I went in to my lesson on Tuesday with an open mind and optimistic attitude (which is really not my nature, sadly). My trainer first asked me to set a date that we will begin working on canter in lessons - I told her next week's lesson, April 24th, to which I think she was surprised that I did not put it off longer. I told her I am getting more relaxed in canter, but I am nervous when Riva gets fast and strong. We then talked about my issue with contact - that I am so confused over how much contact to take up and what I should be expecting to get from Riva.
We started off with a walking 20 meter circle on the left lead (which I wanted to work on since last lesson was spent on right lead circles). She instructed me of how much rein to take up and then keeping the contact - which I saw that I had been taking up much more rein, while working on my own. Riva quickly responded to this contact, dropped her head nicely and reached for the bit. After we established keeping her on a 20 meter circle in a nice swinging walk, we moved up to trot after taking up slightly more rein. Again, Riva quickly went into the contact with moments of her back lifting.
At the end of the lesson, I went thru my Intro B test. While no where near perfect, my trainer says it improves every time. My biggest problem was getting her to trot down the centerline and turn left at C - Riva was being a princess and did not want to trot thru the mud puddle at C in the outdoor arena. After the lesson, I spent about 15 minutes trotting the Diva thru that puddle! Chances are we will encounter standing water at the show this weekend - forecast is calling for rain in our area Friday and Saturday.
Which leads to my ride last evening...get ready for it...
1) we cantered
2) we had fun (yes, Riva told me she had fun!)
5 comments:
Great job! Can't wait to see you!
Nice job!!! :0)
I bet you will do great this weekend. Just enjoy the fact that you get to show your own horse, its an accomplishment all of its own.
Please give your blogger friend Amy a great big hug from me when you see her this weekend. Her posts are the epitomy of horse wife fears for all of us married to non-horsey husbands. Just totally feel her pain.
Awesome!!!! Don't you just love lessons? They are so helpful for when you get stuck. Working on your own is so hard.
Sadly, I am not naturally optimistic either so I can understand that. The weird thing is I always get an optimistic vibe from your posts . . . it doesn't show in your writing . . or maybe I don't recognize it since I'm so pessimistic. Anyway, whatever I'm totally rambling, I'm glad you went into the lesson feeling optimistic and that it went well. :D Keep up the great work!
Oh and my trainer puts tape on the reins for her students to show them how much contact to take up. :D
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