(no subject)
despite being exhausted, i had a great day today. i finally got to ride (we've had crappy weather all week) and it was so great. Snow was falling off the roof, but i still managed to get a great, focused ride out of Tipsy. i am finally really getting what i should be doing with my hands to maintain consistent contact, even when she acts crazy. Pam kept on being like "now use your... yep... think about where your... yep..." i was actually figuring out what i should be doing before she had the chance to say it.
this is great, because i finally feel like i can school Tipsy effectively even without a trainer in the ring. a year ago i would just hack around when i was alone because i was never sure if i was using my hands right.
and the highlight of our entire ride; snow fell off the roof at one point, directly above us, and Tipsy bolted about 3 strides and then i sat up and half-halted, and when she didn't listen to me i steered her hard to the left (the direction she was running away from) and ran her into the wall so she had to stop. this was amazing because it was the first time i have been able to actually think and ride through one of her spook/bolts. usually i just say "whoa!" and give away my seat/back and yank on her reins until she decides to stop. Pam was like "OMG Wren, YES! please tell me you did that on purpose!" and when i said i did she was like "be PROUD! you are not afraid of your horse anymore!" i literally felt tears in my eyes, as pathetic as that is, because learning to really ride Tipsy has been such a challenge for so long.
i cannot WAIT for this summer, i am going to have money and time for lessons and i am going to show my pony, dammit.
this is great, because i finally feel like i can school Tipsy effectively even without a trainer in the ring. a year ago i would just hack around when i was alone because i was never sure if i was using my hands right.
and the highlight of our entire ride; snow fell off the roof at one point, directly above us, and Tipsy bolted about 3 strides and then i sat up and half-halted, and when she didn't listen to me i steered her hard to the left (the direction she was running away from) and ran her into the wall so she had to stop. this was amazing because it was the first time i have been able to actually think and ride through one of her spook/bolts. usually i just say "whoa!" and give away my seat/back and yank on her reins until she decides to stop. Pam was like "OMG Wren, YES! please tell me you did that on purpose!" and when i said i did she was like "be PROUD! you are not afraid of your horse anymore!" i literally felt tears in my eyes, as pathetic as that is, because learning to really ride Tipsy has been such a challenge for so long.
i cannot WAIT for this summer, i am going to have money and time for lessons and i am going to show my pony, dammit.