2nd day of Major Beale clinic

One freak change led to fortuitous happenstance at today's clinic. Due to some scheduling changes, we brought my dressage saddle for Charlie. Even though things shifted again and I didn't need it, I was too lazy to take it off, so I started my ride in it. Major Beale said that it helped my seat tremendously, and from now on, to ride Charlie in that saddle. So hats off to fortune! Today's ride made me feel a little less like a waste of his time and a lot more like the cherry on the slice of humble pie. First, and the most glaring follow up from yesterday, was he took my whip and set it on the saddle behind my butt (so it ran up my back and ended at my helmet). Then he had me put my hand behind my back to feel how big the gap was between my back and my whip. Then he had me try to suck my back into the whip - which was close to impossible for me to do without rounding my shoulders. When I finally got it right, it felt like I was hunched forward in my shoulders, even though actual hunched forward is a very different feeling. So I am going to tackle that all winter - with the mirrors in our arena, and at work and home with one of those inflatable balls and mirrors. I am pretty sure what I am missing is "stacking the blocks". Next, we worked again on straightness. The big revelation here is that the source of the problem is I can't feel straight - I can't feel the back end of the horse, whether it's crooked or straight or which way (or which hind foot is stepping underneath). So this is another one Shannon is going to work with me on over the winter. Another instruction was to watch my leg - it likes to creep backwards, and I need to give the aid from the girth. Major Beale suggested thinking of my bringing my seat forward over my leg, instead of my leg backward under my seat. Then we did a whole series of different exercises from yesterday, which sadly I am not going to do justice to. The main take away was how good Charlie felt, and the consistent things I needed to do were: keep my hands the soft "wall" that stopped the forward energy and let it "poof" up - but the "poof" comes from using my core as the real brake, not my hands pulling backwards; continuing to work on knees and toes pointed forward (toes feels pigeon toed) and the front of my leg giving the aid and the rest of the time staying off his side; steering Charlie like a wheelbarrow, with both hands making a tunnel for him; using the left leg as a block - to stop him from bulging out from the strong right leg; in the canter, again using my stomach to root my seat into the saddle - when this plugs in it feels so solid and wonderful. We worked on shoulder-in down the long side, then lengthening circles or halt transitions; and leg yields down the long side facing the wall keeping the momentum going and not slowing down. Major Beale explained what I call the poof as kinetic vs. potential energy. Kinetic energy is a horse moving forward. Potential energy is impulsion. I get the idea of impulsion, and I feel like I'm just the hair's breadth away from the light bulb going off so that I can make it happen on my own. Just like yesterday, it felt amazing, and Charlie was, like always, a total champ and good sport, helping me out as best he could. It was such an incredible experience and I'm so lucky to have had this opportunity.