Back In Action! A very good day overall. Scrambled outta work fast as I could, hoping to cram two rides into the evening.
Grabbed Romeo first up. Saddled him in his English garb, and headed to the arena. Let him free lunge a bit to get the goobers out, and hopped on. We had a good ride, about 40 minutes. Walk, Trot, Canter. He wasn't real consistent getting his leads, so we had a few extra "take offs" to get us going. Not real speedy, I could feel all three footfalls in the canter if I concentrated. (Feels like Ransom's canter is slower and larger... much different, a bit more comfortable.) Had a hard time getting Romeo in comings & goings at trot. He was all one speed - lethargic - at trot. I had comings & goings at the walk, and even a bit at canter, but not at trot. Did a few spins, turns, sidepasses. Backed up at the rail, he was crooked. Backed up down centerline, he was straight. Whatta critter!
Jen arrived just as I was starting to saddle Ransom for a lesson. I LOVE MY DRESSAGE SADDLE! LOL... Just in case that hasn't been clear yet.
The lesson was awesome. Ransom was a bit stiff to start, but even him being beligerant, and not wanting to collect at the walk or trot, he still wasn't a bad ride. Got in some solid canter work, nice balance from me. Jen pointed out what I guess I already knew, but hadn't internalized - I'm sitting up straight(er) in my new saddle. Incredible! What I've noticed is I don't feel like I'm working so hard. I do feel like I'm having a little trouble getting my inside leg to mean "pick it up", which might be laziness from Ransom, or not the right amount of pressure in the right places from me. Something to concentrate on.
We also worked on trot to halt transitions, preparing for upcoming tests. He was cute in the transition right, but transition left will need some work.
Lesson was a solid hour, finishing up with some right-canter that was beyond beautiful. Even with a big stumble from Ransom, I still sat solid & felt good about it. How cool, no nerves, no anxiousness into the transition, just sit the trot a stride or two, and squeeze. Cool beans! Love the big pony!
Homework - Transitions, transitions, transitions. Focus on trot to halt, and go through the pieces of the tests. Start to ride through the patterns in each test - 20M circle at the center, 2-loop serpentines, and diagonals at walk & trot. All reasonable things to work on. Oh yeah, and Enjoy my horse! :) There it is ! Gotta remember to have fun!
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