Sitting the Canter

If you google "sitting the canter" a lot of sites come up-I guess I'm not the only one who has trouble with that particular concept! But I find, for me, it is much easier to keep my bum in the saddle when JJ is moving more forward, not running, but a nice active canter seems to be the easiest to ride. After loosening up to the point that I was literally flopping around in my upper body, it helped me to get the point and relax my hips too. So now I can work on keeping my upper body more still, while staying loose in my hips...sounds easy right? Maybe after a few years practice...

Great New Start

With some help from my friend Laura this weekend, I had two amazing rides on JJ...I learned that I can get him on a contact fairly easily with the right cues, and our trot work was really improved. We also worked on the canter, which I had been struggling with, as I was not "allowed" to ride JJ at the canter by my previous trainer. However, I've been working on it on my own, and Laura helped me by being my eye on the ground, telling me to just relax my body to go with the movement of the canter-and what do you know it worked! I was able to get a nice forward canter and maintain it longer than ever before, and JJ seemed very happy to put up with me flopping around as I learn to loosen up. I've also taken my stirrups down a few holes to get my legs more under me, which has GREATLY improved my balance and ability to give clear leg aids. As you can see in the pictures, I still need to get them down even more, as I am 5 feet 10 inches and have LONG legs, but I have to do it gradually as I'm used to riding with too short stirrups.

I'm really having a great time riding, and am making some pretty big changes, but all for the better...

Out with the old, in with the new

So to cap off the fantastic year of 2010 my mentor, trainer, and friend (I thought) decided that I was somehow taking advantage of her. Because she offered her help to me and my horse because of our friendship I thought she liked helping me. I never wanted her to do anything that she didn't want to. But apparantly she decided she was doing too much for me and instead of talking to me as a friend, she started making a big show of avoiding me and complaining about people getting "free lessons". Blowing me off when she said "let's do the horses". Never having time except for short hurried lesssons, even though I was still paying for 2 lessons a month. None of that an issue if she had just TALKED to me. Said, hey I don't have time, or I feel like I'm doing too much. Anything. Instead she treated me like someone who was trying to take advantage, which couldn't be farther from the truth. But I guess that's just the way she is, seeing the worst and believing things others close to her tell her. I wonder who's next on the list of people to get rid of?

Kentucky 2010

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Henny!