♣Ambitious♣

How many times have you walked out of the dressage ring? I'm asking for a friend. Despite only warming up in the ring for maybe four laps total, we did manage to walk up once again. This dressage thing is just not for me. Some rain made the footing less than ideal, so we rode out in the jumping field, and Abbey, the part-time jumper, got the wrong impression of what the day's work would be. I'd say this ride was better than the last in that it didn't take as long to get it together, but it the bad parts were exponentially worse, all because of either a) too much energy or b) a dropped right shoulder. Lots of right rein and right leg. The whole ride was walk/halts and trot/halts with varied success. At the end, we did a figure eight, and I think that's when I started to figure out the right rein/right leg thing cause it was a hell of a lot of confusion. We attempted a canter, but it may or may not have been a trainwreck. But again, she's a large ...

Before I begin this review, or, rather, scientific analysis, I guess I should go over my credentials: - riding for 4.5 years - keeps all 7 saddle pads meticulously organized - once had 20+ refusals over two courses but still won the hack Now that we've established some ethos, I'd like to make a claim: Dressage saddles suck. Why, exactly, do I need a seat deeper than a Jaden Smith tweet? Can you give me one valid reason why the knee block has to be as big as my bicep (AN: my biceps are big)? We're already aware that such a lengthy stirrup doesn't work for my stubby little legs, and don't even get me started on the billets. If that's not enough, please refer to the figure below: I rest my case. In conclusion, Dressage saddles are surprisingly enjoyable, even if you've ridden in nothing but jumping saddles with the occasional western saddle for most of your career. I'm not sure why everyone isn't doing this. They're missing out. I will...