Lesson Update

Sunday morning, I woke up early to prepare for my 11:00 Dressage lesson. I started up a pot of coffee and then set about searching for my misplaced breeches. One of the requirements to ride at the barn I'm taking lessons at is proper riding attire. Meaning, breeches and tall boots or half chaps. A helmet is a given.

Anyway, I currently own two pair of usable breeches. Both are a khaki color, yet one set is tooooootally hideous. The fabric is heavier and the waist band...ohhhhh the waist band...it rises far above my bellybutton. So far, in fact, that I could almost use them as a onesie. HA HA, can you just imagine me showing up for my lesson with only a pair of very high cut breeches pulled up past my chest - nothing else? I could just belt them in the middle and voila, uni-breeches (unitard)! Eww! Anyway, of course those uglies, circa 1994, were the only ones I could find, but I paired them with a nice t-shirt, so nobody other than I knew of the high waist band beneath my shirt.



Eww - and LOL!

Despite the heat and my high cuts, my lesson went well. T, my instructor had me do the usual - leg yields in both directions, shoulder in, sitting trot, 10-meter circles, and then the canter which includes a canter down the diagonal with a quick trotting lead change in the center. I am still a bit rough around the edges, even though the moves I am learning are quite basic. I find Shoulder in to be the easiest, while I still struggle quite a bit with my leg yields. I get the concept of them alright, but I have this tendency to want to use my reins to guide the horses' head and neck too much...I also sometimes fumble with which leg to use and when to use it. Half the time I feel like I must resemble a walking person while in the saddle. I'll be shuffling my inside leg back and keeping my outside to the girth, then I'll change my mind and switch, then back and forth like that a few more times as I figure it all out. I'm getting there though.



T told me that I'm progressing quickly, though I'm not sure if she was just trying to be nice or not. I still truly appreciate the positive words though, it is a very VERY nice change from my usual criticism. With each lesson I feel that I do grow stronger in what I'm learning. I need to study up on the terminology though, because when T tells me to do something, it usually takes me a while to figure out just what it is she's telling me. For instance, when she says "shoulder in", I'm thinking "haunches in", even though I have no idea how to make a horse do that, I still try...heh, heh. Poor Knight, the lesson horse. I think I got it now, though :).

I spoke with T quite a bit during and after my lesson about Morgans and Dressage. We both agreed that my next horse should be a nice, young Morgan who is suitable for Dressage....hmmmm....

My personal goal for my next lesson is to collect and organize more. I need to learn to think through my next move and also, work on coordination. I think that's a given though :).