Another day in January paradise: Can you believe this weather? Warm, sunny... I was sweating in a long-sleeved t-shirt by 10 a.m.
Today's lesson was all about straightness, straightness, straightness. Not so easy when you're riding the equine equivalent of a spaghetti noodle. We did about a thousand figure-8s on the flat, encouraging him to fill the new outside rein and calmly accept the new bend. On my end, I had to focus on keeping an opening inside rein, outside rein against the neck, and weight on the inside seatbone. Also worked on training myself to turn into the skid when he fishtails his haunches. Over fences, we warmed up by trotting a large-ish vertical with a take-off pole, remembering not to be "invisible" on the landing; then cantered an oxer with take-off and landing poles (good thing we've been practicing that at home!); and finished with a related distance line. Amy reminded me to keep my aids on all of the time so that when I need to make an adjustment it doesn't seem like they're just coming out of the blue.
After our lesson and a bubble bath, Esprit got a fabulous clip job from a local guy named Buddy. Buddy said Esprit was "ready for Devon," and while that's definitely not true, he does look A-circuit good. I returned the Stubben to Re-ride (the Passier is a winner, I believe) and rode Kaitlyn's Casey, which was a blast. I've also, obviously, been a little preoccupied with my Hipstamatic app the past couple days. What an iPhone artiste.
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