Canter Revelations

Monday,  I kicked off the New Year with a a great first ride of the year.  I rode Lucky stirrup-less in a group listen with one other women, Loni.  This was the first time riding without stirrups outside of the round pen; I now had complete control over Lucky.  Additionally, it was the longest I had spent riding without stirrups(if you don't count a couple bareback rides in 2014).  I lunged Lucky for a few minutes before to let her buck and expend a little energy.  She actually stretched and came round for most of the time, which was unusual for her and very satisfying.

During the lesson,  Laura taught about controlling the horse's rhythm.  As riders, it is our responsibility to set the rhythm we want at all gaits, rather than letting the horse meander or rush off at the pace they desire.  Loni and I started by asking for different lengths of walk: collected, medium, extended.  The goal was to do as little as possible, and to ideally ask for the change of pace with just a change in our hips or a light touch of the calf.  Though Lucky was fresh and fairly forward,  she prefers to move in a short, slow walk.  Every time I ride her,  I usually have to remind her to pick up the pace often throughout the ride.   Furthermore,  with her there is a fine line between an lengthened walk and a trot.  I had to experiment with varying degrees of pressure.   For a while,  I worked in the walk,  shifting from collected, medium, and lengthened "gears."

My first between-the-ears shot!

I then did the same in the posting trot.  My thighs burned after a while, but I feel much stronger than I was in November, and I could hold the posting trot for much longer without getting tired than I could before.

My position has improved so much since last year! Look at my leg!

The most successful part, however, was the canter.  As I stated on my blog a while ago, I've been having difficulties riding with the motion of the canter.  However, when reading an article about the sitting trot recently,  I had a revelation.  The article said to move your hips with the motion of the horse's hips.  Previously,  I had thought that I had to move my hips forward when the horse tipped forward.  Upon reading this article, I realized that I had had it all wrong.  My hips had to move with the horse's.  Therefore,  when the horses pelvis tucked under, I and to allow my pelvis to tuck under.

Let's critique my position in these two pictures from May 2015 and January 2016, respectively.  I realize that they are in different gaits and that Lucky is facing different directions, and I appear to be on a bending line in the first, but I think that they really illustrate the improvement of my position.  In the first, my leg has crept up and is tight, there is a sway in my back(maybe it's just the angle that makes it look deep, but I still think it is due to a fault in my position),  my wrists are not straight, and my hands are all over the place(it looks like I'm steering with my hands).  In the second, my leg is supple and relaxed(but not floppy),  my ankle is stretched down, and my hands are together.  It appears as if I am leaning back ever so slightly(or maybe it's just me), but I otherwise think my position is close to correct.  I'm open to any thoughts and suggestions from readers as well! Respectful and constructive critiquing from my readers is always welcome!

Armed with this new piece of information,  I felt ready to canter without stirrups.  Loni cantered in front of me to help me to asked Lucky to canter.  At first, I overthought things,  and became tense like usual.  Then I got a few strides, but accidentally forgot to steer.  However, that sort success gave me the confidence and belief I needed to canter.  On my own, I asked for the canter, fully believing that it would happen, and Lucky bounded into canter.  Previously, I had expected cantering without stirrups to be more difficult than cantering with stirrups.  Though I didn't give it much thought during the ride,  I and imagine before that I would have to grab mane to balance myself.  I could not have been more wrong.  In fact, I found cantering without stirrups much easier than cantering without them.  The absence of stirrups seemed to place my legs in just the right position, and my hips swayed with the motion of the canter.  It was probably the nicest cantering!  I was able to go around the entire arena without straying from the path.

I did have a few slip-ups where I lost my balance, causing her to fall out of canter, but those did not mar the success of the canter.  One time, I believe I took my leg off.  Since I didn't have stirrups to hold me, I fell onto her neck when she stopped, and decided to let myself slip off and land on my feet.  It wasn't falling off–she was at a complete stand still,  and I voluntarily disembarked rather than trying to scramble up her neck.  I led her to the mounting block, remounted, and cantered one last time.  This time, I cantered once around the ring then asked her to stop.

 Afterward, I rode her around in the walk for at least 20 more minutes before putting her away.  It will be raining for the rest of the week, so I'm happy I had this one great ride this week.  I cannot wait to canter again.  The thrill of cantering correctly can become addicting!

More Moe Lessons!

 For my last two lessons, I rode Moe again to get a better feel for her and learn more. Since she is trained in dressage I work on keeping her on the bit the entire ride, except when walking, As you may remember, she gets a little sore sometimes from being older and can't always pick up the left lead(she has a nice counter canter though), but both Saturday and Monday I was able to get the correct lead several times. Fortunately she isn't as difficult to ride on the incorrect as Chester is.

 Last Saturday I worked her around the dressage arena, trying to get her on the bit. Moe willingly gets on the bit for the most part, even if she doesn't always hold it for very long. After working for several minutes I was able to get her on the bit, and there were several times that felt really nice. Moe was connected and went at a steady pace that wasn't too fast or slow.

 For my first ride on Moe I had only rode on a small circle while I got used to her since she is very fast, but Saturday I rode a 20 meter circle and even on the straight. First, though I worked on a 20 meter trot circle at E to the right, slowing spiraling it in and out using my weight to balance Moe and bring her to a steady, slow pace. When it seemed like to was about to walk, I would spiral the out. Then I made it a bit smaller and asked for the canter right. I made a circle, spiraling it to a 20 meter then heading down the side of the arena toward F, around the corner, and back onto my circle once I reached E. Though Moe's canter is fast, it's not intimidating after riding Chester, who can challenging as I mentioned before, and I was able to make it collected with some half-halts.

 I did the same exercise to the left, but I took several tries to get the correct lead. When I did I rode her on several 20 meter circles. I was using a bit to much inside rein because of her speed, something I need to try not to do before it becomes a habit.

Trying a leg yield.

 I also did some leg yields on her. Once I had my position, reins, and legs correct, I was able to get some beautiful leg yields. I tried them in both directions, both over short distances, from centerline to E or B, or over long distances all the to P or V. Moe's leg yields feel nice and I can really tell that her legs are stretching in front of the other legs. It's a wonderful feeling.

 Next, I rode through my Training Level test. The pattern was correct, but I was focused so much on the pattern itself that I didn't connect Moe to the bit.

 I did better at it on the following Monday. The lesson started out similarly with me riding Moe in the arena and connecting her to the bit. Moe was much faster at trotting that day, even more so than in previous lessons but I was able to control her. I rode across short diagonals several times, changing directions quite often throughout the lesson. While I rode I worked on getting Moe on the bit. Sometimes she would lift her head up or turn to the inside when I wasn't using enough outside rein or when I she wasn't connecting, but I continued to ask and was able to get her on the bit many times.

 Next I cantered. Like in my previous lesson, I rode the spiraling exercise before asking for the canter transition, and when I cantered right I went around the short side of the arena and back onto my circle at E. For the left canter, Moe didn't canter on the correct lead, so I tried an exercise to get her to pick up the correct lead. I would ask for canter right, head toward F, the across the diagonal K to B so I would be heading left. At B, I would trot, then ask for canter almost right away. This caused Moe to pick up the left lead on the circle. I didn't get the same result the next time since Moe realized what would happen.

 Soon after I began my Training Level test. Besides not getting the left canter, it went well. The pattern was correct and Moe was on the most of the time. The best part was probably the the free walk---Moe has a nice one and likely picked up a lot of free walk points when she was a show horse.

 I had a nice two lessons. The cool thing is that Meghan says Moe seems to like me. It's a neat to have a horse, especially a mare like you. Meghan also says that I rode Moe well, and not everyone does because of her Thoroughbred speed. I'm going to ride Moe in lessons from no on, so it's nice that my rides on her have started out well.

Canter on the Bit with Ronnie

 Wednesday, I rode Ronnie and I had a great ride. For the first part, though, I was riding very well. It turned out to be caused by me having to push Ronnie forwards while posting since she was going slowing, so I was given a crop to help in case needed. After that, I was much better.

 I made Ronnie go more forward, tapping her with the crop in addition to using my voice and leg. while I rode her I asked for her to become connected to the bit. Meghan gave me a draw rein to use, which makes getting a horse connected a bit easier because it uses more pressure on the bit. I was able to make Ronnie become round quite a bit of the time, working on both a circle and then a straight after I had established a good connection.

 For most of the lesson I was working on a circle so I could focus mostly on keeping steady hands and connecting Ronnie to the bit. It can take a lot of work to do it properly and requires good balance so you don't hang on the horse;s mouth, but it was worth it. Riding with a connected horse is nice.

 Since I was able to keep a steady connection, I could try cantering with a horse on the bit. I asked for a forward trot, got Ronnie connected, then asked for the canter transition in the corner. While she cantered I continued to ask for connections and half-halted with the outside rein to keep her straight. The resulting canter felt very balanced. I rode several circles to right, then did the same thing the left. It still took quite a few circles to get everything in order, but I was able to connect her in the trot and canter. I had a great, productive lesson.

 Friday when I rode Chester, he was in one of his hot moods, probably from not being ridden, so I had to spend a lot of the lesson getting him to calm down. He was fine in the trot when I was warming him up. However, when began riding serpentines with the canter in the middle part, he began getting wild and doing some small hops. I tried asking only with my voice and loosened the reins, but he was still hot, even on just one 20m circle, so Meghan told to ride a trot serpentine with  halts at each change of direction. This slowed him down a bit. I also tried riding a circle and spiraling it in and out using my weight and seat.

 After doing that for a few minutes, I tried it the other way, and finally cantered on a circle. The result was much better and controlled. I rode several circles, first to the right, and then to the left. That wrapped up my lesson.

Roundness and New Riding Goals

 For Monday's lesson, I worked on my position, mostly on gripping with my calves to give my body more support. I rode Chester on a trot circle as I tried this. It's amazing how much better and easier posting becomes when I actually support myself with my calves rather than the stirrup irons. I also focused on landing lightly in the saddle when I post the trot and not going up so high,which takes a lot of thigh muscles and a solid support from my calves gripping Chester's sides.

Next, I worked more on getting Chester on the bit. Luckily, Chester is fairly easy to get on the bit, yet it still takes a lot of work and coordination to get things right. If I don't add enough leg, he would go into a slow trot. Too much and he almost canters. Not holding the outside rein would make Chester's head go to the inside. After a few minutes, I was able to get him to round up for a little at a time. Once I began squeezing the inside rein until he lowers his head, rather than using short bursts, I discovered that getting him to round up became a little bit easier. He also held it for longer once he noticed that I would stop asking when he rounded up. It's such a nice and rewarding experience to have a horse that is round and connected.

 I did this exercise on a circle in both directions, then tried it on straight. I wasn't able to get him round as well on the straight; I need to work on that and remember that rounding him is the same on the straight or on a circle. To help, I probably need to hold the outside rein more so he doesn't turn to the inside. Nevertheless, I am still learning and connecting a horse perfectly takes years of practice. I'm going to look in my dressage book to see if I can get better understanding of the subject.

 Next did some cantering, also on a circle to begin. I am improving at relaxing into the canter and letting myself flow with the motion, one of the goals I had for myself, though it still needs a bit more work. As long as I remember to sit up, put my shoulders back, and grip with my calves, my position is better. There's a reason why we are all told that.

 After a short walk break, I cantered again, this time working on half-halt for a more controlled canter. I was able to have more influence on what speed Chester cantered, rather than riding the pace he chose, thus become a more active of a rider. I was even able to control his left lead canter, which is faster than his right lead canter, ending on that good note.

 Meghan and I also discussed some goals for the next six months, coming with these ones together:
-Swing my hips with the motion of the canter and have better control of the canter
This one Meghan thinks it won't take too long to achieve. I already almost there.
-Be more comfortable riding in groups
Another easily attainable one seeing as I will take group lessons soon.
-Reach Pony Club D-3 level
At this level I can actually canter in Pony Club and thus be able to participate more
-Do more jumping and improve at that
-Get my first few shows under my belt, even if they are the small local flat classes.
-Possibly get me my own horse.
Meghan thinks that I'm getting to the point that I need my own horse pretty soon(next six months)

That is what I will be working these next six months. The first two are easily attainable and would likely be accomplished long before February, but the last four are more long term. What are you working toward these next six months?

Getting Chester on the Bit

  For Wednesday's lesson, I practiced getting Chester to round up and connect to the bit, I new skill that Meghan thinks I am ready to learn. Before that, I started my lesson by warming up around the dressage arena, trotting across diagonals and riding several serpentines. Chester was being nice, which was good.

  After the warm up, I went through my Training level test. It went smoothly, though I still need to make him straight when cantering down the long sides. Also, I need to swing my hips with the motion of the gait. It needs some work, but I am much more comfortable and confident and mostly need to work on my position, such as learning to keep my shoulders back.

 I finished the test, letting Chester stretch before working on leg yields. I did them trotting now that I have been able to accomplish them walking. The patter I rode went like this: start at K, leg yield to centerline, head to C, track right, then at M leg yield back to centerline. At A, track right to begin the pattern once more. I rode through pattern a few times, pushing Chester over with my leg. The leg yields are starting to improve from how they were about a month ago, when they were more like diagonals. By using more leg and slowing Chester done with half halts, I can get better leg yields.

 After the leg yields, I made a circle to the right at C and began learning how to make a horse round and connected. You do this by holding the outside rein and squeezing the inside rein. When the horse listens and lowers his head, stop asking and reward him with softness, which doesn't mean loosen or give Chester the reins back, losing all you work for, which is what I did at first. It took a few minutes to get Chester to understand what I wanted. He thought something like, "Slow down? Turn to the inside? Go faster?" Before long he began to lower his head for a little bit at a time. As he found that rounding up with earn him softness, he held it for a bit longer. I did this at the walk and then the trot. The tricky part with doing it at the trot is that you must be able to balance with your legs and body and not your hands; hanging on the horse's mouth is uncomfortable for him and can make him irritated. I'm at a level now that I balance without hanging on the reins.

Look at his frame is rounding up. 

Looking nice. This is what I need to create in the test.

 There were a fews time that Chester went in on the circle because I didn't push him out with my inside leg, or slowed because I didn't use enough leg, but I soon found a good balance. When I did, Meghan told me to practice my test and try to keep this feeling throughout(except for the canter parts; I'm not ready to try it cantering yet.). The test feels smoother when Chester is connected like that. For the canter parts and stretchy circle, I loosened my reins. Chester even lowered his head for the stretchy circle, which is nice. While he wasn't connected throughout the entire test, there were parts that he was.

Two Rides, One Day(Ride on Ronnie)

 For Wednesday's lesson I rode Ronnie, the bay mare I mentioned earlier, riding Chester on my own just before so he wouldn't sit until my next lesson. On Chester I didn't do any hard work, just letting him stretch his legs in walk and trot. I did walk leg yields, which are improving, serpentines, and rode through my test pattern. Then, after putting him away, I got on Ronnie for my lesson.

 Ronnie had been ridden earlier and was a little tired, not moving very quickly, so Meghan let me use a crop just in case Ronnie needed some encouraging to get her going. I used is several times, but only when she didn't respond to my leg.

 I started the lesson as I often do, riding around the dressage arena and across several diagonals to change directions. Then, I did some serpentines on her in the trot, working on keeping her looking to the inside as I do with Chester. Meghan says my position seems better in the dressage saddle, possibly because I'm more supported and balancing is easier.

 I tried my new dressage test on Ronnie. The downward transitions from the canter weren't really good at first; it took a couple strides to slow her down. The other parts went more smoothly, though I needed to used a bit more leg to keep her going to the points of the circle. Ronnie really stretched down for the stretchy trot part, as the test says. I went through the test twice. At one point I needed to circle again and give her a tap because she didn't canter right away, but the other upward transitions were good.

 Then I made a serpentine to work on the canter to trot transitions, which needed some work before I tried my test again. I trotted the outside parts of the serpentine, the picked up the right lead canter upon reaching the middle part. When I asked for the downward transition to the trot, I tried using my voice to slow Ronnie, which worked well. The transitions became more smooth as I rode the serpentines, though somewhere along the line I lost my geometry and wasn't going straight on the lines in between the circles of the serpentines. I adjusted that, did another serpentine, and let Ronnie walk before beginning the test.

 The next time trying the test was a lot better. Though her canter was a little fast on the straight parts and half circles, I was able to slow her down to the trot right away using my voice. Ronnie is trained to respond well to voice commands, so she listened when I used them.

 I like Ronnie. She's a sweet, level-headed mare and I enjoy riding her.

Leg Yields and More Jumping

  For Wednesday's lesson, I worked a lot on leg yields, a new skill I'm working on. I first trotted Chester around the dressage arena and across several diagonals. Then I did some serpentines, working on making Chester look to the inside of the circle as I rode, using my inside leg to keep him on the correct path. I'm getting better, but it still needs some work.

 I started practicing the leg yields at the trot, heading up centerline every time I reached A or C. At first I began heading left in the dressage arena. When I reached A, I turned up centerline and tried pushing Chester over to B. Then at C I again went up centerline and pushed him over to E, and so on. I had trouble doing this at first. Chester mostly tried to do a diagonal, not a leg yield, so Meghan told me to slow him down with some half halts when I was leg yielding.

 After trying quite a few times in each direction without a real leg yield, Meghan suggested trying the same thing at a walk. She said to not let Chester go forward unless he went sideways and to increase my leg aid to push him over. Meghan helped me a couple times by pushing over. Finally, when I tried on my own, I got Chester to do a leg yield to the right. To reward Chester, I changed the subject and began trotting him around the dressage arena.

Trying to do a leg yield

 After that, I did more canter work, heading both directions all the way around the dressage arena. I'm getting much more confident at the canter, which is good, but I still need to work on controlling Chester when cantering straight; his canter is pretty fast. Additionally, I need to find my rhythm at the canter and work on letting my hips swing with the motion. All that will come with more practice. Anica had joined the lesson again, so she showed me how to ride the canter. Now I have a visual so I can do it better.

Cantering left lead

 Next, Anica and I both did jumping again. I approached the cross rail a slow trot like last time, this time landing in the canter left and slowing back to the trot as I neared the jump again. I tried to keep my eyes up, though I couple times I glanced at the jump as I approached it. The jumps turn out better if I keep my eyes up, which of course is why I'm told that.

Jumping.  I behind me is another cross rail I had jumped.

 After jumping several jumps, I changed directions. This time I would be riding toward the gate. the challenge with this is that horses tend to go faster as they near the gate. Luckily, I didn't seem to have a problem.While I jumped I worked on putting my hands forward so I didn't yank chester in the mouth. There were several times that went very smoothly: my hands were forward, my eyes were up, my heels down, and I didn't slam into Chester back as he landed. I didn't even grab his mane for balance. I had a lot of fun.

Landing from the cross rail.

 I ended by jumping to cross rails placed close enough together that Chester would land then jump the next one. When I went fairly well over the two jumps, I ended the lesson on that good note and cooled Chester out with Anica and her horse, Roxie. I enjoy jumping. It's especially good that Chester doesn't over-jump and clear the jump with feet to spare as some horses may do. That way it's easier for me to find my balance while I learn to jump. The lesson was fun and successful.

Jumping for the First Time!

 I had a great, successful lesson Monday. It started with me practicing my two point at the walk on a circle. At first it was hard to find my balance, but I got a little bit better as I went on.  After doing it at the walk, I rode two point at the trot and leaned over like I am going over a jump. Then, I rode through three sets of jump standards with ground poles in between each. I held my two point and leaned forward as I went through the jump standards. I had to go through the sequence quite a few times before I was balanced and relaxed.

 After trying it both directions, Meghan raised the last pole in the sequence just a bit. Chester wasn't very impressed and merely trotted over the pole, so Meghan made a small cross rail instead. The next time I went around, Chester jumped over it. It was fun jumping for the first time! I went over the small jump several times  before Anica joined the lesson. We both trotted and worked on holding the two point all the way around the arena. It's hard to hold it that long! When I was about half way I had to sit for a little bit and try again. I was finally able to hold it for most of the way around the arena.

 Then, I started heading left and began cantering around the entire arena. Chester's canter is fast when not on a circle, probably due to his thoroughbred blood. I'm a lot better at sitting the canter than I was a few weeks ago, but I have to work on controlling his speed more. After going all the way around, Chester slowed to the trot. I began cantering again and worked on my cantering two point, which is easier than trotting. I was bounced around a bit as I two pointed and lost my balance. when I had almost done two laps, Meghan instructed me to shorten my reins, put my hands higher up on Chester's neck, and bend my elbows more, which helped. I cantered around the arena like that for a little more than a lap.

Next, I watched Anica ride the two point. She was putting her hands higher up on her horse's(Roxie) neck and shortening the reins as she did it, which is what Meghan told me to do but it is great to have a visual. I did some more two point, then cantered right several laps in the dressage arena. two pointing for some of it.

I'm jumping a small cross rail!

 Then, Anica and I both worked on jumping. I only trotted over the jumps, though Chester landed cantering a couple times. There were several times when Chester was going a bit fast, so I had to slow him. He knocked down the jump one time because I hadn't slowed him down and hadn't balanced well. I tried to keep him in a slow trot so he would go over the jumps carefully. Once, I even walked through the first two sets of standards, then trotted just before the last one.

Jumping! My position looks better in this picture

 As the lesson progressed, Meghan added a slanting rail to the in the middle and made the last one a bit bigger. Chester would jumped the middle one, take a stride, the jump the next one. I need to work on looking up though, because once I looked down over the first jump and ended up banging Chester's back as I landed. The next time around, I looked up at the mountains ahead, and the jump was much better. It's amazing how much a difference looking up makes.

 Toward the end of the lesson, Meghan made two cross rails, one on the last jump and one of the first, so I would jump, take a few strides, then jump again. The last time through, when I focused on looking up again, was the best. I love jumping and enjoy riding with Anica. Riding with someone more experienced than myself let's me have good visuals. Also, I am pushed more because I do the same things Anica does, except at a little lower level. I had a lot of fun this lesson and have lots of videos to study so I become better.

Canter Serpentines and Cantering Straight

I had a great, productive lesson today with lots of cantering, even in a straight line for the first time on Chester. Another girl, Anica, was riding with me on her horse, Roxie. Other than not having much go and acting a little bit lazy(I had to push him a lot to get him to canter), Chester was nice today.

 I started with a trot circle to the left at A. As I have been for these past few lessons, I worked on getting Chester to look to the inside and get to all the points on the circle. I did fairly good for just that circle, but when I started a serpentine a little later after trotting around the dressage arena, I didn't always go completely  to the points while keeping his head to the inside. I need to use a lot more inside leg to keep him on the serpentine.

This picture is nice.

  After that, I watched Anica ride a canter serpentine with simple changes of a walk stride in between each part of the serpentine. Then, I gave it a try, except with a trot transition to change leads in between. It took quite a bit of kicking to get Chester going because he wasn't as fresh and energetic as usual. This time I put my outside leg behind the girth and squeezed rather than using mainly my voice to get him to canter. It went well, though I had to do it several times because I couldn't get him to canter for the last circle of the serpentine. The other parts went well though. Finally, I managed to get the full serpentine with cantering in the right places. It was great!

Part of my serpentine

 The next exercise Anica and I worked on went like this: Trot up centerline, leg yield to B, then canter through the corner to H and head across the short diagonal back to B. Next, canter to the corner, turn up centerline, and do a canter leg yield to E. At C, walk.

I'm sitting up in the saddle, but I love this picture. Chester's head position even looks nice.

 I had to practice this pattern quite a few times to get it right. The first two times I looked down at B and ran into the cone, so I focused and started another time. At B I put my leg back and kicked him into the canter. There were a couple times when he just trotted quickly, but the final time I rode the pattern it went as planned. I leg yielded to B by putting my leg behind the girth and pushing him over. Then, I kicked him into the canter, rode around the corner, and crossed the diagonal to B after reaching H. Next, I cantered around the corner and up centerline, pushing Chester over to E while still cantering. Finally, I reached C and walked.

Trotting

 It's fun cantering straight and off the circle, and I really enjoyed the serpentine and pattern. I watched Annica ride her 2nd level test, then ended the lesson by riding through my Intro level test. The halt at X was nice, the temp was great, but I took a few circles at A to get him to canter, even with putting my leg behind the girth. The circle left went much better; he cantered right away.

Cantering around the corner, heading toward H.

 After ending my test, I rode around the property with Anica to cool out both horses. We went behind the paddocks, passed some trees, which is a way I haven't gone before, then after turning at the barn we went around the arena and towards the dirt track the girls sometimes ride on. We hosed our horses off then put them away. I gave Chester four cookies for working so hard. It was a fun lesson. I can't wait to do more cantering straight and on serpentines like I did.

Progress!

For Wednesday's lesson, I rode Chester with a new pad I got him, a black Roma sheepskin pad. It worked well; the saddle didn't slip at all and it looks nice with his brown saddle. Meghan lunged him before I got on because he hadn't been ridden since Friday(I rode Ronnie Monday). When he was done bucking and cantering to burn off some of his extra energy, I mounted and began riding him around in the dressage arena, trotting in a figure eight pattern.

Figure eight

  I had to work a lot on keeping Chester on the circle and going all the way to the points, while at the same time turning his head slightly to the inside. It is hard work to use your leg to keep him on the circle and takes a lot of coordination. There were times when I didn't make it all the way to the points, or found myself using a little outside rein to keep Chester on the circle, which in turn brought his head to the outside. I got a little better at it as I continued but it is still something I need to practice.

Cantering. I'm coming out of the saddle a bit.

 On one part of the figure, about midway through the lesson, Chester spooked at something, and Meghan quickly told me to turn him in a tight circle, which I did. I managed to stay on, but I need to work on taking control when I horse I'm riding spooks rather than holding on.

 I continued on the figure eight, continuing to work on turning Chester's head to the inside while using my leg to push him to the points. Next, I trotted around the dressage arena, rode across several diagonals, then made a circle left at C. I pushed Chester into a big trot as I started the circle, then asked for the canter when I reached C. It was great! I'm getting more comfortable cantering and better at sitting deep in the saddle.

This looks much better. I love this picture.

Walking at the end

 After that, I made a fast circle at A, heading right, and cantered the whole circle. I ended the lesson with the dressage test as it is written, with cantering. I had to redo the circle right at A a couple times, because I cantered in a too small circle at first. The next two times he only trotted quickly. When I gave Chester more of a squeeze and loosened the reins more, he cantered nicely. The canter for the left circle at A, however, was good and immediate. Even the downward transition was smooth! I'm getting much better at cantering now.

Riding Ronnie and Getting on the Bit for the First Time

 For today's lesson I tried riding Ronnie, a bay mare at the barn that may soon be for sale, rather than Chester. Meghan wanted me to try Ronnie out because she thinks the mare would be a great first horse for me. The horse has been ridden in tests up to 2nd level(not at shows so far) and is being trained in some third level things. She has already been to shows with her owner and is boarded at the barn where I ride.

 I enjoyed riding her! She has smooth gaits and her canter is a lot easier to sit than Chester's. She also seems to have a sweet temperament is not at all mare-ish and cranky. It took me a few minutes to get used to her, but once I did it was nice riding her. After I was used to her walk and used to turning her well at the gait, I started trotting her on the circle. She has a nice, smooth trot.

Look how cute she is!

 Next, I was put on the lungeline and made a small circle to the left. I trotted Ronnie for a couple circles, then  cantered her. Wow, her canter is nice. It may be partly due to riding in a dressage saddle rather than a jumping saddle, but her canter is easier to sit and I wasn't bounced around as much as cantering on Chester. I was even able to several circles right away.

 I soon changed directions and began cantering right. There was an incident when she didn't canter right away, so I gave a light kick, which startled her and she swerved to the side. I stayed on, luckily, and continued riding without being very nervous. I cantered again. She swayed a step to the left a bit after a couple strides, mostly because she was afraid she had done something wrong, but after that she was just fine.

 I returned to trot and began working on a new skill: putting a horse on the bit. I kept the outside rein firm and squeezed with the inside rein to get Ronnie to lower her head and become connected. Putting her on the bit also took using some leg to push her forward. It took a while; learning to put a horse on the bit takes practice, but I managed to to get her to do it for a little bit at a time, rounding her neck and connecting. I cantered a little bit like that, then went off the lungeline and began trying the new skill off the lungeline, after walking Ronnie.

I think I'm trying to put Ronnie on the bit here.

I had some trouble using my leg to keep her on the rail, so I made a circle and continued to ask. I eventually got her on the bit. It's so nice to get her on the bit after a lot of trying. After that I ended the lesson and walked her around the property, then put her away. I of course had to say hi to Chester and give him a couple cookies because he was jealous that his rider was riding someone else. He enjoyed the cookies but I still think he's disappointed I didn't ride him.

 Wednesday I may try Ronnie again. I'm still not certain if I will get her but we want to try her out some more. She seems like an ideal horse and I really like her. With her training, she's the type of horse that would go quickly. She hasn't been put up on the market yet though so I still have time to get to know her and make a decision. If I do get her I can likely take her to shows next season. I hope this works out but nothing is final yet. Hopefully!

Wednesday's Lesson and Riding Without Trainer

Wednesday's lesson started with working with poles, first walking over some several times, then riding over another set at the trot. It went well but I was bounced around a bit. After working in both directions I made trotted around the arena a bit. There was one point went he freaked out passing the walk poles and went to the side, so I turned him back and passed then again, no problem. Then I made a circle at A heading to the right. As I usually do, I worked up to cantering by riding bigger trot on the outside of the circle and a slow trot on the inside. Finally, I did a few canter strides, even doing the entire outside half.

 Next, I tried to get a full circle. It went well! I still need to work on the downward transition from canter to trot, which is exactly why I can't canter straight yet. Another reason is that going straight may make Chester go faster because he isn't slowed down by turning and I may loose my balance.

 Anyways, I changed direction and began cantering left, doing the same thing and working up to cantering a full circle. Again, it went well, but the next time I cantered that way a disaster happened. Chester picked up the wrong, I lost my balance,  and he swerved to the right. Fortunately, I stayed on but I was a bit shaken, and Chester was nervous because he thought he had done something wrong. I circled to the right and he began walking off the circle to evade cantering. I decided to wait until later to canter when I was calmed down by doing something I am comfortable doing: trotting.

This picture is nice.

I rode several serpentines, heading right first, then left for the middle circle. Chester was still shifting off to the left for the circle at A, so I focused on keeping him on the circle. After riding several serpentines, I made a circle at C to the right then cantered several strides. I changed directions and cantered left as well. It went much better than earlier, when he accidently piked up the wrong lead.

From Friday. 

 Thursday, after helping out with the therapeutic riding, I rode for a little bit on my own, trotting around the arena, riding a couple circles, then doing my dressage test. The cones toward the inside of the arena had been moved so I had to estimate where they were.

He wouldn't look at the camera

 Friday, I also rode without my trainer because she was at a show with some of the other girls. I tried to do what I would in a normal lesson, trotting around the arena after warming up, then riding serpentines several times before entering beginning my dressage test.(without cantering). For one circle at B Chester began drifting to the outside, so I started over. The second time went much more smoothly.  Chester seemed relaxed, though I still needed to use my leg to keep him straight. Oh, and we were both wearing new boots for that ride.