 |
| Mirror selfie haha |
My favorite thing about Aiken is the quality of instruction you can get within a 5-10 mile radius.
This year I decided to stick with just one instructor, the S judge, and really crack down on show ring problems.
At the beginning of our first lesson, she actually got on him for a few minutes! So many instructors won't get on horses (and for good reason), so I was really impressed. She was able to feel what I was feeling. And she said "Yup, he's tough". I was sort of hoping she would get on and be like "Oh you idiot this is your problem" but no, it seems he really is tough to ride in an uphill balance.
 |
| My green bean arse watching someone who knows what they are doing. |
But not impossible.
We worked hard for two days on respecting the rein aids, suppleness, piaffe, passage, half passes and LETTING GO of the reins more than I think is necessary.
Man this horse is teaching me a lot! It really takes instructors like this who have ridden and coached many MANY different types of horses. It takes some unconventional tools and tricks. There is no magical "fix", no magical way of riding. This is horse training.
 |
| It was 80+ degrees too which was faaaaaabulous |
I think we may have had a breakthrough and I am keeping at it. Whether I can carry it over to the show ring ... well that's yet to be seen.
I also had my saddle reflocked on Tuesday of the week. Another great thing about Aiken is that there is a Custom rep in the area and she scooted over, relfocked my saddle a bit to make some adjustments and off I went down the road for a lesson. Done and done!
Friday was our last day and that was Hitchcock woods day! Coming up!
 |
| Such a lovely farm to ride at |
 |
| Also got this really cute halter! |
The number of times I've had to relearn that there's no magic fix and it's just bit by bit, iterative improvement despite knowing that there's no such thing as a one-trick-fix is ridiculous to me. And I'm sure I'll keep relearning it for the rest of my life!
ReplyDeleteSounds like really productive lessons! Love that she actually got on because so often what you see from the ground is vastly different than what you feel in the saddle. I hope it all translates to the show ring for you!
ReplyDelete