lesson with Peanut

I made it back to OF this weekend for a lesson. Isabel might not be ready yet, but I was itching to get back in the saddle! And trainer P had a great horse for me to try. Peanut is a registered Paint mare with probably more than a little bit of QH in there. 

don't look at the saddle - just that cute horse! 

She had been living at the fancy dressage barn (where I rode in the Grant Schneidman clinic a few weeks back) and recently moved to OF. According to P, Peanut is tuned up enough to put in a "passable 1st or 2nd level dressage test." So she's not *exactly* a school master, but definitely closer than anything I've ridden before. 

I didn't quite do the mare justice (she may or may not have squealed in protest at one point during our ride), but she was NEAT! 

A very different ride from Isabel tho, for sure. They're almost the same height - but Peanut rides a little taller and covers more ground. She is also MUCH narrower than my big-barreled arab (don't tell Izzy I said that!). And maybe it was just the QH in her, but it felt like she had a lot more lateral movement, compared to Isabel's very up-and-down way of going.

'no pics plz' - peanut

'just applz.'

Our flat work wasn't really anything special - she definitely tattled on me quite a bit! (Plus I'm honest to god gonna blame the saddle for some of it bc damn that thing sucked in every single dimension!). But the moments were definitely there when I was able to soften my contact and get myself in order. She would just stretch down and feel SO fancy! 

P kept telling me to soften my hands and not just set myself against the horse. I didn't really understand what she meant and thought my hands were pretty soft (I kept losing the reins, oops) - but the videos actually show that my shoulders and elbows were pretty rigid the whole ride. 

Plus I struggled a bit to find the right seat at the canter. Again, I want to blame that saddle in part... but probably I could do a better job if there's another opportunity to ride this horse while Isabel convalesces. P wanted me to have less of a 'driving' seat - and wanted me to relax my hips to allow the horse room to move. I *think* I know what she means... but really had a hard time finding the sweet spot and kinda ended up just reverting to a half seat. 

The mare is definitely very sensitive tho - P wanted me really just riding those outside aids to help put the horse together. Also, she has excellent brakes that I kept on tapping without realizing haha. Still not entirely sure what I was doing - but it was obviously something!

why, elbows? whyyyyyy?

The jumping was fine too. I needed to close my leg and put the horse together a little better, which would have allowed us a more organized but forward stride. As it was tho, she was very very good and I actually felt like I could settle in to her rhythm without much effort (despite it being very different from Isabel... and despite the fact that I haven't jumped anything BUT Isabel in 7 months...).

repeat after me: folllllowwwing hannnds

It's both interesting and moderately irritating to see the same exact problems on course crop up with two very different horses... But I also try not to harbor any illusions about some of my weaknesses as a rider. 

video here

for what it's worth, i seriously expected 5 strides down that diagonal line (jumps 4-5)... oops!

All the same tho - even with some bobbles here and there, I had to finish every course by picking bugs out of my teeth bc I was grinning like a fool. This little mare was neat! (Plus - omg riding outside again - aww yissss!)

she was also incredibly sweet on the ground too

Isabel will be returning for lessons at OF in two weeks at the earliest - so I'm hoping to get an opportunity to redeem myself with Ms Peanut in the interim. Just watching the videos and writing out these here thoughts about the lesson has helped me think of ways to make it better next time... so we'll see!