Sunday Funday | Lesson Update

Although the summer heat here in Georgia has been verging on almost unbearable, I have been out at the barn almost every day riding and feeding for my trainer while she has been gone on vacation. One of those rides was a big milestone for us as a team – our first real hack outside of the arena!

A few months ago, this would not have been a possibility for us as he and I were nervous wrecks. However, thanks to my awesome trainer, our confidence in each other has grown to the point where I finally felt that I could trust him enough to go outside the arena and hack around in the pasture. Not only did we walk and trot in the pasture, but we did it all while on the buckle! He was such a good boy and seemed to thoroughly enjoy his “field day”! It was definitely all smiles from me!

Since my trainer came back from her beach trip on Friday, I signed up to have a lesson today to try and keep our weekly lesson streak intact. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to ride with a friend, which was so much fun! I find myself riding alone a lot of the time due to my schedule, so when I get the chance to ride with someone, it always makes the lesson 100x better!

The main focus of our lesson today was continuing to work on riding off of my outside aids to achieve precise turns and overall straightness. I developed such a bad habit of grabbing onto my inside rein to turn like a pony kid, but let me tell you, that does not work on Dies. His response is to just drift through the turn with his outside shoulder stuck out to Texas. Meaning, we actually never turn. We just keep on drifting.

However, I am glad to say that I am getting much better about using my outside aids thanks to all of the “square” circles, cone exercises, and off-the-rail work that we have been doing lately. Our straightness has improved exponentially, and we are actually able to turn! Crazy how that works, right? 😂

The “square” circle cone exercise!

We also accomplished something huge today: cantering our first full pole course! Up until now, we have just trotted in and cantered out lines. I haven’t been quite ready to canter in yet, but today I finally put on my big girl pants and went for it!

I have to say, I was pretty proud of how well I rode and how well he behaved. I am starting to get a lot stronger and secure in the saddle, and I can really tell a difference in my riding. I have a long way to go, but I am definitely proud of the progress we have made so far!

The sweetest baby horse there is! He tries his heart out!

As for the course itself, he took a wonky “baby horse” step to the first “jump” of the inside line and we got a little tight to the last of the outside line, but besides that, our pace was consistent, our turns were square and balanced, and I managed to not get in his way. I’d call that a win for us!

Overall, I was very pleased with our first full course. He just keeps on getting better and better each ride. I can’t wait until we start incorporating some jumps! We will get there!

As for what’s next, Dies has another HJ Fox show this coming weekend! I can’t wait!

 

 

Back In The Saddle Again

If you have been following along with my posts, you know that I have not been on Diesel since I put him into full training this past October. My last ride on him before he went to training was not a pretty one, to say the least. After being bucked off, my confidence was shot and he was quickly losing his confidence in me. That’s when I knew that weekly lessons just weren’t cutting it anymore.  I have no shame about admitting when I am in over my head and this time was no exception.

Being bucked off did quite a number on my confidence, so the last few months I have been struggling with regaining all of the confidence that I have lost. It definitely hasn’t been easy. With a full college schedule, my dad being in the hospital, and Diablo struggling with soundness issues, riding was put on the back burner. It wasn’t until this past week that I was able to get back in the saddle regularly for the first time in months.

If you know Diablo, you know that he is NOT an easy ride – even when in regular work. Riding him after a long break can even insight fear in professionals. That being said, after owning him for five years, I have just learned to laugh through his little bucks and crow hopping episodes. He definitely gave me a run for my money my first time back, but it was such a confidence booster for me to just be back in the saddle again. He always knows how to make me laugh and challenge me. I really missed riding my goofy cow!

Riding this past week for the first time in a few months definitely opened my eyes to how unfit I have gotten. I am ashamed to admit that I have gained quite a bit of weight since my last time regularly in the saddle. Your girl has to get back in the saddle and the gym!

After riding Diablo last week and attending the show yesterday, I finally decided that today was the day that I was going to get back on Diesel. Even though I can confidently ride through Diablo’s antics, getting back on Diesel sparked a little fear in my heart. I couldn’t help but be a little anxious as I pulled up the barn – I am not as fit as I was and his bucks are nothing to laugh about. However, I am so glad that I got back on today.

Riding Dies today made me the happiest I have been in a long time, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I walked him around the arena. I couldn’t hold back my tears of happiness when I picked up the trot and trotted my boy around for what seemed like the first time in forever. He was such a good nugget and packed me around like a seasoned pro, which made me cry even harder.

I am just blown away by how great of a job my trainer has done with him. Even though I have watched him from the ground while my trainer has ridden, I hadn’t realized just how much he has improved and grown-up until I got in the saddle. I felt a huge difference in him both mentally and physically. It was amazing to feel how much fitter he has gotten and how much more relaxed he is under saddle. He felt like a completely different horse than the nervous baby horse I tried last April. I was so incredibly proud of my baby Dies – he has come such a long way! It makes me really wonder how I got so lucky to own such a spectacular baby horse!

Today gave me hope that he and I will be able to get back to making progress together. Now that I finally faced my fear of getting back on him after the fall, I am planning on resuming weekly lessons in an effort to get back the rest of the confidence that I have lost. I can’t wait to get back in the saddle for good and start enjoying my spectacular baby horse again.