Charlie with the long sought after cooler
Spring NWEC 2013 Novice
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Sunday, March 04, 2012
I (heart) Charlie!
I had a flat/light jump lesson on Charlie today, because I'm going to ride him later this month without supervision. I was really curious (in a dreading way) about whether the first time I rode him (which I put off for months and months because I didn't want to realize how difficult Willig was to jump) was just a lucky coincidence fun ride, or whether I really do click with Charlie. The answer is clicking. I had so much fun riding him today, and I left on top of the world, feeling completely relaxed and happy after a week of just ... ugh.
Now I'm curious how riding him without Shannon's supervision will go, if I'll drag him down to my level or if he's just a better match for me. Or if I just like the way Shannon trains horses.
We warmed up on the flat, which felt a bit easier than last time. My aids have gotten clearer and I'm better able to adjust to what he needs (although he's really different to ride, both conformationally and style, than Mike's line-up), although I need more time than one ride to get a feel for the "right place" for all of it.
Then we did a little cross rail and later a vertical on a circle from the trot and canter, both directions, with my primary mission to be not to pull with my hands. Because Charlie was nice and consistent, it was easy for Shannon to see that each time I got the teensiest bit nervous (over ANYthing), I'd clench up and pull with my hands - especially that darn right one that has a mind of its own. So she had me ride with "upside down hands" (like carrying a bucket with your biceps - not that helpful a visual but I can't think of a better way to say it), so that I couldn't get in a pulling war with his face. And at first, I hated it - I felt completely powerless. And then I got used to it and rode with my outside and my seat more, and then it was a cake walk. An ecstatic, joyful, wonderful, thank-god-I'm-alive-and-on-a-horse cake walk.
AND - Shannon complimented my lower leg. She said that they look like they belong to a different rider than from when I started working with her. All of that hard work is finally paying off! They feel better too - totally secure and I don't have to think about them all the time.
So now I can focus on other things and enjoy myself a bit more. Which I totally did today. It was just a little lesson, but it reminded me why I ride and why I have my whole life set up for riding.
Now I'm curious how riding him without Shannon's supervision will go, if I'll drag him down to my level or if he's just a better match for me. Or if I just like the way Shannon trains horses.
We warmed up on the flat, which felt a bit easier than last time. My aids have gotten clearer and I'm better able to adjust to what he needs (although he's really different to ride, both conformationally and style, than Mike's line-up), although I need more time than one ride to get a feel for the "right place" for all of it.
Then we did a little cross rail and later a vertical on a circle from the trot and canter, both directions, with my primary mission to be not to pull with my hands. Because Charlie was nice and consistent, it was easy for Shannon to see that each time I got the teensiest bit nervous (over ANYthing), I'd clench up and pull with my hands - especially that darn right one that has a mind of its own. So she had me ride with "upside down hands" (like carrying a bucket with your biceps - not that helpful a visual but I can't think of a better way to say it), so that I couldn't get in a pulling war with his face. And at first, I hated it - I felt completely powerless. And then I got used to it and rode with my outside and my seat more, and then it was a cake walk. An ecstatic, joyful, wonderful, thank-god-I'm-alive-and-on-a-horse cake walk.
AND - Shannon complimented my lower leg. She said that they look like they belong to a different rider than from when I started working with her. All of that hard work is finally paying off! They feel better too - totally secure and I don't have to think about them all the time.
So now I can focus on other things and enjoy myself a bit more. Which I totally did today. It was just a little lesson, but it reminded me why I ride and why I have my whole life set up for riding.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)