The coop coup d'état

So I'm all bright eyed and bushy tailed at the barn at 6:30am getting ready for my morning ride on rockstar mount Rocky, and upon cleaning his feet, I notice a loose shoe.  Damn, no dewy, crisp morning hack for us today.  I retire Rocky to his stall and I consider going back home and subsequently back to bed or at least the couch.  

OR........since I'm all booted, half-chapped and spurred up, I could ride.....

Bernie.   

Mcuk me.  I glance at him in his stall trying to determine his good Bernie/evil Bernie propensity today......

 ......and I swear to God he looks at me like this:

And then he throws one of these at me:

You can just see the halo, can't you?

Okay, alright, I'll give it a go.  But so help me God, Bernie if you kick me, bite me, buck me, rear me, throw me or in some other way cause me bodily harm....!  

I will cry. 

And then I will catch you and return you to your stall and cry some more over my latest defeat and your latest victory. 

The score thus far is Bernie 4  vs  Julie 0

So, the odds aren't in my favor. 

We get tacked up and the bridle is still fitted for Rocky's big noggin, who I rode yesterday morning.  This means (deductive reasoning alert!) Bernie was not ridden yesterday (I often rely on others to ride Bernie).  Which probably means Bernie hasn't done any work since......Saturday.  Two days.  In Bernie world, this is an eternity.  By now he's probably forgotten he's actually broke and will revert to a bull named Fu Man Chu, bucking wildly upon mounting.  Combine this with the fact that he wasn't actually RIDDEN on Saturday, (I only walked him, via lead rope across the street to the terrifying cross country course) and this isn't boding well.  But..... he only tried to kill me once on Saturday by trying to run me over and then bucking and farting in my general direction, sooooo, maybe we've turned a corner. 

Before riding Bernie, I like to lead him around the ring and let him stare at things and possibly react.  This is more for me than for him.  I like to know, before mounting, what things/areas he's going to pretend to be afraid of.  If I was a betting woman (which I am) I would bet on the two large blue barrels.  And I would be......

Right.  

While Bernie is completely unoffended and unimpressed by these barrels (even when I smack them with my whip!) before I am rider up, once mounted, these barrels become inherently suspicious.  

The only thing suspicious here, is you, Bernie.  You scammer spooker.  I just proved to BOTH of us that the blue barrels are NOT scary.  Yet you still proceed with your wide-eyed looks and sideways dance.  But I know the truth. 

YOU ARE A FAKER BERNIE! 

And the punishment for faking, is whipping.  So just go ahead and trot on past with your head down and slightly bent to the inside.  And we do. 

And we trot pretty circles and then we canter, lots, because I need to practice relaxing and sitting down at the canter AND a tired Bernie eases my mind a bit.  And then we canter some pretty circles, at least I think they are pretty and since there was no one there to observe and refute my statement, they were pretty.  And I'm feeling damn good about this ride.  Almost good enough to.....jump?  But the jumps are all set higher than my Bernie-riding confidence level (I would like to note, I rocked through all these fences yesterday on rock star Rocky!  Go me!  And, well, Rocky, who did most  of the work).  The only thing I would consider jumping (height-wise) with Bernie is the coop.  I WANT that coop.  I NEED that coop. 

BUT....

......me, Bernie, and this coop....we kinda have this thing.....

This little bit of bad history, the three of us. 

The offending coop in question

And it ended with me, and the left hand standard, on the ground, the two halves of the coop aggressively parted from each other and Bernie back in the barn. 

There were tears. 

There was swearing. 

There has not been a Julie + Bernie coop attempt since. 

Now, Rocky and I eat this coop for breakfast.  But Bernie and I......should maybe wait until someone else is around to help pick up the pieces of potential epic coop fail before we try again.  Sooooo....no coop.  What we need is a cross rail.  A small, unassuming, could possibly be called a cavaletti, cross rail.  I would KILL for a cross rail.  I would do ANYTHING for a cross rail!  Except....dismount, set up the cross rail and then re-mount.  There are several reasons for this: one being if I dismount, it is questionable whether or not I will have the confidence to actually re-mount.  If I do re-mount, I will have used all of my confidence to re-mount, and will have none left to actually attempt the cross rail.  The second being if I take too long to set up the cross rail and re-mount, Bernie may forget that we were having a very successful, obedient ride, or that he has been ridden at all, ever, and could quickly revert into what-the-f*ck-are-you-doing-on-my-back-get-the-f*ck-off-RIGHT-now Bernie. 

So, no cross rail.  We do trot over a ground pole (without incident!) and move in the general direction of the liverpool, so all-in-all it was a pretty successful ride.  And by successful I mean I didn't fall off.  And maybe someday, after another rider has already jumped the coop, on Bernie, ten times, from both directions, with me watching, I will be able to mount up with coop confidence coursing through my veins and have my Bernie coop redemption.

Things I learned from the Olympics

Finishing on your dressage score does not mean you rode the dressage phase last.  I know this because all the dressage was on day one. 

Michael Jung is clearly a centaur masquerading as a man on a horse

Michael Jung + Sam = Mythical man horse being

Even Olympians will have a bad fence, take a long one, have a bad line, a bad seat, get left behind, lose their lower leg position and have a spectacular fall (like me!)

Okay, so I haven't had an at speed fall on a cross country course.  Yet.
I would like to note, this Olympic fall occurred while coming down from the
MASSIVE DROP

They care more about the well-being of their horse than making time or winning a medal

William Fox-Pitt eases home a tired Lionheart instead of pushing him to make time

Expecting my husband to sit through more than three dressage tests is unreasonable.  Once he realizes no one is going to fall off, he can't feign interest any longer.

Horses, even the top horses in the world, are still, well, horses and therefore completely unpredictable.

Not sure what is going on here, but I don't think that's in the dressage test

Don't be deceived by a horse named Mister Pooh

Are Olympic horses fed steaks for breakfast in an effort to convince them they have moved up the food chain?  Because this looks like it could swallow horse and rider whole:

And possibly this one too:

Yet these large, Olympic prey animals seem suspiciously unconcerned about being snacked on by these intimidating, predator-esque obstacles.  I mean, my horse is CONVINCED a plastic bag is going to eat him, yet these Olympic horses aren't bothered by this:

I mean really?

Move over Robert Redford, Mark Todd is the OHW (Original Horse Whisperer):

I see glory in your future!  But first you must lick this magical silver ball fountain thingy.

Don't question the Toddy, his horses don't either

The Kiwis can ride their asses off and then party their asses off:

This reporter is crazy.  Mark Todd can hold me FOREVER

School is in session when the Germans are in the ring and on course

Drops

Are

Really

Scary

My sentiments exactly

Since this blog post is about the Olympics, which were held in London, I am required to mention Kate Middleton's wardrobe.  So here's a picture of her shoes:

 A lovely navy wedge pairs wonderfully with her skinny jeans to complete Princess Casual Perfection

I am quite sure this horse could jump the actual London Bridge and Big Ben or Elizabeth Tower or whatever:

I NEED this bonnet!

"Happy 30th Birthday Michael Jung!  I turned 30 this year too!  But while you are at the pinnacle of eventing at the tender age of 30 with your shiny gold medals, I have only just started my eventing career weekend hobby at the ripe age of 30 and am lucky to stay on a horse.  And I'm not bitter."  Said me, never.



William Fox-Pitt and Mark Todd on course at the same time = EventingGreatsHorseWhisperingMaster'sClassCrossCountryOMGMindEXPLOSION



William Fox-Pitt is 6'5", making him REALLY tall; very similar to another rider whom I admire, and who is also REALLY tall :)


Mckayla Maroney is not impressed by this blog post:

My FIRST Cross Country Schooling

Dodon Farm.  Steuart Pittman.  We already know how I feel about this establishment/owner from my previous blog post My Visit to DodonFarm.  Steuart Pittman will be offering cross country schooling RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from me.  Thank you Facebook for keeping me in touch with people who (ridiculous blog posts and crashing through oxers aside) would probably not remember me. 

I am considering this.  I broadcast my consideration to the world of Facebook by inquiring about the time of said schooling.  There.  There it is in writing (kind of).  I am considering cross country schooling.  I am soooo considering this, I even text Steuart the day before to confirm times for the lower level schooling (elementary anyone?).  I could easily NOT go, I have a million excuses, my 9-5 workday being the most legitimate.  

Steuart leaves me a voicemail with the time slots.  "Will you be riding your horse that bucks you off?"  (bucks, rears, bucks and rears, whatever). 

Oh my.  No, no, Steuart, I want to LIVE.  This is my FIRST cross country schooling EVER and I would like to survive it in hopes of a second.   No Bernie = possible chance of survival.  

Bernie looks rather un-intimidating in his blanket and fuzzy bell boots

 I am running late. 

I arrive at the barn and Rocky, my rock solid, rock star mount, is.....eating his dinner.  If you've ever waited for a horse to finish his grain, its like waiting for water to boil.  It really doesn't take THAT long, but when you are watching and waiting (and already late) its slower than 5pm on Friday.   I make an attempt to pick his feet while he's eating.  Just.  Don't.   I retreat from the stall and continue my waiting.  FINALLY, I get tacked up. 

I have to borrow a vest.  As newbie eventer I have not yet acquired all of the appropriate eventer gear.  A vest just shot up to the top of the list.  (And after this outing, an appropriately sized helmet). 

We hack over to Loch Moy and I grossly underestimate how long this hack will take.  I am now a half hour late.  There is a small, teensy part of me that is slightly relieved.  I might be too late and I may not be able to participate.   I spot Steuart, decked out in Dodon green and he assures me they are running late too and I'm right on time.  Oh, excellent.  I manage a nervous smile. 

We joke about my blog (yes, this one, where I previously typed how I briefly considered asking Steuart to sign my cleavage.  Comments like that are amusing to share via internet blog, but slightly more embarrassing when you see the person again.  Way to keep it classy Julie).  I anxiously  nonchalantly tell Steuart this is my FIRST cross country schooling ever.   Aside from my melt down on rearing Bernie (see blog post And WeRide!  And then we cry....) I've managed a couple of non-committal trot sets in the field and popped over two different logs that are literally laying on the ground.  That's it.  Steuart looks skeptical (or possibly concerned since my last "first" with Steuart was my very first oxer, which I subsequently crashed through).  BUT, this is not trusty-steed-Rocky's first rodeo.  He is Kerry's training level packer, and she graciously lets me ride him, pretty much at whim.   

And we are off.  We warm up and Steuart tells me to gallop up a hill and then come back down a bit slower just to get a feel for Rocky on cross country.  I'm quite sure we quietly canter up the hill, and slightly pick up speed coming back down.  Steuart kinda gives me this look like "I saw what you did there, and that was not a gallop."  No, no it wasn't. 

He points us to the first fence and sends us (me and three other riders) off to jump it at a trot.  Oh God.  Do or die time here.  If you can make it over the first obstacle, there is a reasonable chance you will survive the rest.  I go into "Nike" mode.  Just do it.  We pick up a decent trot (for once in his life Rocky is a bit up and ready to go, apparently he likes cross country) I crank my heels down and leg on, especially the left one which tends to slip over fences, I close my eyes (no I don't, that would be silly) say a prayer and we make it.  Steuart tells me to do it again and to smile this time.  I'm trying not to shit my pants, but I will attempt a smile, for you Steuart.  We did it again with some coaching and then we canter it and another similar fence.  And Rocky is his rock star self and I'm making a respectable effort to keep up with him and its not bad!  I'm waiting for the fence, I'm not leaning forward and I feel....in sync with my horse.  This is new.  My heart rate is starting to come down a bit as we head into the woods.  Another rider asks how I feel:  "Slightly less terrified than when we started."  Which is true!!  If I can get through the next hour without falling off, crying or wimping out on something, this might turn out to be my most successful riding experience yet!

We do a little combination of a coop-y looking jump to a pheasant feeder jump thing.  And again, Rocky and I are feeling like a pretty good team.  We may even look okay too, because Steuart hasn't had a lot of correction for us (of course, maybe he is just happy we are making it from point A to point B without incident).  My own "in retrospect" critique would be to stay out of Rocky's mouth a bit more.  I was a bit, well, terrified at the start and gripped him too much in the beginning.  Towards the end I was more relaxed and so was he.   We finish our woods jaunt and head over to a ditch.  I've never jumped a ditch before (shocker), I have no idea how to ride a ditch differently than a normal fence (which I barely know how to ride) and I have no clue how horses normally respond to a ditch.  After some much welcomed instruction from Steuart, the first horse launches over this tiny little ditch and it scares me a tad (a lot).  Oh f*^k, is Rocky going to superman me over this ditch? 

Um, no.  He actually stops and steps IN the ditch. 

We jump it the next time around and true to his normal Rocky self, he does not exert more energy than necessary to clear this ditch, or the larger one next to it.  What I am finding challenging is steering and stopping after jumping.  The steering issue is caused by my complete lack of decision on where to go after we land. 

 It goes something like this:

"Holy shit we made it!  Woohoo!  Oh f*^k there's a tree!  Turn, uh, left!  Shit, don't run into that other rider!"

Finally Steuart says, "Julie, turn right this time."

And now to string it all together for a small course.  A whatta heh?  Did he just say course? 

I almost chicken out. 

But I don't.

We head to the first obstacle......and Rocky RUNS OUT! 

Well played Rocky, well played.  Okay, if you are going to FORCE me to sit up and ride, I will do it. 

We circle, I clamp down on the right rein and left leg, no where to go but over and we make it.  We trot into the water and do the obstacle again without issue.  Galloping (cantering, whatever) up the hill to obstacle #2, and its not horrendous!  Into the woods to the coop and pheasant feeder combo and our course is complete and successful.  Small issue with the brakes because my normally half asleep horse is ready for MORE!  We are walking back to the group and I realize I forgot the ditch.  I was sooooo excited to clear the peasant feeder, I forgot about the ditch. 

Peasant feeder? 

Peasant feeder, pheasant feeder, I mean really, its not feeding either.  To me it looks like the thatched roof of a hobbit hole.  While I'm on the subject, let's discuss the naming of these fences.  And by discuss I mean ridicule the ones I don't know.  Vertical and cross rail I get.  Bank, ditch, roll top, gate, brush, drop, and coop all seem self-explanatory.  Table, while really scary, is visually accurate.  I will even let corner and skinny slide.  But oxer, chevron, PHeasant feeder, trakehner, bullfinch and coffin (really?),  I have no idea what these are.  Oxer I've learned since I crashed into one, chevron I thought was a gas station, pheasant feeder feeds no pheasants (or peasants), trakehner I was pretty sure was a horse breed, a bullfinch sounds like (and is) a type of bird and coffin is an ominously stupid name for a solid state horse jump.  Not tempting fate at all with the naming of that one.  So to reiterate, I'm crashing through that oxer, running to the gas station to feed some pheasants (and maybe some peasants), and then I'm jumping the light-warmblood-horse to bird-sitting-on-a-bull's-ass to wooden-box-reserved-for-dead-bodies triple.  Uh huh, I got this.

Okay, ranting aside, I have one more mini course to do before the  long hack home if I'm to meet my evening clients on time (for real, not just an excuse).  Okay, over the house thingy into the water, out of the water over other little house thingy, up the hill over the lattice gate, over some log-ish fence, down the hill over another fence, back into the water over first house thingy again (optional).  Uh, okay, yeah, I can remember that. 

House thingy to water to other house thingy goes well.  Lattice fence was nice because I actually RODE to it.  I wanted Rocky to throw in the extra step, I sat up and asked for it, he gave it to me and it was good.  Log-ish jump was fine too.  Now down the hill to fence five we have what I think is a racehorse pace.

Just like this, I swear.

 But Rocky wants more. 

And I give it to him.  And its awesome. 

We approach the fence, I sit up and wait for it and its.....

Brilliant. 

And then I get lost. 

Water!  Circle back to the water!  Shit.  Approaching the water from down the hill you can't really tell where your entry point is.  Soooo...it could be your nice BN entry, 

awwww, so peaceful

or if you choose poorly, it could be a massive drop into the water. 

Massive drop

Needless to say, drops terrify me, so this is a crucial choice. 

You have chosen....wisely. 

 

Indiana Jones chose wisely too

We easily canter in and, in a brief moment of actual confidence, I even take the optional house thingy jump at the end. 

Things I learned:

Cross country is FUN.  The most fun. On a horse.  Ever.  This is what riding is all about.  I might could actually pull off a BN event sometime this year.  

Clearly, my main issue going cross country will be knowing where the hell to go next and not forgetting fences.  My normal, absent-minded, A.D.D. self will have to pay extra-close attention to course walks if I ever make it to an event.

Apparently my helmet is ill-fitting unless my ridiculous Rapunzel-like hair is styled just so to keep my helmet in place and prevent this:

Yeah, that guy can't see so well

Rocky LOVES cross country.

Steuart Pittman really is as awesome as I remembered.  And still really tall. 

Storing a check in your half-chap on a hot day is less-than-brilliant and it will disintegrate upon attempted retrieval.  Fail.  As they say, the check is in the mail.  (No, really, it is)

Later that week:

As I am still coming down from my cross country schooling cloud 9, Dodon Farm posts this on their facebook page:

Working Student / Apprentice Opening: Our summer working student, Katie Klenk, has made the position indispensable. We must replace her. Seeking an outstanding rider with a great work ethic. Arrangement can include housing, a  horse or no horse, and includes grooming, riding, some stalls and feeding, and the best work environment and education anywhere. Email resumes to Steuart  Pittman at dodonfarm@verizon.net. We will select only one applicant.

OMG.  This innocuous post is literally my dream job.  Forget the resume (which BTW, mine is very nice, full of all sorts of un-horsey-related skills, unless your horse needs a logo), I would GROVEL AND BRIBE for this.   If I wasn't too old to be considered a "student", and didn't have need of my full-time job to pay for my full-time bills and full-time responsibilities and if they removed could be lenient on the whole "outstanding rider" requirement, I COULD DO THIS!!!

Training....and I don't mean level

Trainers, and why I love them

Teaching new things.  It is unlikely I am teaching my horse new things (besides developing our communication skills).  At this stage, I am the one being taught by my horse; I am trying to learn all the things he already knows and trying harder still to learn to be an effective participant with him as I explore his knowledge.  Teaching him new things, knocking some rust off some older things, and building his confidence for bigger challenges I am not yet ready for, will be left to my trainers, Tom Waters and Kerry Blackmer.  Trainers are great resources for giving horses experience, "putting some miles on" and positive ones at that.  I'm not sure any horse can have too much positive, successful experience.  And for me, it makes sense to continue keeping my horse's learning curve ahead of mine.  It will keep him from getting bored with the massive amounts of lower level work that I need, and it will keep his confidence in expansion mode, which will in turn keep my confidence in expansion mode.

Young and/or green horses.  It is my opinion trainers should always be heavily involved in the teaching/training of green horses.  This falls in line with one of my fundamental rules:  between the two of you, horse and rider, someone has got to know what the hell they are doing (see blog post Who is Jumping that fence again?).  I'm not saying the green horse + green rider scenario can't work out, but let's face it, no one can call this the best case scenario.  I can certainly attest from direct, futile experiences (yes, plural, experiencesssss) the green + green equation should only be used as a last resort.  I am not sure what a "last resort" situation would be in this case, maybe you are a green rider transported to wild west times, you just robbed a bank and need to make a quick getaway and your trusty reliable steed was stolen from the O.K. Corral and the only other horse available is a young green horse, so you throw caution to the wind (which you've probably already done if you just robbed a bank) and make a go of it, hoping for the best.  That sounds like a pretty reasonable green + green last resort.  Outside of that I'm just not sure.  Feel differently?  Then send me your stories of how a green horse was the BEST option for a green rider and convince me.  Otherwise, I'm sticking to my guns on this one.  (See what I did there?  Played on my little western theme from above.  Cute. Or stupid.) 

Teaching you to horse whisper.  Not really.  But thank you Robert Redford for this 1998 classic and affording me a lifetime of ridiculous references.  My favorite trainer function is, well, them teaching me how to ride, but my SECOND favorite trainer function is them teaching me how to develop, define and refine the communication between my horse and me.  Trainers can help you create a more effective language with your horse.  Trainers see A LOT from the ground.  They see you doing things you don't realize you are doing and they see your horse's reaction.  They see things you aren't doing, and your position, but most importantly they see the dynamic interaction between you and your horse, while the rider is relegated to trying to feel the interaction.  Great riders can very acutely feel this dynamic interaction.  I am not a great rider, I still have to look down to make sure I am posting the trot correctly.  (Maybe I should work on that.)  Until I develop a better sense of feel with my horse, I rely heavily on Tom and Kerry to give me feedback.  Tom sees me hesitate and then sees my horse suck back behind my leg before I feel it happening.  Kerry sees my left leg slipping back over a fence and I'm not aware of it until she tells me.  (I have to put a lot of focus on keeping that left leg in place over fences).  Often times I can feel my horse doing something evasive, but don't realize I'm causing it.  Small example: when asking Bernie to give me a bigger, more forward trot, he would consistently give me a "canter depart" step before trotting on.  I tried to work through it, with little progress.  In a lesson with Tom, he was able to identify the problem from the ground.  I didn't have enough outside contact and Bernie was able to "slip through it" and give me his canter depart step to avoid work. Add some outside contact and voilá, no canter depart step into a bigger trot.  These small corrections are part of something bigger, they are helping you to better communicate with your horse.  Every time you purposefully do something with your horse and get the appropriate response, or correct something and get the desired reaction and then reward for that response/reaction, you are building a language with your horse.  The better the communication, the better the results, trainers can help you get there. 

So, is there anything trainers aren't good for?  Yes.  Trainers cannot be expected to resolve every issue that will arise with your horse.  You cannot hand your horse off to a trainer and expect him/her to come back to you and be perfect.  Your trainer cannot be solely responsible for solving whatever is going wrong between you and your horse. 

Irish Morning Mist was, probably still is, a handful.  Okay, at 17.2 H more than a handful.  He was my first experience on a rearing horse, Bernie being the second.  I contacted the previous owner about Irish's rearing and she was flabbergasted.  "He hasn't reared in years, so I never thought to mention it, I thought he was over it."  Huh.  Okay, I can't blame her, there was a problem and she thought it was corrected, you can't expect the seller to go through every issue, resolved or not, the horse has ever had.  This also leads to yet another one of my fundamental rules/beliefs of riding: horse and rider are a UNIQUE team and partnership, and as such will develop their own unique language/communication and understanding of each other.  Change one of the partners and all the rules change.  The communication and trust building process starts anew.  This also means each unique team will have to resolve their issues TOGETHER.  It is easy to think "my horse is being bad, or does this wrong, or won't do this" and then hand him/her off to a trainer for correction.  Trainers, don't be mad, I love you, but I feel like this system rarely works. What is corrected for one rider is not necessarily corrected for another (rearing example above).  It goes the other way too, what one rider has a problem with, another rider may never have a problem with.  Half the time your misbehaving horse won't misbehave for the trainer, so the trainer can't "correct" it. Trainers are trainers because they are great riders.  Great riders get different responses/reactions from the horses they ride than mediocre riders.  Trainers!  I have not abandoned you, and here is where I think your expertise is crucial: have your trainer ride your horse so they can understand/correct the problem and THEN they can better help you to correct it.  See how that works?  You need to be involved WITH your trainer to correct issues for the you/your horse partnership to work.  It does no good if your horse behaves perfectly for your trainer, he/she needs to behave for you too.  And that will never happen unless you are involved with correction.

Okay, before you give me the stern gaze, the accusatory tone and charge me with being contradictory (completely reasonable, btw) YES, I did hand Bernie off to Kerry and her working students to try and solve his rearing.  However, I have always known Bernie and I would have to, at some point, resolve this together.  I was hoping to go about this after some more light had been shed on the subject, i.e. why he does it and what can be done to overcome it.  Last I checked he is still rearing (or they have given up trying to hack him across the street), which means my courage can rest comfortably in the ring and I don't need to super glue my whip to my hand and my ass to the saddle and tackle a rearing Bernie just yet. 

Its okay to cheat.  Sometimes.  Most of us have our regular trainer, as eventers you might have a trainer for jumping and a trainer for dressage.  I work with Tom Waters, my original trainer (whom I adore) and Kerry Blackmer, my resident barn trainer (whom I also adore).  Obviously Tom and Kerry are different people and have different methods and I find benefit from both.  It is nice to focus on something Tom finds offensive and switch gears to work on something else Kerry finds offensive.  (I can be REALLY offensive).  I also gained a lot from my single lesson with Steuart Pittman, which I hope to repeat in the future.  There are a lot of excellent trainers out there and I think clinics, specialty lessons and workshops are a great way to soak up some of their knowledge.  Trainers are a resource and you don't have to limit yourself to the knowledge of one.   I'm not saying abandon your current trainer, I never want to leave mine, they have done so much to improve my riding and my confidence and my horse "situation"; but a new set of eyes and a new perspective or a new philosophy can be useful and enlightening.  If you can't afford a professional, then I suggest you watch every video of William Fox-Pitt you can find.  I have two trainers and I still analyze his form.  I mean seriously, does his lower leg ever move?!?  No, no it doesn't.