooling this week with her working on quick trot to canter and canter to trot transitions to getting her sitting more in her hindquarters. Stitch has been practicing some spiralling in and out on the twenty metre circles in trot or canter, shallow loops and counter flexion on circles in her schooling to get her better on the contact and more supple through her body. We have also been doing lots of leg yielding on the centrelines, zig zagging and on the three quarter line in trot to get her more flexible through her body. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness. She was super energetic out hacking today with her being so forward going in trot and canter. She has been practicing her prelim dressage test ready for next month when she goes out competing again. She has been doing some shallow loops and serpentines to work on her inside bend with more suppleness. We have been working on doing some rising trot to get her more supple through her back and pushing more through her hindquarters. She has been working on her half twenty metre circles to get an accurate shape and bend round my inside leg aids.

13/12/2022

She was meant to be going out competing this weekend but it got cancelled as it is such cold and bad weather. Stitch has been working on more schooling this week with her working on quick trot to canter and canter to trot transitions to getting her sitting more in her hindquarters. Stitch has been practicing some spiralling in and out on the twenty metre circles in trot or canter, shallow loops and counter flexion on circles in her schooling to get her better on the contact and more supple through her body. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness. She was super energetic out hacking today with her being so forward going in trot and canter. She has been practicing her prelim dressage test ready for next month when she goes out competing again. She has been doing some shallow loops and serpentines to work on her inside bend with more suppleness. We have been working on doing some rising trot to get her more supple through her back and pushing more through her hindquarters. She has been working on her half twenty metre circles to get an accurate shape and bend round my inside leg aids.

05/12/2022

Stitch has a lesson this week with her working on quick trot to canter and canter to trot transitions to getting her sitting more in her hindquarters. She has been doing some walk to canter transitions to make her sit and use her hindquarters a lot more. She has also been doing some canter figure of eights with her changing over her leading leg well and to work on her bend. Stitch has been practicing some spiralling in and out on the twenty metre circles in trot or canter, shallow loops and counter flexion on circles in her schooling to get her better on the contact and more supple through her body. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness. She was super energetic out hacking today with her being so forward going in trot and canter. She has been practicing her prelim dressage test ready for next month when she goes out competing again. She has been doing some shallow loops and serpentines to work on her inside bend with more suppleness.

28/11/2022

She has been doing some walk to canter transitions to make her sit and use her hindquarters a lot more. She has also been doing some canter figure of eights with her changing over her leading leg well and to work on her bend. Stitch has been practicing some spiralling in and out on the twenty metre circles in trot or canter, shallow loops and counter flexion on circles in her schooling to get her better on the contact and more supple through her body. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness. She was super energetic out hacking today with her being so forward going in trot and canter. She has been practicing her prelim dressage test ready for next month when she goes out competing again.

22/11/2022

She went out competing yesterday with her doing prelim 2 and 13 placing 6th in her first test with 61% and 60% in her second test. She was really enjoying herself and was so energetic with nice forward going movement. Stitch has been practicing some spiralling in and out on the twenty metre circles in trot or canter, shallow loops and counter flexion on circles in her schooling to get her better on the contact and more supple through her body. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness. She was super energetic out hacking today with her being so forward going in trot and canter.

13/11/2022

Stitch has been practicing some shallow loops in her schooling to get her better on the contact and more supple through her body. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness. She was super energetic out hacking today with her being so forward going in trot and canter.

06/11/2022

She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I have been Working on trying to get her more uphill in her canter and sitting back more on her hindquarters as she is sometimes a bit flat in canter. She has been doing lots of circles and shallow loops to get her bending more through her body while creating more suppleness.

02/11/2022

Stitch has been out competing in dressage again she did prelim 1 and 13 with her getting 6th and 7th with 62 and 63%. She went so nicely on her circles and transitions we just need to work on getting her on more of a contact. She enjoyed herself at the competition with her being so energetic and excited. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body. We have been doing some no stirrup work to improve my seat and aids. She goes a lot better on the contact and is more forward going without me riding with stirrups as I can sit deeper while being more relaxed through my pelvis. I did the dressage tests in rising trot on Sunday but it was really difficult as I was quite off balanced on the circles which made it harder for stitch to get a good bend on her circles. She has a lesson on Saturday with us working on our contact issues to get her more rounded in her outline some lateral work in trot and canter. She did some amazing transitions as well in trot and canter to get her sitting more on her hindquarters.

25/10/2022

Stitch has been out competing in dressage again she did prelim 1 and 12 with her getting 1st and 2nd with 67 and 64%. She went so nicely on her circles and transitions we just need to work on getting her on more of a contact. She enjoyed herself at the competition with her being so energetic and excited. She has been going out hacking lots in the last week doing lots of transitions to get her using her hindquarters a lot more. We have been doing some schooling with her working on lots of transitions to get her sharper off my aids and she has been working on her lateral work to get her a lot more supple through her body.

17/10/2022

Stitch has been doing lots more schooling practicing her prelim dressage tests ready for next weekend. She has been doing lots of canter transitions to get her sitting more on her hindquarters and pushing more through from behind. She has been getting better inside bend on the circles and balance in canter. She has been doing lots of trot and canter spiralling in and out on the circles to gain more balance. She has been doing lots of leg yielding in trot and canter to work on getting more suppleness through her body. She has been doing lots more hacking with her enjoying herself doing lots of trotting and cantering to work on transitions.

12/10/2022

Stitch has been out competing in dressage with her being placed 5th out of 16 riders with 64% and 9th out of 16 riders with 64%. She went really nicely in her dressage tests with her being so forward going. We just need to work on the size of our circles and contact to improve her scores. She has been doing some more schooling with her working on her suppleness and contact to getting her working over her back a lot more. She has been doing some more hacking doing lots of transitions and cantering to get her really sharp off my aids.

04/10/2022

Stitch has been practicing her prelim tests ready for this weekends dressage competition. We have really been working on our transitions to get her a lot more responsive off my aids in trot and canter. We have been working on doing rising rather than sitting trot to get her swinging through her back making her more forward going. She has been working on more lateral work like leg yielding in trot and canter to get her more supple. She has been doing more hacking out with her really enjoying herself being so forward going.

29/09/2022

Stitch has been out competing in dressage doing prelim 1and 7 being placed first in both tests with 55% she was really forward going in her dressage tests but lacked contact and roundness. She has been working on her canter transitions and contact in her schooling sessions. She has been working on being more forward going out hacking in all paces and smoother transitions from canter back down to trot.

21/09/2022

Stitch went out competing at the weekend in dressage with her being placed 3rd and 5th in novice 27 and 28 with 57%. She was quite forward going in her transitions we just need to get her trot and canter more forward going. She needs to get better at her medium trot strides and more balanced in her paces as she was sometimes falling out through her shoulder on the circles. She went out with her best buddy Peggy for the first time with them both really encouraging each other in the warm up arena. She has been doing lots more schooling practice to get her half fifteen metre circles more accurate in canter and stop her from running through the bridle in her transitions. She has done lots more hacking as well to keep her fit and give her a break from the arena so she can have lots of long trots and canters.

10/09/2022

Stitch has been doing lots of hacking with lots of trotting and cantering transitions working on getting her sharper in the transitions. She has been working on lots more schooling and dressage practice doing some novice dressage tests. We have been practicing circles in trot and canter including half fifteen metre circles. We are still working on trying to get our medium trot and canter strides better as she is sometimes running or rushing through the bridle.

03/09/2022

Stitch has been doing lots more hacking doing lots of amazing forward going trot and canter transitions really pushing through from her hindquarters. She has been doing lots of schooling and dressage practice working on lots of lateral work doing lots of leg yielding and shoulder in. She has also been working on halt to trot transitions and walk to canter transitions to get her sitting more on her hindquarters creating more forward impulsion while getting her sharper off my aids. We have been working on doing more rising trot as well to try to make her more relaxed and supple through her back as she appears to tense up through her back when I do sitting trot.

29/08/2022

Stitch went to the para bronze and silver equiassage dressage championship in the grade 7 canter test we were placed 4th in the seniors and 6th overall with 60%. She got to ride in the big indoor international arena at hartpury college. She really enjoyed riding at the big competition especially when she found a pony that looked exactly the same as her field mate Peggy apart from the other pony being a gelding. She has been doing lots more hacking doing lots of trotting and cantering managing 5564 miles with lots of transitions. She has been doing some more schooling going through some novice dressage tests practicing canter leg yielding and getting her on a contact with more suppleness.

21/08/2022

Stitch has done lots more schooling this week with dressage practice working on more suppleness and working on a contact to make her work more over her back. She has been getting more canter leg yielding practice and has been working on some shallow loops. She has been out on lots more amazing hacks getting in lots of long trot and canter transitions. She is off to hartpury again on Tuesday for the BD para bronze and silver championships with her trotting down the centreline at 13.51 pm.

14/08/2022

Stitch has been doing lots more schooling and dressage practice with us working on getting her more supple with more roundness through her outline. She has been getting better at her canter leg yielding with her moving over nicely onto the track. She has been doing lots of hacking out getting lots more trotting and cantering transitions.

07/08/2022

Stitch went for a clinic lesson last Saturday with us working on the qualifying dressage test to get her going in a more supple and rounded outline. She practiced some leg yielding back to the track from the three quarter line in canter. She has done lots more hacking as well with lots more cantering and trotting transitions.

30/07/2022

Stitch has qualified now from the national championships on the 16th July to go back to Hartpury college on the 23rd August to compete in the para rda championship representing the east region. She has been doing some more schooling this week working on her dressage tests to improve on her half fifteen and twenty metre circles to get her a lot more supple and accurate in the shape of them. She has been doing lots more hacking with lots of nice long trots and canters having now completed 5429 miles.

24/07/2022

Stitch has completed 5399 miles out hacking with lots of canter transitions being so forward going. She went to hartpury last Saturday for the rda national championship with her getting 5th out of 16 riders in her grade 7 canter test with 67%. She went so nicely in her dressage competition with her being forward going and energetic. I was so nervous going into the dressage test wanting to back out of doing it many times but I am so glad I didn't as she went so nicely. She has also been doing some flatwork with her practicing lots of canter transitions to get her quicker off my aids and more relaxed through her back. She has been attempting to do some leg yielding back to the track in canter with her making a start it is going to be a working progress to get her more supple.

15/07/2022

Stitch has managed lots more miles out hacking with her now currently at 5355 miles doing lots of nice forward going canter transitions. She had a lesson on Wednesday with us working on her dressage test to improve on it before we compete tomorrow at hartpury college. She also worked on some leg yielding and spiralling on the circles to get her working over her back more to gain a better contact. She has been doing lots more schooling doing lots of trot and canter transitions to get her sharper off my aids while getting her to go in a softer outline.

09/07/2022

Stitch has done lots of hacking this week with her doing 5319 miles doing lots more trotting and cantering transitions to get her working over her back while being more relaxed with less tension. She has been practicing her dressage tests doing some nice trot to canter and canter to trot transitions being a lot smoother and less bouncy. She has got a lot better this week at her trot to halt and halt to trot transitions with her bring a lot sharper off my leg aids.

02/07/2022

Stitch has managed 5285 miles out hacking with her doing lots more cantering becoming so much stronger in her hindquarters and being able to maintain it for a lot longer. She has been working on her dressage tests to perfect her trot to halt and halt to trot transitions on the centrelines as she can sometimes be a big of a fidget moving about when she is asked to halt. We have also been working on her canter transitions so that she does not keep going into canter before she is asked to as she keeps predicting them. Her leg yielding is improving the more we practice it with her suppleness improving and the control of her body.

26/06/2022

Stitch has been enjoying her hacking having lots of nice long trots and canters. She has managed 5249 miles out hacking with her working on lots of canter transitions to get her stronger in her hindquarters. She has been doing lots of flatwork and dressage test practice working on her trot to canter and canter to trot transitions to get her a lot smoother in her transitions. She has been doing lots of leg yielding and spiralling in or out on the circles to work on her suppleness.

19/06/2022

Stitch has managed lots more miles hacking out with her really enjoying herself being so energetic. She has been doing lots of schooling with dressage test practice. She has been doing some zig zags on the centreline and from the corners in leg yield in trot. She has been working a lot on her trot to canter and canter to trot transitions to get them a lot smoother.

12/06/2022

Stitch has been on lots more long hacks have completed 5174 miles. She has been doing lots of long trots and canters out hacking. She has been working on her schooling a lot more with us practicing her canter transitions to get them more accurate. She has been doing lots more spiralling in and out on the circles in trot and canter to get her engaging her hindquarters more. Her leg yielding and shoulder in is working on getting her more supple through her body.

04/06/2022

Stitch has done lots more miles out hacking with doing 5140 miles. She has been doing lots more cantering so that we can work on getting smoother transitions. She has been doing lots more schooling with her working on doing better half twenty metre circles in canter with her having a better amount of inside bend and getting better at changing leg over the centreline. She has progressed a lot with her leg yielding and shoulder in as well with her very nearly getting back to the track from the centreline. Her canter transitions have improved in the school with her sitting behind more on her hindquarters and doing smoother downwards transitions.

30/05/2022

Stitch has done lots more hacking and some schooling this week. She has been working on lots of leg yield and shoulder in to improve on her suppleness. She has been working a lot more on her canter transitions to get them more improved so she does them more smoothly without running through the bridle. She has done a bit of polework as well to try to get her to use her hindquarters more which helped to make her sit behind more on her hind end.

Day in the life of redwings stitch