Breakthroughs

A lot of good things have been happening lately.

Last week, the theme of the lesson was focusing on leg and seat aids.  To emphasize this, Trainer K took away our inside reins.

Way obvious from the ground, looks much more impressive when there's a person actually on the horse

Both reins, outside of the neck.  I first attempted this with Nigel, the world's most perfect horse, in a group lesson last Monday.  It was probably slightly unfair, because Nigel is perfect and as long as you keep him straight he will do pretty much anything you ask him to do.  He is very sensitive to leg and seat aids already.

Nigel <3 (straightness is key when jumping because if he can't see, he will politely refuse)

On Wednesday, I had a private lesson with Trainer K, and rode Leo.  I jokingly said something about trying the exercise out on Leo, and she decided that that was a Wonderful Plan, and so that's what we did.  And it wasn't actually a disaster! 

Patient pony.

Always, in every lesson, Trainer K is constantly on me to get my leg back.  And I try as hard as I can, but I never seem to be able to move my legs that far back.  Some of it is saddle fit - riding in an assortment of lesson saddles has mean that I don't always end up in something that fits both me and my horse.  I also have a horrible tendency to stand over fences rather than fold.

So many awesome shots ruined by my leapfrogging out of the saddle. le sigh.

During last week's lesson on Leo, we finally were able to identify the key source of my issues.  I sit on my butt.  Like, way back.  Like a saddleseat rider.  My legs are in front of me because I have too much of a chair seat, but apparently not enough of one for it to be completely obvious until I made a comment during the lesson to Trainer K about how physically difficult it is for me to get my leg into the desired position.  So she coached me into shifting my weight forward, more to my pelvic bones, and the difference was incredible.  Firstly, I naturally sit so far back that sitting in this new position made me feel like I was leaning into an exaggerated half seat - which I was assured was not at all the case - and secondly, my legs were suddenly able to move with dramatically improved ease.  The 'up-up-down' and 'down-down-up' exercise that we had been working on (all without an inside rein) finally became manageable.  It was seriously like magic.  And then we could move on.

He was actually quite saintly during all of this position readjustment.

We worked on circles without the inside rein, collection, and extension.  We made some progress, but circling at the sitting trot without an inside rein eluded us, and we talked about my working with Leo only at the walk and trot for a while.  And for the rest of the week, I rode without my inside rein.  On Monday of this week, we finally mastered those trot circles.

I somehow allowed myself to get talked into two lessons in one day on Tuesday. The first was a group jumping lesson on Gracie, the barn's only palomino, and the second was another private flat lesson on Leo.  The difference in my riding after a week of no inside rein and sitting in a more correct position carried over fantastically.  Like, Trainer K was picking apart little, pretty-making things, rather than my leg position or my forearms being too tense (again, a tiny but hugely significant adjustment - I typically ride with my hands perfectly straight up and down - rolling my thumbs in, apparently, relaxes my entire arm).  The difference was incredible - instead of becoming frustrated with my body for not cooperating, I was already doing the things that I was supposed to be doing, and moving on to things like 'you know, sometimes you roll your shoulders forward when you land.'

Flying with Graciepants

Moving on to my Leo lesson - everything was different.  I had a quiet, soft horse.  I had a horse that started keeping his head down and moving into a frame.  Trainer K said that he and I have made more progress in the last week together than she has seen from us so far, and that our trot circles were the softest she'd ever seen him under saddle.  We even worked a little bit on the canter.  And half halts.  Half halts are important.  Although there was some recurrence of the giraffe running during the half halt work - that's our homework for this week.

I seriously cannot believe how much progress has occurred in the course of a single week.  It's incredible.  And my abs are sore - which has never, as far as I can recall, happened from riding - so I think it's safe to say that I am engaging my core much more actively than ever before.  And I couldn't be happier.  Forward progress is worth all the sore abs in the world.