The Cone Theory of Interdisciplinary Riding

Saddle Seat Wednesday

I think of dressage and saddle seat as a Venn diagram.

For a low value of x, both are English-style horseback activities that do not involve jumping. The ultimate dispensation of x will require those more knowledgeable that I. The distance between the two is so small relative to how far away I am from both …

… that they merge into one big dot.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Milton at SSF

We shipped Milton over to Stepping Stone Farm for a second lesson [First].

I’m tickled with everyone.

Coach Courtney has the flexibility to work with us on driving skills without insisting that the horse go like a Saddlebred.

Greg is learning from the lessons and from the opportunity to work in an enclosed space.

Milton improves each time, yet misbehaves just enough that we see value in dragging him over.

Gold stars all around.

The lighting turned Milton into the purple version of the multi-hued carriage horse from The Wizard of Oz.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Dressage June 2017: We Leg Yield, Who Knew?

Rodney and I had our third dressage lesson with Mr. E. [March, May].

We went for the full 45 minutes. No quitting early for us.

We trotted. A lot. Probably as much as we have trotted for the rest of phase II combined.

We did leg yields. I would not have said that I knew how to do leg yields. I tried for years with Previous Horse and all I got was attitude. With step-by-step guidance, I got Rodney organized. Then Mr. E. said leg-yield. I told Rodney, ‘Go that-a-way.’ He did. He floated from rail to quarterline like a leaf on the wind.

The next step is to shift the lessons to a place with more space and better footing. Mr. E. has been wanting us to canter for the last two sessions, but it has been too slick.

That’s enough to put anyone in a good mood!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott