Round 2, enter the arena: Eugene on Rocco aka Nistral. Better nerves this time around. Today's lesson was all about going forward ... sound crazy? Bet you a lot of people get this one wrong! I got into the arena, and the first thing I did was kick forward while playing with his mouth - mixed signal - like pushing break and accelerator at the same time! Make sense? You can NOT collect unless you are going forward!! This is why practise is so important, doesn't really help having all these lessons if you are not going to put them into practice right? Any way ...
First instruction, sit forward, let the reigns run through your fingers and put your knuckles on the horses neck ... OPEN THE DOOR and allow the horse to go forward! Even if he runs off with you! Right, off we go round and round in the arena at a trot ... hard effing work! Then took up a gallop and off we went ... and the hardest part: resting my knuckes on Rocco's neck!
What has worked to my disadvantage in my opionion was owning and only riding my own horses ... I have learnt so much in the past week by riding 3 completely different horses! It is amazing!
Back to the lesson, Barney sets a little cross rail and tells me to gallop toward it, still with my knuckles on Rocco's neck! Only steer! Make or break, I thought, either I am going to taste what a yellow pole tastes like or taste the familiar taste of dirt!
I don't have to tell you I guess that this excercise worked a charm!
This is going to sound ridiculous, but what did I learn? How to ride forward WITHOUT carrying 500kgs of horse over a jump and NOT putting 20kgs of me on my horses mouth ... this excercise shall be repeated for the next week or so!
Back to basics!
PS no involuntary dismount today
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