So after a week's worth of posts largely consisting of unleavened text, you probably need a few pictures to lighten the load.
( Illustrated version )

Our last day began with some liberty riding- we rode Riley in the round pen with no bridle or halter while Ross moved him along. This worked a little like a lunge lesson, except with more in the way of sharp turns. This is a pretty good exercise for focusing on your own seat and feeling the horse underneath you ( Read more... )

This morning we visited sunny Inverell, which is the nearest town of any size. It was a very pleasant morning and nice to see the local area. Australia's wildlife remains extraordinary - the most everyday birds are so bright and colourful and there are so many of them. Also there were lizards and butterflies and bright autumn trees ( Read more... )

We spent most of today riding, which I think means that this is the most actual time I have spent on horseback since Zorro went lame in September 2011. Turns out riding is some kind of actual exercise! Who knew ( Read more... )

Today we started out doing a little more groundwork. Ross started Sari working on turns on the forehand and hindquarters. The hindquarter yield operates as a very tight turn where the front feet stay more or less in place and the hindquarters move around them. The goal is to direct the horse around the circle- if their shoulders fall out then their ( Read more... )

I'm not sure I really mentioned this, but herecirm and I are in Australia at the moment. After a bit of tourist fun in the Sydney area and visiting the Blue Mountains, we have made our way a little further north. Back when I hosted Ross Jacobs teaching, he said if we ever wanted to stop by and visit with him and his wife Michelle, we would be welcome. He ( Read more... )

I came home from Australia this morning and this afternoon the first thing I needed to do was to visit Zorro ( Read more... )

This morning Steve had a guy who does jousting stop by for a private lesson on their way home from a show- actually they stopped over last night then had the lesson this morning. The jouster's squire and general assistant for the show was none other than Rob from Lodge Ropes - it turned out that there were two of his existing customers among our ( Read more... )

So the last day of our course started with a bit of talking about how we were getting on ( Read more... )

We're nearing the end of our riding time now, but I think I've managed to make some useful changes in what I'm doing. I'd say Elaine has too, but what she does looked pretty good to start with...

( Getting better every day )