crooked is as crooked does

It caught me by surprise to learn my office was closed last Friday. Meaning I almost missed an opportunity to jam pack an otherwise free day with horse-related activity. I say almost, bc fortunately providence was on my side and dressage trainer C had a spot in her schedule for us. Phew, crisis averted!

(for once there's actual media beyond the typical mirror selfies from this ride. Barn mate Kaitlyn (who is blogging now and you should totally check her out!) rode too so we had a captive audience willing to snap videos. Sadly the video quality was seriously compromised moving from one phone to the next... but it is what it is - sorry!)

another lesson day = another mirror selfie day

Recall that last time C saw us was not long after our worst ever dressage outing and Isabel was not at her best. I had a different horse this time - Isabel showed up ready. But still made me work for it. Or, perhaps that wording isn't quite right. Rather, perhaps my mistakes literally block Isabel from doing what I ask. Maybe she needs me to fix myself before she can be the total rock star we all know and love?

In any case, C was pleased to learn I had no real agenda for the ride, given the lull in our event schedule for the next month or so. Our canter departs and halts could use attention - but really C got to choose our focus since there are no upcoming tests looming large.  

poor quality screen grab... i still likey tho haha

So what did we actually work on? Baby beginner leg yields and canter departs. And me. LOTS of work on me. Actually, all work on me... and Isabel just happened to go beautifully in the appropriate direction / gait / speed when I got myself correct (mostly). 

For the leg yields, she had us turn on the quarter line and use the whole long side to reach the wall. Meaning a step of sideways then two straight steps. Rinse repeat. This was much easier to the right vs the left (related to other issues, I'm sure). I was a little jumbled in getting it done, but we kept working on it and eventually got some nice steps. 

One of the biggest hindrances, which became glaringly clear when we worked on canter departs, is my tendency to weight the outside leg more heavily than the inside. Ideally both might be weighted evenly, but regardless I need more weight in that inside leg. This issue was even worse tracking right, with my delinquent right leg on the inside. 

this leg. it's an ongoing problem, really.

If this sounds familiar, you might remember it's the exact same issue Grant Schneidman pinpointed in his clinic. So yea... it's a persistent habit, and seeing it crop up as a focus with C made me wonder how many issues I've attributed to Isabel really stem from my own crookedness? Regardless, C said that my weight distribution (stepping heavily to the outside) was literally blocking Isabel from going out where I wanted her.

Ex: when I ask for inside bend while tracking right, we continuously fall in and I can't keep Izzy out on the circle. So I get side tracked by moving her back out onto our circle, and lose the bend. C said that was exactly wrong, and Isabel wins that battle. If I want bend then I should focus on bend, with the circle secondary. Get the bend, achieve the bend, hold the bend. Circle size be damned (well, not really but that part will come later).

We continued this concept into our canter departs - also more craptacular to the right vs. the left. C wanted us trotting a 20m circle with distinct inside bend, then on the open side of the circle come in for a 10m circle - then ask for the canter depart. 

moving into a walk break. i can always tell we're working well when isabel offers to stretch during the breaks

And without fail, 2-3 times in a row, as soon as I'd ask for canter, I'd shift alllllll my weight to the outside (literally losing my inside stirrup...) and we'd either throw ourselves into canter or end up in a fast trot. 

It got to the point where C told me to post with the left half of my seat coming down into the middle of the saddle - which felt insanely crooked but was probably closer to making me sit straight. Which then made it easier to get the inside bend (it's alllll inter-related emma!), which then allowed for a better canter depart. 

Not sure we ever really got a *nice* canter depart, but they did become more balanced. Isabel was also going really very beautifully in the lesson - it's amazing how great she can be when I have a trainer telling me how to ride each and every step. 

So sure, we worked on specific movements in the lesson, but really it was actually all about sorting me out and getting me straighter so that I would stop blocking Izzy. That's the real homework! In the meantime I'm also (finally) having a chiro out for Isabel's regular maintenance and to hopefully fix any issues that would also contribute to crookedness. 

Phew... this rider position thing really is so much more important than I ever credited. Have you ever had a persistent bad positional habit that caused so many problems? How did you fix it??