Forward past the bridle

When I first rode Silver, his owner remarked that I would need a whip because "you won't get anywhere without one."

ha haha ahah ahahha

Post ride, pre treats
Silver is honestly one of the most responsive horses I've met. He doesn't always respond in the way you want him to, but he responds. Case in point, Sanibel has been on stall rest for a little while, and my trainer took her out while she was teaching me on Wednesday. Since Sanibel has gone stir crazy in the stall, Miss El joked that I would have to be the one to call 911. About 90 seconds later, I mounted up, and Silver took an unexpected bolt forward. No, my trainer didn't want to trade.

Anyways, small horse shenanigans aside, it ended up being a really good lesson. We got caught in super nice weather, so nice that I had to shed layers while grooming because it was too hot. I opted to ride in Dressage tack since I hadn't done it yet on Silver. He walked fairly well, forward and relatively soft. Trot had too much forward, and trainer reminded me to just regulate him.

Post roll, pre contemplating life
We worked on the rail at first, changing directions, adding circles and all that jazz. Then we moved onto a figure 8, putting a couple laps on each circle before switching directions. We continued with softening and moving into the outside aids. In the direction change, trainer reminded me to make the change with my hips and shoulders instead of the reins. Our right to left change is nice, but the left to right needs work as he tends to fall on the left leg, and I forget to support.

His canter was a dream to ride. The first transition was without relaxation, but the next couple were great in both directions. He didn't swap off at all to the right, and he was softer than usual. I don't think my trainer has ever praised me more during a lesson. Small horse makes me look good.

Rubbing off the hard work
Category Is

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unspoken Rules of the Hunter Ring

Image
Ever since I started riding, I've been a part of the hunter ring. It's not an easy sport, and it's kind of difficult to really fit into a hunter operation if you've never experienced it before. So, if you're about to switch disciplines or just dipping a toe into the sport, keep these bits of information in mind. From one hunter to the next, good luck! 1. Only black or white saddle pads are allowed. I cannot stress this enough. It's about being profeshunal, people. Just because the page on Dover said HUNTER green, doesn't mean it's allowed in a hunter barn. Common mistake. Don't make it. sin!!! sin, I say!!! 2. Your everyday riding attire will be as follows: solid colored polo shirt (tucked in), beige Tailored Sportsman breeches, a black belt, black tallboots (either Ariat, Tredstep, or Parlanti). The only time you can divert from this is at shows. Then, you are allowed to school in a quarter zip, but that's it. Also, I'd like to r...
Read more

The Regionals Swing

Image
Yup, that time of year again. I still didn't qualify for regionals, but after seeing how last year went, I didn't even put it down as a goal. Eh, I might try senior year. I don't feel too pressured about it. Reaching (in vain) for my taco My parents and I made the 2.5 hour drive on Saturday morning. We actually arrived early, so I started helping bring horses in and unblanket them. Everything ran smoothly during set up. I was only schooling Leia, which went fine except her being super slow. Over the past year and a half, Leia has gone from being super strong and forward to fences to being a leg ride the whole time. We started with some trash distances but got it together for a good school. Unfortunately, so was just as slow and chippy with most of the people who rode her. Eh. Horses are kind annoying anyway. Looking for free tacos I spent a decent amount of time cuddling with Carlos in the morning before helping tack up Murry for the flat classes. I also finally...
Read more

A fortunate snow day, believe it or not

Image
So, yeah, it snowed, and waaayyy more than expected. Forecast said we'd get 3"-6". Final totals were anywhere between 8" and 11" for the Eastern Shore. My Saturday lesson was cancelled, and the sub-freezing temperatures haven't let the snow melt at all. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow and Wednesday. We'll see. Still, it's fortunate because guess what's happening down in Wellington??? I'm still on Anne Kursinski's ride , but her horse and the information she's giving is a little bit more relevant to my current riding state than the whole session was last year. First, the horse she's on is quite similar to Silver. He's an apparently laid back gray gelding that, every once in a while, loses focus and gets dramatic. He's even weaker to the right and occasionally swaps off behind, just like Silver. Big difference is that Anne's horse is significantly less dramatic than Silver. He swaps off, thinks for a minute,...
Read more