Bounce: Lesson Recap 9/20

After my ride with Katai on Friday last week I started feeling more positive because everything Jane was telling me to do was so clearly working that I just kind of let go of my need to try to figure this all out and was able to convince myself to just sort of go with the flow. Because of that I was relaxed and feeling really positive on Tuesday which isn't normal for me since I normally have a good amount of lesson anxiety.


We started off working on my position. I've always had a really tough time keeping my leg back and my conformation hasn't been helping me. We spent around 10 or so minutes at a halt with Jane putting my body where it needed to be and then explaining to me where I should have tension and where I shouldn't we talked a bit about some stretches and exercises that I could do.

Then we went to walk and after a bit of walk in each directly, mainly working on me, we went to trot. This lesson was pretty much more of the same as my last lesson with some additional specifics and just focusing on giving me more time to get things right. I'm still really struggling with getting my body turned enough to the right. I feel like I'm turning all the way around but Jane says that I'm still barely turning. Plus, my right hand has always been better at releasing than holding and I'm having a tough time keeping an appropriate amount of contact when I turn her in that direction.

Playing with running water in the tank is better than Netflix

Katai REALLY likes the new rider that I'm turning into. She's moving SOO well through her back, I've got good connection on both reins and I'm starting to have proper bend about 90% of the time. Because of her amazing new relaxation she's moving so, so well. It's so fun to ride her and feel her so traveling so through, it's a good step up from what I've ever felt from her before.

Then we went to canter. Jane is such an amazing calming influence on me. I'm not that nervous about cantering but Katai is such a little firecracker and add the fact that I want to do a good job in front of my new instructor and it makes me tense up which certainly isn't good for actually getting a good trot/canter transition. One of my friends always refers to her instructor as "her Yoda" and I feel the same way with Jane. Initially there were some fireworks and Jane was working on describing to me how to sit differently. We had talked about how I push my right leg out in front of myself in the canter so we worked on that first and then went the other way. Jane was trying to get me to sit differently and I kept trying different things and then I got it!

She wanted me to stop moving my torso as much and allow myself to feel like I was bouncing straight up and down. As soon as I got it I felt it and Katai's canter slowed down, she re-balanced herself, and it just felt magical and amazingly controllable. I felt sort of like I was sitting on a yoga ball (her hindquarters) and there was this light unweighted yoga ball in front of me that I could have steered anywhere. It was the most amazing riding moment that I think I've had.

Jane got all excited and we quit there. Now I just need to try to replicate that during my rides this week!