Last Ride at Silver Rose

 Last Wednesday, the 24th, was my last ride and my last time at Silver Rose. In spite of that, I had a nice ride on Moe. I started the lesson like last time, when I rode her across several diagonals to get her completely warmed up and ready to start working. I asked for a some connection and worked with getting her one the bit. Because of all her dressage training, it's not very hard to get her on the bit if I continue to ask until she responds. She doesn't stay on the bit for long periods at a time, so when she puts her head up I just ask again until she once more connects.

 Before cantering I rode her in a spiraling circle, like I have been doing, until she slowed down and felt responsive. Then, I asked for canter, cantering on the circle, around the arena, then back to the circle again. I tried getting her to canter on the left lead, and she responded correctly.

 I also tried Training Level Test 2, which I have not done before, on her. Unlike Test 3, which contains several loops, this test consists mostly of several diagonals. Rather than heading left, I tracked left, then made a 20 meter circle at B, riding across the diagonal to M once I reached K. Between C and H I cantered left, rode a 20 meter circle at E, then between E and I returned Moe to the trot. I rode a 20 meter stretchy circle at a, and then between A and F I went to the walk. I rode a free walk FXM loop, then at C trotted. At E I circled left, and at F rode across to H, canter right at C.  I circled right at B, returned to trot, then went down centerline.


 The test went well, except Moe didn't pick up the left lead for the first canter part. Afterward I hacked her around the property for the last time. I had a great ride, but it was a bit sad to be leaving that wonderful place fore the last time. The new places seem pretty nice, and the one where the lessons horses are going has a monthly schooling show, so it will be a nice place to do my first show. My first lesson will be on the 20th of October, after everything settles down.
Also, take a look at Viva Carlos giveaway.

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.

Lesson on Mo

 Monday, I had a lesson on Mo so I cold try her out. Mo is one of the lesson horses but is used as often as Ginger and Reno because she is faster and can be intimidating to new riders, and most riders get a horse of their own before they are experienced enough to rider. Fortunately, I am not intimidated by speed and Meghan says I rode very well. In fact someone watching thought I had been riding for a much longer than a year when she saw me. My year riding anniversary is in November.

 Mo is a small Thoroughbred but has very large for her small size. She is trained in 3rd level dressage yet also did some eventing, which may explain why her riders often need to constantly half halt when riding her, especially over jumps. I walked her around for several minutes, trying to get used to her. Then, I asked for the trot. Mo has a nice, forward trot. While riding her I use half halts to balance her and to keep her tempo consistent. She even began to get a bit round without me really trying to ask for. Very different than Chester!

 Once I had trotted in both directions, I made a small circle to the right, her easiest direction to move, to prepare for the canter. Her canter is really big, stretched out, and fast so I needed to keep a small circle to have more control. The first time, I lost my stirrup, my the next time went very well. The first thing I noticed was how easy her canter is to sit, and how fast it. I rode quite a few circles before returning to the trot and then walk.

Leaning forward a bit

 After a lot of walking I made a circle left to ask for canter left. Mo isn't always good about cantering left, but she really aims to please and picked up the right lead canter heading left instead. She doesn't feel uncomfortable to ride, nor does she move to the right when she picks up the wrong lead, but I could tell she hadn't hadn't picked up the correct lead. I could feel that the canter felt very collected though. I returned to trot and tried again. Mo again picked up the wrong lead so Meghan decided not to push it because Mo hadn't been worked to much recently.

 Mo is fun. I love fast horses as long as I can control them, and Mo knows a lot of things. I'm still talking over with my parents to see what decision is best. I like the idea of getting my own horse soon, yet if possible I'd rather learn more to get a younger horse that can stay with me a while and even move up several levels with me. I don't know what will happen yet but I will keep you updated.

Hanging on Like A Cross Country Rider

 Wednesday's lesson started out nicely enough. I was trotting around the dressage arena, heading across diagonals and doing what I usually do for  warm up. I made a circle at , asking for  slight bit of connection, then began cantering on  circle. It went nicely enough at first until I glanced down when Chester and I reached  a pole. I've been good about not looking down lately, until then, and when I did, everything went crazy. I lost my balance and fell onto Chester's neck. He continued to move around while I clung to his neck, trying to stay on like you would see someone do during cross country. I managed to hang there for several seconds while Chester wondered why I was still on his back. Unfortunately, it didn't end the way it often does when top riders do it. I ended up hitting the ground. I missed the pole, landing in unhurt on the arena sand. Meghan was impressed with how well I was able to stay on, saying that I held on like an event rider trying to stay on as they begin to fall in cross country. A little bit like the third video of Andrew Nicholson on this page, except without the jump and the save. :)

I got up and remounted, the went on a circle again to begin the canter. There was another rough time when Chester stopped by the same spot because he was afraid of getting in trouble, but I sat back, stayed on, and continued riding. A few times he picked up the wrong lead since he was still  bit worried, but was fine after that. I asked for the canter by the rail instead so he(and myself) would forget about the incident. Once I calmed him down, he was much better.

This one is beautiful

 Next, I rode through my Training Level Test 3. It went nicely, a little fast over the cantering diagonal from H to F, causing a rough downward transition, but the rest went okay. After finishing that, I tried  new test: First Level 1. It will be while before I'm showing at that level, but Meghan wanted me to try it to both prepare me for the future and teach me new movements. The First Level Tests introduce the ten meter circles, and Test 1 has the half circles. The test itself goes like this: Enter working trot, X halt salute, C track left. At E, half circle to X, the to B. At K ride diagonal to M, stretchy 20m circle at C. Free walk from H to P, medium walk from P to F. At F working trot, at A canter right lead, and at E 15 m circle. Canter round the arena, head across the diagonal when you reach K, trot at X. C working canter left lead, E 15m circle, canter round arena with trot at C. Ride a diagonal from h to F, then up centerline.

Chester being cute while I learn my new dressage test.

 The test is complicated and a big step up from Training Level. The purpose of me trying it now, as I mentioned earlier, was to prepare me for when I have a horse of my own. It was fun giving it a try.

Controlling the Canter

 Wednesday, I worked more on controlling the canter, one of my goals, so Chester doesn't go full speed. I did this by working on a serpentine, cantering for the middle section. It took quite a few tries, but I was finally able to get that slow, easy canter I had achieved earlier this week. I rode the same serpentine a few more times because I had lost the perfect geometry and wasn't pushing Chester to all the points, particularly at the canter parts, but I before long I got a better serpentine.

This one looks beautiful!

 I then changed directions, doing the same exercise, except in the other directions. This time I was heading left, toward Chester's faster side. Again it took some tries, with Chester getting a bit irritated when I asked too strongly with my legs, so I then began asking using mostly my voice. Things were better after that, and with a few half-halts I was able to slow him down before begin my dressage test.

 The first time through, I felt that Chester was too fast and energetic, causing me to focusing to much on controlling his tempo rather than making a good test. The next time around, however, I worked on maintaining an consistent, slow tempo. I went into the corners and tried to reach all the points on the pattern. It turned out better than before and wasn't as rushed. I seem to be good at riding through the pattern correctly, I just need to work on the finer details, Meghan says, such as going into the corners and maintaining a consistent tempo. All this will come in time.

 I ended the lesson with a hack around the property, which Chester enjoys. Besides being a little energetic, Chester was good for the lesson.

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.

Jumping Course!

 I had another great lesson Friday, riding with Anica for part of it again. First, though, I warmed Chester up in the arena and trotted around the dressage part. I worked on lengthening and shortening his trot(not really extending like in dressage test, just making his gait a bit bigger or smaller) as I rode across diagonals and around the arena. I also did some trot leg yields in both directions. I got Chester to leg yield, though I need to slow him down a bit so he goes a bit more sideways. Other than that, it was successful and not just a diagonal.

 Next, I started a serpentine, heading right on the outside circles and left in the middle part. When I reach the P-V(or S-R on the way back) I asked for the canter transitions. My transitions are getting a lot better and more immediate, which is good. I rode several serpentines, then headed across the diagonal of the arena to change directions, making a serpentine the other way. I did the same thing, this time cantering the right for the middle part. Since I would be jumping later that lesson, Meghan had me hold my two-point for the canter part and for several trot steps. I'm getting better at holding my two-point trotting, though it took a little bit to find my balance in the canter until I put my hands more forward as I remembered from a previous lesson. Now that I've done a lot of cantering throughout my lessons, I am much more comfortable at that gait.

 Once I had done some canter work, I began the Training Level Test that I am working on, test 1. The upward and downward transitions were better than last time, which is good, but I need to work on relaxing a bit more and not rushing through the test. As Meghan said, my test time at a show is my time in the arena, so I can take my time. For the second half of the test, after going across the diagonal from F to H at the walk, I focused on taking my time, not cutting corners, and making the 20 m circles the correct size. This part went better. I  also found that I'm better at controlling Chester's fast canter tempo.

Chester decides the jump is too small and steps over it.

 After I finished my test, Anica came in on Roxy and we began practicing a small jump course consisting of four jumps. We started out with just ground poles, though. The course went like this: go over one jump, then another several strides away, turn left after the second and looping back, in between the first two jumps, over another one placed near the rail, and final over the last one around the corner. It probably sounds complicated so I'll share a diagram.

Here's how the course looked like. Note: Image not subject to scale; it's just a picture to give you an idea how it looked.

 I rode through it several times at the trot without any jumps in it. After both Anica and I had gone through it several times, Meghan began adding one jump at a time until there were four jumps, two cross rails and a small vertical that was a foot and a half to two feet(all the jumps were about that range; I'm just estimating.

More like jumping! This looks like the slightly bigger one.

 I kept Chester at a good tempo as I rode through the course. It's fun doing an course of jumps. As I rode I learn to focus on safely and efficiently maneuvering the course and lining Chester up for the jumps. For example, I needed to take one turn wide to line Chester up for one cross rail, so when I started doing that he was able to jump more easily and get better aligned for the last cross rail. The last cross rail was a bit bigger than the others, so he needed to to get to it straight. Jumping it was fun!

Jump!

After going through the course quite a few times, I started cooling Chester out. He had been bumping several of the jumps with his hind end, which we suspect is because he is sore from all the times he has been out this week. He was even more sore Saturday, but he should be okay after a day off.

 The lesson was really fun. It's great that I can progress at this rate, which is partly because I get to ride with a more experienced rider, watch her, and do the same thing. Meghan plans something that's sufficiently challenging for both of us. I'll be riding with others more often this fall because all the girls come out for a weekly group lesson during school time. While taking private lessons is great, riding in groups is fun as well since you can learn from what others do. It's not going to be a very huge group either so I can still get personal instruction as I ride. I'm looking forward to these lessons!

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.

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.

Falling Off Week

 The reins to my new bridle were a bit stiff Wednesday, so Thursday I soaked it in neatsfoot oil so they soft and flexible for yesterday's lesson. I started the lesson by riding several trot circles at A. I still need to work on turning Chester's head to the inside, but I'm getting better.

Trotting down the long side.  I seem to have trouble putting my right heel
down sometimes but my left heel his usually fine.

 After ridings several circles to the left, I rode down the long side and trotted around the dressage arena several times, the changed directions and started heading right. Chester seemed relaxed and like he didn't want to go too fast today.

 Before I practiced my test, I turned up centerline and practiced my halt salute, stopping two times along centerline, once at X and another time at G. The one at X was straighter than the second one. Next, I rode through the Intro Test C, halting at X straight halt and riding a big trot for the canter parts the first time I went through. The object of doing the bigger trot is that Chester might go so fast that he throws in a canter stride, rather than suddenly bounding into canter.

That moment before the fall.

 The second time riding through the test, when Chester quickly sprung into canter, he did a little bound, causing me to lose my balance. When he suddenly slowed down I fell into the muddy part of the arena. Another in one week? This must be my falling week.

Better canter!

  I wasn't hurt(although my breeches and gloves were muddy) so I remounted and continued riding, starting with circle A to the right. I rode several times with the bigger trot, then got a couple canter strides an continued riding the test as if nothing happened. For the left circle at A, I did the same exercise, working up to riding several circles with the canter parts.

Cantering

 I ended the the test and walked Chester around the arena to cool him down. After hosing him off I gave him the apple and horse cookie I brought because he was a good boy cantering and it wasn't his fault I had fallen off.