Summer 2010

Coach: Charlie

2010-04-27

• Forward over the pommel
  • Makes turning faster and easier
• Balance point reduces need to grip with legs
• Half swing - straight arm and wrist
• Head down over the ball
• Left shoulder forward - encourages head over the ball
• Don't hit, let the swing do the work
• Mallet centred at rest - ready for on or off side shots
• Look where you're turning
• Pony "Ella"

2010-05-04

Exercises

• Offside shots
• Length of field and score
• Circling back around

Obstacles

• Posture!

Notes

• Pony "Ella"
• Slackened the reins
• Haven't ingrained lesson 1
• Lower back muscles gave out.
• Structure collapsed when swinging.
• Failed to complete a length of the field and score
• Turning with the opposite leg
  • Keep inside leg off when off balance!
• Nail in the saddle kept biting my ass!

2010-05-11

Exercises

• 20m circle warmup
• Stick and ball
• Knees on, posting canter

Problems

• Communicating superiority to pony
• Knees on!
• Running over the ball (leads to hitting from behind)

Notes

• Pony "Ella"
• Better posture this time
• Riding is poor. "Kicking" on to canter instead of asking.
• Reins too tight (inhibiting canter?)
• Lower back works hard when trying to prevent falling forward from an unbalanced seat
• Sore right hand, weakened grip

2010-05-13

Exercises

• Circle warmup
• Stick and ball
• Open backhand

Problems

• Problem pushing the pony on (generally poor riding)
• Riding was a mess. Lost stirrups a lot
• Got frustrated

Notes

• Pony "Ella"
• Trying new boots was a stupid idea
• Keep left hand close on the neck
• Shortened stirrups - seemed to help
• Must remain centred on open backhand

2010-05-18

Exercises

• Circling
• Pulling up (in a straight line!)
• Stick and ball

Problems

• Not relaxing enough
• Going too fast
• Commands not clear enough

Notes

• New pony "Flossy"
• Much better riding
• Goal!
• Must remain centred when turning
• Better call-and-response
  • but still tense and hard on the mouth
• SLOWLY! Must keep slow relaxed canter

2010-05-25

Exercises

• Warmup
• Stick and ball
• Circling round (not really)

Problems

• Riding was a mess. Lost stirrups a lot
• Got frustrated

Notes

• Pony "Ella"
• Bailed out
  • Bruised left hip
• Cracked on outside right knee

2010-06-01

Half-hour riding technique (with Louise)

Exercises

• Hind-leg 90deg turns
• 180deg turns in canter
• Right lead turns
• Flying change

Problems

• Don't collapse on canter transition!
• Stay forward and balanced (don't lean too far into the turn)

2010-06-02

Exercises

• Cut shot
• Neck shot
• Shot direction

Problems

• Still collapsing for canter
• Throwing stirrups on near-side leg
• Too hard on the mouth. More call and response
• Still riding with the hands instead of the legs

Notes

• Generally good lesson

2010-06-15

Exercises

• Swing shape and rhythm
• Full swing
• Canter-lead awareness
• Two forehands, backhand, turn up on same canter lead

Problems

• Rhythm - Snatching at the ball
• Lateral control
• Beginning to inhibit backhand shot
• "Riding" too much

Notes

• New pony "Faustina"
  • No constant rein pressure, pulse the rein.
• Warmup with half-swing
• Use full swing only 10% of the time
• Stay light, knees on. Don't ride as much.

2010-06-22

Exercises

• Stick and Ball
• Posture

Problems

• Staying in canter
• Lacking energy
• Not interpreting the correct canter lead
• Too much lower back
• Collapsing

Notes

• At the end of a run, make a decision to pull up and do so.
• After missing the ball, circle back ON THE CORRECT LEAD
• Almost a complete waste of a lesson
• Exhausted very quickly
• One good backhand
• Riding more with the legs, less with the hands now

2010-06-29

Exercises

• Stick and Ball
• Cut shots
• Posture

Problems

• Inside leg on when turning makes Pony jump outside

Notes

• Pony "Ella"
• Posture must be either SITTING, RISING CANTER or HALF-SEAT. Be clear which.
• Be firm with leg. Don't kick too far back.

2010-07-06

Exercises

• Cantering a circles around cones
• Cantering around a course
• Stick and Ball

Problems

• Not keeping a flowing canter
• Poor lateral control
• Sitting trot causing lower back pain

Notes

• Looser seat seems to work better

2010-07-13

Exercises

• Full shot
• Full cut-shot

Problems

• Snatching at a few bit
• Initially out of control, longer stirrups helped

Notes

• New pony with cold back
• Damp pitch, no tight turns!
• Very good lesson

2010-07-20

Exercises

• Stick and Ball
• Full cut shot
• Flying changes
• Nearside backhand
• Open backhand
• Tail shot

Notes

• Pony "Faustina"
• Good lesson

Problems

• Riding makes ponies "stick" a bit

2010-07-27

Exercises

• Fast stick and ball runs
• Preparing

Notes

• Pony "Faustina"?
• Short lesson

Problems

• Sloppy shots
• Weak near side

2010-07-28

• Simulated chukka lesson with Louise
• Pony "Luchina"? (cold back)

Exercises

• Riding off
• Communication
• Backing up

Rules and Strategy

• Ride off on opponent's near-side, hook when on their off-side
• No turning the ball across the ROW endangering following players. (Backhand rule)

Problems

• Some sloppy shots
• No awareness of canter lead

2010-08-03

• Energetic lesson
• Pony "Flossy"?

Exercises

• Various shots, backhands
• Defence, hooking, riding off

Notes

• Have to actually get there before you can ride off or hook
• Tap using the whole arm

2010-08-10

• short riding lesson
• Pony "Fat Black"?
• Turning
• Riding into corners
• Two-point
• Flying changes

2010-08-17

Exercises

• Tapping by "punching"
• Stick and balling a route (pulling up, turning on to the new line)

2010-08-24

• Pony "Seany" - quite frisky

Exercises

• Straight runs to avoid fouling (turning on to the new line)

Problems

• Stirrups initially too short
• Cut shots very poor

2010-08-31 (TODO)

2010-09-07 (TODO)

(Short?)

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Winter 2010/2011

Coach: Josh

2010-11-02

• Pony "Max"
• With Debbie and Jocelyn

Exercises

• Stick and Ball
• Backhands

Problems

• Stirrups too short, then too long, then too short
• Not twisting in the saddle - knees coming off
• Near-side collapsing, not twisting enough
• Turning to the near-side is uncontrolled

Notes

• Generally good
• Tired quickly
• Stretch lower back - need to isolate twisting while gripping with knees

2010-11-09

• Pony "Max"

2010-11-23

• New pony "Lucy"?

Exercises

• Stopping
• Short play
  • Near-side push (to the left)
  • Off-side reverse neck (to the right)

Problems

• Rein aids too coarse
• Reins slipping in my hands
• Insufficient wrist strength in Short Play

Notes

• Near-side need to get head further over the ball
• Check which lead for near-side
  • Josh suggests Left Lead
  • Goodspeed suggests Right Lead, esp for backand to avoid fouling

2010-12-14

• "Lucy" ?

Exercises

• Getting "outside the horse"

Notes

• Acute lower leg angle on striking side! (Ankle back)
• Turn the body further!
• Push through for the bigger shot

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Summer 2011

Coach: Twm

2011-06-10

• Twm
• Pony "Maximo"
• With Jamie and Sophie

Key points

• Don't unbalance the horse
• Hit at the same point every time

Seat

• Independent half-seat
  • Circles, flying changes, stopping in half-seat
  • No depending on the reins!
  • Feet parallel to the horse

Turning

• Weight to the outside of the turn!
  • Allows an easier change of lead
  • Reduces moment of inertia
• "Open the Door"
  • "Leading" rein, not rein of opposition
  • Push through with the outside leg acting behind the girth

Swing

: * Place the pony, don't compromise the swing * Minimize the mechanics of hitting * Essentially the same half-seat position for all four basic shots * Get some weight in the opposite leg "holding two £50 notes under your feet" * Try without stirrups! * Start over the point of impact (1 o'clock), mallet up * Roll the lower arm back, let the mallet swing through (5 o'clock to 1 o'clock)

Problems

• Always over-committing, can't get weight into near-side hee

Notes

• In Stick & Ball, if the shot was wrong, balance the pony before picking the ball up again