lesson on straightness + a little fail fun

Saturday's lesson was interesting, in that I have more media than insights to share about it lol. I really don't mind riding with 12yr olds... but sometimes they take FOREVER to get through their jump rounds and I kinda wanna to tell 'em to hustle up lol. This was one of those lessons, and it ultimately meant our jumping time was cut short.  

the "V" line 

It was ok tho - since we mostly focused on a single exercise that kinda blew Isabel's mind lol. More on that below tho!

don't mind the headless poneh - she discovered the loose hay on the trailer floor lol

For interested parties, here's a better side view of the Bates saddle (picture taken the day before the fitting).

tail can't be tamed

I again focused very heavily on our flat work - since our first show of the season is on SUNDAY!!! It's a dressage fix-a-test clinic (technically a schooling show, but I'm treating it more like a glorified lesson) and we'll ride the Beginner Novice A test. 

P was VERY pleased with how steady Isabel has become in the last few weeks (yay it's not just my imagination!!!!!) and noted that the horse was working more consistently over her back. Things are still better tracking left than tracking right, and our canter is iffy... but we're working on it. 

We're incorporating more leg yields (sorta), shallow serpentines, and ever-so-slightly-shoulder-fore down the long sides. Our execution of these movements is extremely poor - but that's not really the point for now. It's mostly to tune Isabel into me and help me feel how she 'bounces off my aids' (love that description, Austen!!). P also suggested introducing some counter-bend and swapping my diagonal every five or so steps. 

Whatever the case, I'm pleased with our progress and am super eager to get more feedback from the judge next week!!

Then it was time to jump. We started by trotting and cantering a single vertical on the outside. P asked what we'd fix each time, and my answer was consistently 'our straightness.' Hah. Careful what you wish for!! P then set up a one stride "V" line - with placing poles literally creating a "V" in the middle of each fence. 

Isabel was, uh, a little overwhelmed our first time through:

'oh shit oh god oh shit' -isabel

'c'mon damn it, keep it together' -isabel

'oh god it touched me - poles errywhere!' -isabel

'ugh - this is such bull shit' -isabel

'and now this chick is laughing at me. wtfffffff.....' -isabel

believe it or not, we actually made it over through the last jump lol

Poor girl. You can literally see her emotions shift from confusion to embarrassment to irritation. And I could not stop myself from laughing... probably gonna give her a complex... 

But she's a tough cookie and figured it out after that - even saving my butt once when I didn't make a decision about a questionable distance. We finished the exercise as a three-element "V" line (one stride between each element) and Isabel was perfectly confident through it. 

video of our efforts (complete with uncontrollable giggles) here
(and yep, this comprises ALL of our jumping from the lesson - all 39 seconds of it...)

she may or may not have been very sick of my shit lol

So ya know... It was a lesson and things were a-ok. I think both Isabel and I will be very happy to start riding outside again tho!