Lesson #183: Same Old Tune

Saturday's lesson was an extension of what we were doing on Thursday. I needed to work on getting the right position over jumps and just keep riding things through, as I should. I have to admit, I didn't wake up feeling my peachiest. Some part of me wanted to stay in bed and just lie there but I knew I would have a better time going out.

Another one of the seasoned students rides with us and she's good... because she used to ride this cheeky thoroughbred that would try and pull all sorts of antics and she learned to ride him well... because she was the only one riding him! Now she rides a giant Trakhener who's got his own issues but she knows exactly what she needs to do, to keep him in check too. Needless to say, it's both intimidating and inspiring to ride with someone like her.

Today is a stiff day and we notice it because J decides to point it out. My butt is able to stay closer to the saddle but there isn't that "swing" in my lower back when we canter. It's the same thing Sheri said last time when she said that my upper body moves too much and the only part of my body that should be moving in the canter is the seat.

The exercises today are riding a non-course course. I have no idea about the proper name for this exercise but the course was set up and the difference was the poles were ground pole instead of jumps. This got us to practice our ride in and out because (why?) nothing changes over jumps. So riding it flat should translate just fine to a jump. Let me tell you... what trouble I had!! I couldn't get Ariel to start up on the canter when I wanted her to, or I couldn't keep her at it. It was a miserable session that I tried again and again. One of the major issues was definitely that I was leaning forward when asking for the canter depart (which is totally NOT what you're supposed to do!) and so all it became was a speedy trot that got me bouncing around and totally discombobulated.

I did persist though, and got through the course each time, even if it was messy and not ideal. That said, at least I know what my mistakes were. I just need to eliminate the physical barriers that hold me back. It's not really mental anymore, for me. The jumps we do are not "scary" like they used to be and I don't freak out like I used to but, my physical limitations are what's keeping me back. Not a big surprise there but I gotta push in some time to work on that so I can continue to move forward.