It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about my riding lessons, and I have a post in the works about the Christmas party that happened a few weeks ago, but that’ll happen eventually.
Anyways, it’s been a bit of a running joke that I can’t keep riding lesson buddies, because I always seem to get people who either work to much or have health issues that keep them out of the saddle for extended periods of time. I have a new riding partner, and I’m really enjoying riding with someone else again.
But last week he wasn’t able to make it so I was alone again, and it was such a good lesson. We’ve finally graduated a little bit to cantering! It’s been like… 3 years since I’ve done anything but walk/trot which kind of sounds crazy, now that I write it out but it’s taken me that long to get good enough with the horses that I’ve been on and getting used to them. Dressage is not easy. Sometimes it’s my horse, but 99% of the time it’s totally me.
The last two weeks have been tough because I had an unexpected break from riding due to weather conditions, so my body has fallen back into bad habits. I had a really hard time finding my seat and feeling ‘together’ with Meritage. I felt just all over the place. But we fixed that this week. We tied my stirrups to the girth so that my legs will be in the correct position and what a difference. And it didn’t destroy my legs like I thought it would, which means that the muscle memory is still mostly all there. Phew.