I'm alive, barely, but alive

Forgot to post about the eq team meeting, but it happened on Sunday. They seem to be a fun bunch, but they put an emphasis on being social which I'm just like ????? How do socialize?

Unfortunately, they had to get the ball rolling for lessons, so I had mine today. I was first put on a fat Haflinger named Twinkles. Pretty typical pony mare, quite fat and quite sassy and quite fat. I must say, I love a wide load. Much easier to sit on. The most nerve racking part is getting into the barn's routine and finding out where everything is. Once I had that down, it was smooth sailing . . . kinda.

Started out just walking around, again having a fit over stirrup length with leathers that didn't match each other. Honestly, I'll keep a short stirrup. My leg stays in place. Twinkles is a simple ride. The trainer, Coach S (I'm running out of letters, guys), said, "It doesn't bend". That is now my challenge for the year: make Twinkles bend. Trot was easy, although my being out of shape didn't particularly help things. My legs were burning maybe two laps into the posting trot, and I was dying through the two-point, but then Coach S said those six sadistic words, "Drop your stirrups and rising trot."

The canter was strange, not particularly comfortable, and I was bracing, so no good. Then we switched, and I got put onto Victor, who just happens to be one of the horses that was at an IEA show over the winter. Small world.

Yeah, no, Victor and I do not agree. First, he's narrow, much more narrow than Miss Fat & Sassy Twinkles. He's also a jumper, which I haven't actually encountered because I was too much of a wuss to ask about riding Sailor yet in my career. I guess there's a first time for everything. He's got a super bouncy trot, very forward. I was braced, forward, and not even nearly as soft in my hands as I needed to be, especially considering that he goes in a gag. We had 0 rhythm and were completely out of sync, but despite looking like a low-key trainwreck, WE DID NOT BREAK GAIT EVEN ONCE, therefore I am happy and 100% willing to try again when the time comes.