What's black, white and blue all over?

Me.

I wasn't sexually harassed but something worse happened: I found out that Bonnie has been sold! I was planning on inquiring if I could part-board her for this spring, too. There's a barn-full of horses who are available and happy to move... but I assure you that each and every horse is an individual with their own quirks and personalities and there won't be another quite like her. Despite all this, I know that she helped me progress and that she'll now be helping someone else get the confidence they need, to ride.

And a smile just cracked across my face because my mom (aka Captain Obvious) is listening to Eye of the Tiger...? :| Somehow seems a fitting way to end this post...

Lesson #16: Progress

The weather held out beautifully tonight. It was a wonderful evening that was cold, but not snowy blizzardy or rainy! We arrived early and settled ourselves in. I'm riding Bonnie tonight and because we're early, she's waiting to be tacked up. While she's waiting, she's constantly looking for a snack from me and she's nosey-ing around my jacket and trying to nuzzle into my pockets. What a pig!

I tacked up Bonnie (yippie!) and notice that she's much more restless and lively than I've seen her in the past. I feel this might be a challenge tonight... after all, remember she has a tendency to do her own things when she feels like it; and unless you're firm with her, she'll take over.

She's a no muss no fuss kind of gal and I like that about her. Sassy and full of spirit. Even if that means more work for me, I'm ready for the challenge. Starting the lesson right was important; so that I would immediately have control with Bonnie and there would be less disagreements. I put on my leader hat and told myself that I would be the driver today. I've had enough crap to deal with at work and now it's time to practice getting my assertive face on. NO more Nice-Deb!

Warming up with the posting trot is a good way to get the blood really flowing and your cardiovascular system kick started. Sheri has us posting over the ground poles on the long side of the arena while post trotting. Thanks to Kim's lesson, I understand that there should not be a "double step" between poles and the horse should be trotting fast enough that there is a single foot landing within each space. Of course, Bonnie has this way of speeding up as she goes over them and also veering off to the left. I'm told to employ half halts with the outside rein to slow her down, as she steps over each pole; and we successfully slow down the pace but she's practically at the outside of the arena at the end of the poles set. Looks like it's a matter of outside foot aid + half halt; that should do the trick.

We move onto the Cavaletti jump with 2-point position. Bonnie's not too bad with jumping and I am looking forward to having her successfully make it over the Cavaletti while actually jumping, and not trotting over it. She's lively today--which I am super happy about since I don't need a crop with her. We work on things together but Sheri points out that I'm anticipating the jump and so I tend to lean forward on Bonnie's front-end so it is in fact more difficult for her to lift her front-end. This error in positioning also leaves me vulnerable to jump refusal; which Bonnie does just fine and I find myself face-planting onto her crest. No, not breast, you sick people! Anyways, I almost flip off her as my right foot is out of the stirrup and I'm clutching to her neck trying to pull myself back up. Phew. Crisis averted. So, we try again and she refuses AGAIN! The next time is going to be my last chance and I have to make it count... so I push her forward and hurrah! we make it over. Not that it was particularly graceful but heck, at least it wasn't as messy as it was before!

Though the lesson has been a good deal of physical work for me (which I thoroughly enjoyed!), it has also been an eye-opener to realize that, my riding has progressed since I last rode her, I am able to handle Bonnie more confidently than before, and I have physically and psychologically progressed so that I'm able to handle things that she throws at me.

Lesson #7: Getting Back on the Horse (literally)

I spend a lot of my free time during the week looking up riding videos to see how to improve or do things better. I checked out the "how to canter" and "how to improve your classical seat" videos on VideoJug. I figured that my issues with the seated trot might be related to poor posture or seat. I found the video helpful since I got a better idea about the correct way to sit in the saddle and then the video goes into corrections for common mistakes. Great video for someone who's interested to get a better idea about the correct seating. It isn't something we have a lot of time to cover during lessons.

I was riding Bonnie on Wednesday. Last week Sheri said that Bonnie's a bit tough to get going because she makes for a challenging ride. She's insistent on her own way at the beginning of classes and is not very forgiving about what a rider might ask her to do. We work on seated trot and really, I've not mastered it; I still find myself bouncing a lot.

Sheri tells me to lengthen my legs (heels down), relax my hips so that I flow with her trot and to tuck my tailbone under to create a heavy seat. I still don't understand the concept of "creating a heavy seat". But once I've engaged my abs too, things seem to come together. Now, the canter: move my outside leg back behind the girth and squeeze both legs. Problem is, Bonnie's just going faster and faster in the trot and I'm getting more and more nervous because of the multitude of things that I'm trying to concentrate on doing simultaneously. Each arena corner is another opportunity to get her into the canter so I try again and again with little success. It's frustrating, and add the fact that Bonnie remains to be a bit clumsy when she's trots, I've got myself quite a bit to deal with. Faster and faster and then the magical moment where she transitions into the canter! Except I didn't transition with her so now I'm all over my seat and my balance is straight out the window!

The next thing I know, I see the ceiling of the arena and I've landed on the ground, tucked and rolled into the door with a big thud. At least I managed to fall professionally from a moving horse! Maybe I should forget learning to ride properly but consider a career in equestrian stunt work.

In the past, I would have felt more badly about the turn of events and given up on the remainder of the lesson. But you know what? I got right back up and got back on Bonnie without blinking. We didn't get back into a canter but we did manage to finish the lesson with one another. Next week, I'll give another horse a try to see what I might be able to accomplish with the canter but I am more than willing to get back on Bonnie to get it right. Afterall, I might get more accomplished with a "difficult" horse at the start.

Lesson #6: Symphony of Dialogues

I love having something to look forward to, in the middle of the week. My riding lessons have become the inspiration to help me get through rough moments at work or school. It's as if the harder I work during the day (like the more often I feel like screaming or tearing out all my hair), the more I deserve to get out to the country to get back to basics and communicate with a simple minded (this is never bad in a day and age like we have now) creature: eat, sleep, eat some more and work up to 4 hours a day.

I've been watching videos and reading to get a better idea of horse behaviour. I've never worked with prey animals before so this is different. One of the temp girls at work is actually in school to become a veterinarian and she's specializing in large animals :) That made me happy today.

I still won't get used to the commute out that way... in the back of my mind, I am reminded of how much gas consumption I have when I do this. Anyways, I arrive with extra time to spare and see I'm riding Bonnie today! Bonnie and I have come a ways since we started working together but she's also become more challenging as of late. I admit, my heart sank a little (I was hoping for Indy) but, I took a deep breath, remembered some of the videos I've been watching and reminded myself about who's boss today as I grabbed a lead.

Bonnie is a big muddy piggy again. *sigh* Time to rub and brush off that stuff. This is going to be a long tack-up. I work diligently to get things done and put together as quickly as possible. I make good time and we're called into the ring.

So far, so good. We start with a posting trot with a focus on proper diagonals and changing directions while posting trotting. This has become a little more straight forward for me to get it. I still don't "feel it", but I'm at least able to identify when I'm on the correct diagonal +50% of the time! Hurrah for me! This is improvement from my regular incorrect guess. I continue to work on the seated trot which usually just makes me feel like I'm bopping around on Bonnie's back. I never quite feel balanced and it's challenging even though Sheri and others have told me that everything looks fine--I don't feel fine.

I've discovered that Bonnie is a bit of a follower and wants to be doing what everyone else is doing, where they're doing it. This is proving to be difficult. She's already challenging me right at the start of classes. The silent dialogue usually goes something like...
Me: let's go
Bonnie: go? go where?
Me: just move.
Bonnie: I don't feel like it. My buddies are over this way...
Me: stop it. I'm on your back so you'll do what I say.
Bonnie: as if. eat me.
Me: I'm boss!
Bonnie: ha!

After several times around the ring in both directions, Sheri talks about getting into a canter. I am excited we're moving along to try other things. The aids for initiating a canter are simultaneously: sweeping your outside leg past the cinch/girth and then squeezing with both legs while loosening up your hold and body to move with the horse's 3-beat gait. Add steering and you've got a mess on Bonnie: me. I got her to canter a few steps but she's so darned wobbly that I'm terrified I'll fall off. The other two girls are getting it just fine... give it time, I tell myself. It's my first time and I didn't do too badly since I got Bonnie to canter a few times for a bit. At least she ain't no Rock but no dice today.

My other problem has been being unable to keep my heels down and pressure in the balls of my feet so I keep proper contact with the stirrups. I find I'm gripping with my thighs and thus my feet are riding up to compensate. I'm supposed to both relax my lower body yet give pressure through the balls of my feet on the stirrup. Really, did I ever tell you I'm terrible at keeping up during an aerobics class? And yet, while riding, I'm being asked to do more than I would ever do, simultaneously, during an aerobics class!

Next, we move quickly to the 2-point position and jumping! I didn't think I'd get to jumping for a while. I wasn't prepared when Bonnie did jump that I lost balance. Good thing my fear of falling off keeps me glued on there ;) We do this several times and I'm finding jumping to be good fun. Now... if only I can figure out how to canter...

We finish class with some bareback riding during the cool down. It's interesting to sway side to side with Bonnie's walk. Aside from becoming one with your horse, balance is certainly being tested here! Both Bonnie and I are sweaty and we're relieved that we're done for the night. Time to wrap it up and head home to call it a night.

Lesson #4: Dominance and Control, a lesson in life

I arrive at the stable right on time and now I'm stressed and frazzled. I wanted to get a chance to find a kitten which I'm trying to get adopted out. But, I don't have time because I have to tack up for lessons. I check the board and see I'm riding Bonnie tonight. Hurrah! We're going to become good friends at this rate. It's nice to have something I look forward to, during the week (other then Fridays).

Work has been challenging lately... I find myself upset with things and not keen on the way things are happening. I lament my thoughts and feelings to AW and he tells me, "you're not being very assertive. Stop being the sucker and stand-up for yourself and make it clear that your time is as precious as other people's--regardless of where they are, on the totem pole." I was taken aback because I thought I am generally clear about my intentions and that I'm a "take no crap from anyone" kind of person.

I mount Bonnie and we get the lesson started. Things are going alright... I am getting better at determining posting diagonals and I pick up on the correct diagonal and am able to post for a longer period of time. Lenka asks us to do some 20m circles around the ring while trotting. There's still a lot I'm doing wrong and I'm trying to focus on keeping all my stuff together... sit up straight, don't lean forward, don't lean to one side during a turn, keep your arms in... sheesh! And I think that Bonnie's picking up on my anxiety and "greenness" because now she's lowering her head and shaking it about. At one point, I thought she was going to pull me off! She's stopped listening to me when I want to go somewhere and while we're doing something, she'd stop or do something that she wanted to do. I've lost control.

Now I'm frustrated and slightly embarrassed. Lenka stops me and says, "she's testing you and you're letting her win. All these animals instinctively understand is dominance, punishment and reward. They're herd animals and you need to be that leader that they can follow." I'm flabbergasted. I thought I was assertive and enough of a leader most days. Bonnie is proving me otherwise tonight. Learning about how to deal with horses is a lot different than I thought it might be. But then again, maybe it is about learning a very core and basic mind-set to have and to translate that into life in general.

Lesson #3: Riding Diagonals

After nearly 3 weeks away from the stables, I got back to it last night; and strangely, I felt it was a more challenging class this time around. I'm not sure why that was.

This is the first class I don all my new apparel. Real breeches, paddock boots and my helmet. It's nice not to be wearing the communal one. I skip the half chaps this time because I exchanged my suede ones last weekend due to peeling on the synthetic portion and the girl told me that they had some issues with that model so I moved up to the leather Mondega half chap. But, the idea of taking an hour to get myself suited up didn't appeal to me.

The drive out this time was smooth and I didn't feel like I was rushing or stressed out; but I spent most of time in the car with my inner child and thinking "are we there yet?". Which brings me to my major pet peeve: long commutes to get somewhere. It's the one thing that I'm willing to pay more, to avoid doing. It's 1 hour one way and on some nights, that's just not appealing.

I arrived in good time with at least 10 minutes to spare. The feral cat in the area had a litter and her babies are everywhere. I was squealing with delight at all the little kittens running around! They're such cutie pies. The little black one that comes bounding at me everytime I see him is just so cute. At one point, I'm grinning and holding 3 kittens simultaneously. What joy. Oh right, I came for lessons.

I check out the board and see I'm scheduled to ride Bonnie tonight. Yay Bonnie! Bonnie's nice and polite the first time you ride her but it seems that she starts testing your patience and skill level, the more you ride her.While Nicole's ridden a few different horses by now, Bonnie and I are partners in crime. I should change my name to Clyde. HAR HAR HAR! Okokok, groaner. Tonight, this wonderful horse has come to me covered in mud like a pig who rolled around in the muck. Which means... I have to clean her up before I can tack her. Hurrah. I'm getting an arm and back workout before the class starts!

In the ring, I'm still so green that I'm not sure if her undesired responses are due to my inexperience or if she's just messing with me. The lesson today is riding diagonals: identifying proper riding diagonal and then executing the diagonal while posting. A lot of equine jargon, I know. I'll spend some time with some riding jargon in another post. It seems that the harder I try, the more often I get it wrong. Right now, it's about 50/50 to get it right and even then, I don't know when I'm doing it right! In addition to working on the riding diagonals, Lenka (our instructor) has us working on strengthening our legs too... So we ride and post for a long while. This is really challenging for me because I can't keep a regular post and sometimes do a "double bounce" somewhere. I'm sure Bonnie is really not keen on my poor riding technique. It's not obvious to most people but the poorer the rider's skill set, the more uncomfortable it is for the horse. After dismounting, I leave with jelly legs and I notice I'm walking a bit like John Wayne.

Looks like I'll need to start working on the endurance needed to post continuously as well as getting myself together for the seated trot. There's a lot of work ahead of me...

Childhood Dream Come True

Every little girl wants a pony.

And every woman was that little girl at one point. You know what though? The desire never goes away... EVER. It gets distracted and set aside... but it doesn't take much and you'll have that little girl out in the open squealing with delight at the very idea of riding a horse.

That is me today. All week I spent counting down the days until I was scheduled to head out to Erin, Ontario to Greyden Farms for an English Riding lesson. I have never been more excited about anything in my life.

I haven't had the opportunity to get on a horse and have full autonomy since I was a child. I took riding lessons (western) during summer camp and those experiences probably stuck in my memory forever. But, as most things go... this is a rich man's sport and I'm not one of these rich people. But I'm lucky that NR found this place (despite it being so damned far) and we headed out that way. It a 1 hour drive north of the 401. This is the only time I wished I lived in a suburb subdivision.

The lessons are a refreshing change from the trail riding I've been doing the last few years--I have the opportunity to do as I wish (well, with an instructor) and actually become one with this majestic beast. I got on a sweet mare named Bonnie. She's described as "Kind and willing with a great mind." Sounds like my kind of horse!

NR got a funny boy who was giving her a run for her money as he decided that he didn't feel like doing much of anything. What giggles. Bonnie had an issue with turning a specific way.. kind of like Derek Zoolander.

I didn't get a chance to tack Bonnie but I helped her clean up and put her out in her pen. Really, I was squealing with delight the entire evening. Who cares that I got lost on the way up there and there was nobody for miles to ask for directions... or that a charter bus broke down and I got stuck for ~20 minutes on the 401 at 10:30pm. I was just SO EXCITED.