My Weekly Riding Lesson
Every Thursday I am lucky enough to have a professional riding lesson. And if you are new here, you probably haven’t read about my weekly riding lesson. This is something I do each week, to share with you what I learned at my lesson. And this week I learned a lot! And I apologize for the length of this post, but it’s worth it, I promise!
I am obsessed with The Weather Channel App, especially on Thursdays, and even more so when there is snow in the forecast. This is probably because I am a chicken when it comes to driving in the snow. When it snows, I drive really slow. And today it was forecasted to have light snow, during the drive to my riding lesson. So I continually watch the weather forecast about an hour or so before I get ready to drive to the barn.
Bring On The Snow
And right on cue, it started to snow around 4:00 PM. But thankfully when 5:00 came, the snow was just about done, at least where I work it was. The roads were wet, but clear. YAY!
And even though it was snowing, and overcast, I could see clear sky in the distance, so I was happy. And it’s hard to describe, but this little snow storm was different than the few snowstorms that have come already this winter. Typically, during the winter here, when it begins to snow it lasts for at least 24 hours. But as the seasons change the snow becomes a little different. It’s a little warmer, the snow melts on the roadways which is nice, because you get to see the snow on the grassy areas, but the roads stay clear. That is until it freezes hard overnight.
But when the snow gets like this, I know that spring really is coming. And even though we get the most of our snow during the spring, I know it will be ending soon. And the days will be longer, and this means more time outside with my own horses.
A Different Lesson Style
When I got to the barn, I knew I would be riding a different horse today. Ringo, the horse I usually ride, will be going to a show on Saturday. And the little girl who will be showing him was having a group lesson with him when I got to the barn.
I wasn’t sure what the horse looked like that I would be riding, or how to get to his pasture. So I had already decided I would wait for my instructor to go get him. But this gave me the opportunity to watch Ringo, and the rest of the girls in their show preparation lesson.
It was a lot of fun to listen to my instructor as she taught the lesson. She had then act as f they were in a walk-trot-canter class. She called out the instructions, and they each did what she would ask, just like they were in a class. She did throw in a two-point each direction of the ring too, which I thought was cool.
And I watched the little girl, who could not have been more than 8 years old canter around the arena with Ringo. It was awesome! I watched how he just picked up a canter from the walk, and how he carried her around like a pro. And this is the horse I typically ride. It was nice to see him from the ground and watch how he worked. I was also a little in awe over the amount of confidence the little girl had while she rode him. I felt a little silly for feeling so nervous. Seeing what she could, and everything was fine, has given me the confidence that I can do that too.
A Different Horse
Once their lesson was done, it was my turn. And I’m glad I waited for my instructor to get the new horse. I would have gotten lost, and he was in a pasture with a lot of other horses. I would have had no clue of which horse to bring back to the barn.
Today I got to ride Murphy. And Murphy is a little taller than Ringo. At first I was a little concerned, but after I got oh him and walked around the arena, everything was fine! It did feel different though, and I felt a bit like I was leaning forward as we walked around the arena. But after a few circles around the arena, I felt better.
And once he trotted, I was better able to tell when I was on the correct diagonal during the trot. Murphy’s trot is a LOT smoother than Ringo’s. And his trot is also bigger, making it easier for me to rise out of the saddle for posting trot.
New Exercises
Once I was comfortable with Murphy, we got to work. We did posting trot, and two point around the arena, and then she threw a curve ball. On the long side of the arena, we worked on sitting trot. This was fun, and presented it’s own challenges. I needed to remember to keep my leg on Murphy to keep him moving forward. He did break into a walk several times because of my lack of ability, but I got through it!
My instructor guided me to disengage my hips, and keep my legs long, and on the horse. I must admit, I liked it. Sitting trot was fun, under the expert guidance of my instructor.
And then it was time for a new exercise for balance. She had me do posting trot with the reins in my left hand, and my right hand on my hip. We did this both directions of the arena. It was challenging to keep Murphy on the rail around the corners. But she would encourage me to keep my inside leg on Murphy and keep him on the rail.
And then she really mixed it up, she had my trotting in two point, and again take the reins on my outside hand while stretching my other arm out straight. This was a lot harder. And while I was trotting around, very badly I must add, she was setting up some ground poles. Murphy seemed to see the rails, and focus on them, and I did have to guide him back to the rail, so I lost my position there. But that’s ok, I just gathered my thoughts, and my horse, and went back to it. Two point at the trot and reach my arm out to my side. This was a fantastic exercise for balance!
Back To Ground Poles
And since she set up the ground poles, I knew what was coming next. The last time we did ground poles, they were foam and we only did two foam like poles. This time there were four real wood poles. They were spaced a lot closer than I have ever done at home, so I was nervous. But I worked through it.
After coming down the far long side of the arena, she had me come down the center of the poles. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous. I had no idea of what was going to happen. I think I thought Murphy was going to launch himself over the poles, but thankfully he didn’t.
When I reached the poles at a posting trot, I did drop my hands to the martingale. I didn’t want to inadvertently grab him in the mouth when we bounced over the poles. The first time over the poles was surprisingly easy, not anything like I had thought it would be like. Murphy didn’t hit any of the poles.
We did this 3 or 4 more times, and I remembered what she had taught me before, when you get nervous take a deep breath, and sit taller in the saddle. So that’s what I did, and it went much better!
I think I did good, because she told me I did like 5 or 6 times. I would call that a win.
Takeaways From This Week’s Lesson
We did so much in such a short amount of time this week. But the things I can work on at home are:
- Looking up while I am riding
- Sitting trot
- Dropping my stirrups, and finding them again
- Balance exercises
- Staying straight over ground poles
- Balance exercises in two point
- Of course, heels down
- Getting used to shorter stirrup length
This week was a fantastic lesson. Just when I start to wonder what we are going to work on, my instructor keeps me thinking, and learning. She had me ride in a shorter stirrup length, which I am getting used to. Before my lessons started, I think I was riding with my stirrup length too long. It would give me a sense of security, but as my balance improves I can feel how the shorter leathers help me to not interfere with my horse, and allow me to ride two point, and rising trot is much easier with the shorter leather length.
It’s hard for me to describe, but before, I thought the shorter stirrup leather length would propel me too far out of the saddle, and I felt like I was bouncing off the horse. But as I continue my riding journey, I can feel more secure with a shorter leather length. Does that make any sense? I hope so.
And this weekend is supposed to be nice, so I think I will be able to ride my own horses. I will probably start with old reliable Frisby, because he is much more tolerant of me. And it will be easier for me to continue my confidence building on him, and then progress to Ethan.
A Bonus Lesson I Learned
And something unrelated to the riding itself, was letting go the worry of driving in the snow. Because even though it had pretty much stopped snowing when I began my drive to the barn, when I got to the barn it was still snowing a lot. And normally, thinking about the stupid snow would have consumed me. But all my energy and thoughts were focused on my riding lesson. I did not even care about what the weather was doing. The snow, and drive were not even on my mind, and that never happens. So not only did I have a fantastic lesson, but I also was able to let go of the worry that often consumes me.
I was even able to drive home without white knuckling the steering wheel! I love my riding lessons each week. It gives me something to focus on and is helping me in so many ways. It makes me look forward to next week, when I think I am going to actually canter! So I have a lot to work on this week, and can’t wait to share with you what happens next week.
If you want to read about my previous lessons, and what I have experienced, you can find them here:
So if you wanted to, you could go back through all of my lessons, and see what I have learned!
