Tests

In today's lesson, we had me try to tackle three different test. Training level tests one and three, and first level test one (with some modifications).

It mostly went pretty well. My attempts to reduce my nervousness and "what-if" thoughts have been helping a lot, so I was able to ride pretty effectively. The training level tests went off pretty smoothly. I'm sure they have awkward moments but sitting here this evening typing this, I don't remember anything specific. The canters were timed right and didn't break. The transitions down from canter could have been better but certainly weren't remarkably bad.

The first level test was... trickier! I had to canter at C and go up 3/4 of the long side, lengthening stride, before turning off into a 15m circle where I had to return to working canter in the beginning of the circle. We got the canter, got the lengthening, but trying to bring her back to a smaller canter led to careening around the first turn before sloppily breaking. I took too long to get us reorganized and it would have been a pretty big fail if I'd actually been riding the test at a show! It went a little better on the next try, and I think on the third try we actually didn't break although I was riding pretty awkwardly on these subsequent tries. I would get up into sort of a hovering position instead of sitting deep, and/or my right leg would shoot forward on the left lead. Funny, because the other night I was telling a friend how I was glad that THAT had finally stopped happening!

It was actually a good reminder how much all of that has improved though! Because those things used to be default things for me that I had to fight with almost all the time. Now they were just coming out when I was concentrating hard and feeling a bit disorganized. Better!

I'm also getting better at ACTUALLY using my whip now and then. I don't use it with much of a thwap behind it, but at least I'm actually touching the horse instead of flailing around and/or hitting my boot. I was a little afraid to do much with it before for a couple of reasons. A big one being that I generally assumed little disobediences or slow-downs were me riding badly, not the horse blowing me off or underperforming in that moment. Also, sheepishly, I've been afraid of getting a burst of speed as my result, even though intellectually I know that's more desirable than undesirable.

The big difference now is that I'm feeling more confident that I'm right about needing to correct. I am also more confident that I can sit a little burst forward or an annoyed kick-out from the horse if it happens, though that's the lesser of the two factors.

I showed my coach my sitting trot, as it is now. I've been feeling like I'm bouncing around too much still, and it really varies from ride to ride. But she said it actually looked really good and I'm certainly not getting any air time in the bouncing. My muscles are working to support the bounce and keep my body balanced and moving with the motion. So, the bouncy feeling... just is. It's there, so you work with it, and that's what I guess I'm doing.

It was a really productive ride over all and I felt really good about it. Other highlights: getting really good trot-to-halt transitions during the tests. They were square-ish, which is better than we usually get. Halt-to-trot was a bit snappier today. Rein-back is feeling much less awkward; tipping my pelvis slightly forward to lighten my seat, using my legs alternately and a little further back than usual. Leg yields at the walk were... so so. Better than when I tried on my own the other day. I still really need to work on planting my seat in downwards transitions, and not blocking with my thighs so much that I pop myself out of the seat. Over all M had a lot more energy today! I was actually having to slow her trot down quite a bit in the last third of the lesson, instead of having to push her along. And it didn't make me (too) nervous, either!

Other recent riding stuff: been practicing, practicing, practicing. Last week I rode four times and this week, three times. My most recent non-lesson ride, I ended it off with some no-stirrups rising trot, which I kept up for as long as it took for no-stirrups sitting trot to feel like the "relaxing" alternative. Ha! Ha!