Awareness of the outside world. Marie Claire: The Barn Jacket Is Fashion’s Hardest-Working Spring Coat Trend, Holzman, April 2024. Hat tip to M.
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Circling back to what is becoming traditional – the lesson squeezed in before a show. [Hey Kids]
No saddle seat riding since March, although I stayed with driving lessons. In April, I sat on Rodney three times for Virtual Tevis walks, and had my charming New Barn hunter lesson. With a show coming up on the weekend, I figured I outta sit on a horse and remember how to ride.
But first, what I learned from an excellent driving lesson with Coach James. Corners. Steer in, steer out. Be deliberate with the line. Always another one. Optimus seemed to appreciate. He can do it by himself, but I think he liked to see competence in his pilot. He cut me some slack on a bad corner after I did the corner really well the time before. After the lesson, I was tired, almost riding lesson tired.
For my pre-show lesson, the driving enthusiast in the house suggested that I try riding like I drove. It’s been suggested before. Here I took it specifically to mean rein management. It was not the miracle change that I hoped for, but I think Optimus liked it. Reins. So many reins. Inside rein. Outside rein. Top rein. Bottom rein. 1-2-3-4. All good. Check again. 1-2-3-4. And again. Not lower leg & weight (as much).
I came to the conclusion that saddle seat riders have a constant conversation with their hands. Nothing that I wasn’t doing before, but doing it all. the. time. You could make an argument that the aids are correlated to how they want the horses to go. I would also add that it’s what the horses are used to.
How did we do at the show? I think I managed to do a reasonable approximation of what I had done in the lesson, mainly because I think that’s why he spooked. By riding that way, I was asking him to work. He said, Yeah, no.
Sam use to like trotting down memory lane & reliving his glory days. Optimus is happy with is current role of showing Walk-Trot with the littles. Some people like to get dressed up and be fancy; other like to stay casual and chill.
Or I could be deluding myself. Always an option.
Onwards!
Katherine