Progression

I have a theory that one either has time or money and that it is only the truly blessed who get both at the same time. I have this theory because it holds true to my life so far – I have had jobs that left me plenty of time to do what I wanted, but not the funds and I’ve had great jobs that paid well but left me no time to do the things I now had the money for. And let’s not forget the scenario of not having time OR money, which I have to admit I’ve been through as well.

The reason I bring this up is because I have this conundrum now. This is not necessarily because there isn’t any money, but in my married life there is only so much money for the horse. (When I was single that budget was much larger!) So, I have to make choices and this means sometimes missing out on things, like last week when I chose to go trail riding instead of showing, which made it possible for me to get a lesson from John as well. And since my lesson went so well, and I can see and feel the improvements that we are making together, it makes me feel that that progression is more important that ribbons.

Anyway, my lesson – John brought Sky a new bit and even though he said they would help her, I had my doubts… she’s been in curb bits before and all she has ever done is play with the shanks. So, I was expecting her to toss her head and grab at the bit with her lips and be a mess. I was so wrong! She held a beautiful headset with the slightest tweaking and didn’t pop her head up half as much as she did with the snaffle. Lovely.

Then, Mr. Crazy John Toli asks me if I could go down another notch on my stirrup. I quickly responded with my best skeptical look and put my faith in his opinion. I told him I’d try it. FYI – I can barely reach the stirrup with the bottom of my foot now, but I got used to it fast. I think the longer your stirrup, the less you are able to rely on your feet for balance and the more you have to rely on your hips and butt to keep you in the saddle, which I’m ascertaining is the point. It’s a good thing that I’m someone who doesn’t like change, but is willing to do different things for the greater good.

So, I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot – I got a new bit to play around with and my seat has changed again with the stirrup length but John was not done. I should have known. He knew I wanted to start loping again so we were gonna. Oh. (I forgot to tell him that as much as I love a good canter, it’s also when my fear of falling, hitting my head and becoming a vegetable kicks in)
Overall, it wasn’t so bad. The first time we tried, she hopped into the lope and I was so anxious about it, I couldn’t relax into it. We tried again going the other way and it worked out much better. John told us to work on the departure and concentrate on that part, which is good because I won’t have to worry about her going so fast, but just get her off to a good start.

Then, he had us work on our lateral work…. Work on… We do this all the time! The only thing was when he tried to set down a pole, um, while she was OVER it… She took the movement well, it was the sound of PVC on sand that gave her a spook… She’s so FUNNY – it was like “oh… oh gheeze… what are you doing… ok, I’m moving! Whoaaaa.” I think she trusts me enough not to dump me, so she just shied away and then we moved on. She’s always been great at sidepassing etc.

So, that was my lesson. I’m excited to work on the new stuff and get that right. John says he’s proud of us and how we are doing and that means the world. I can’t wait to take her to East Corinth this year and let everyone see how much she’s grown!

Anyway, other than riding, the horse drama continues. I’m apprehensive about leaving MMF, which we are on Saturday. Any change is always hard and I have a hard time knowing if I’m doing the right thing or not. Robyn and Rich aren’t bad people and they try (sometimes). I hope Lisa and I still get along when I’m at her barn and I hope she won’t mind if I don’t want to show EVERY weekend. I hope she’ll want to do other stuff with me – camp and trail with the horses and go new places. I hope Sky does well at Lisa’s barn and is happy.

Until next time, happy trails.

C