My Weekly Riding Lesson – Week 10
I can’t believe I have been having my weekly riding lesson for 10 weeks now. It doesn’t seem like it at all! And the time has changed, so it is still light outside when I am having my lesson, which is awesome. I am still expecting we will get a snowstorm or two in the next month, but for now the weather has been perfect. The temperature is around 45 degrees and it is warm enough to ride without a winter coat. I can’t wait to see how beautiful this property is when everything is green!
If I had an endless supply of money, or won the lottery, I would love to have a property like this. With the indoor and outdoor arena, and the incredible barn, it is just awesome!
I did find out that the barn I ride at will be spraying their indoor arena in the next few weeks, so I will miss one lesson at the barn, but I am still going to do that lesson, only on my own horse, at my home. But for now, let’s focus on this week’s lesson!
Into The Arena
The saddle I usually use for my lesson was already in the tack room, so I didn’t have to wait for it. I was able to get Ringo tacked up, and be ready to ride precisely at 6:00 PM, the time when my lesson officially starts. One thing that was different though with my saddle, the stirrup leathers had been changed out. Typically I have been riding with the Millbrook stirrup leathers, they are wider than traditional leather, and help with lower leg stability, and there is no pinching. I love them so much that I bought a pair for myself. But this week, no Millbrook leathers. I was a little nervous about my leg, but figured it is what it is, and to just go with it. And when I got up on Ringo, I could tell a slight difference, but nothing horrible.
The jumps were set up in the arena, and I did feel my stomach do a little flip. I knew I would not be going over them, but still, it made me a little nervous. Thankfully as I walked around the perimeter of the ring, my instructor came and turned all the jumps into ground pole obstacles, two poles per ‘jump’.
Posting Trot
We went right into posting trot, and again I was having difficulty posting on the correct diagonal. But the good thing was I was able to feel it. So a few times I was able to self-correct, and get on the correct diagonal. I wish Ringo had a little more movement of his shoulder, so I could see when I am supposed to be up out of the saddle. But I guess this is good, because it forced me to ‘feel’ and get the diagonal right.
We did this both ways of the arena before getting into two-point at the trot.
And my two-point position was better. I remembered from last week my instructor telling me to keep my knee off the saddle. And I also need to bring my shoulder blades together. I practiced this, and it helped a lot while I made my way around the arena in the two-point position. And then back to posting trot.
As we progressed through the lesson, she did have to remind me several times of my knees, but I could also feel when I was starting to grip with my knees, so I could self-correct.
As Always Something New To Learn
And once we had warmed up and got my thighs burning, it was time to add the new element to my lesson. And my instructor gave me a big challenge this week! Remember the jumps that were set up in the arena? The ones she had turned into ground pole jumps, well, she gave me a course to go through. Complete with a starting point, and then the jumps.
She told me the course, and what I needed to. At the starting point, go to the green and yellow, then go to the far corner of the arena, come back over the blue and white poles, go back to the far corner, and when you get to P, come to the red, go over it and end heading to the right. And to increase the difficulty, it will be in an active trot, and if I can, go over each set of ground poles in two-point.
So the first time I did it, I was able to go over the first and second obstacle in two-point. But by the time I got to the third, I was a little disorganized, and tired, so I just posted through the poles.
We did it again and again, trying to stay in two-point over the poles, and then coming back to posting trot after the obstacles. It was not easy, but it was fun.
I had a lot to concentrate on, and think about while I was going over those poles. Keeping my heels down, bringing my leg forward a bit, staying in two-point, not gripping with my knees, staying in the middle of the rails, where to turn, and a few other things that have now escaped my mind.
She told me what to do when I would slip up. And she also let me know that I started to get a little more grippy with my knees when things started to fall apart. But the more I practiced it, the better I got. I wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I did improve. And that is what I am looking for in my lessons, to improve my riding.
And as she always does, she is very good at letting me know how I am improving, what I am doing good with, and things I need to work on. She is very good at helping me to learn, she is an excellent teacher and I am so lucky to have found her!
Takeaways From This Lesson
I learned a lot in this lesson. And the things we have been working on are being put together like the pieces of a puzzle. Each week we are building on the previous lesson. Which is why I think it is helping me to document every lesson that I have, because it helps to really ingrain the information in my brain, and then I can apply that information while I am riding. Does that make sense? I hope so, because it works for me! But this is what I learned this week:
- What its like to go over a small course of poles
- Incorporating everything I have learned so far into my riding
- Ending the lesson on a positive
The entire lesson was great, but these were my main takeaways from this week. Going over three different obstacles, and doing it as I was asked, was huge for me. Even if that was all I got from my lesson, I would have been happy.
Areas I Need To Work On
And as always, there were several things I need to work on to move forward with my riding:
- Keeping my leg a little more forward
- Turn out my leg so I am not gripping with my knees
- What the correct diagonal feels like (A little bit anyways)
- Bringing the shoulder blades together to stay straight in a two-point position, not hunching over
- Engaging my core muscles while in two-point
My list of things to work on is increasing. But, as I am continuing to work on these things, I find I can do them correctly for longer periods of time while I am riding. And my confidence level continues to improve. I am not nervous at all when she asks me to do something in the arena. I am not nervous riding. The crazy what if thoughts have stopped running through my head and no longer take over my common sense. For me, this is huge.
So yes, this was a very successful lesson! I felt I accomplished something, and I also can feel myself improving as a rider. Next week she said we will probably have out lesson in the outdoor arena. I am looking forward to this, and we will see how different it is to ride outdoors versus being inside.
So make sure to come back next week, so you can find out how the outdoor riding went!
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