Swan dives and blue oxers

Ok so finally starting this blog …
After 3 months of anticipation and freezing my tits off this New York winter, everyone has arrived back from Florida including the best instructor in the world … Barney Ward! So I may be a little biased here, but you can not argue considering that his son Mclain is one of the best riders in the world – and who do you think trained him!!
On a very warm Wednesday this week, I was stunned with a whole of half hours notice of my first jumping lesson with Mr. Ward … and the fun began!
A little warm-up trot and canter and Barney came down to the arena, ok so I was a little nervous but when he came down to the arena it felt as if my bowels were actually going to lose grip!! Everything I have ever learnt in my 20 years of riding gone … seriously … out the window … I no longer knew how to ride – AT ALL!
Never mind, I do my first little cross … and the adjustments begin …
Number one … we do not jump on a circle. The reason? This makes your horse anticipate the circle and becomes hot and strong! You jump on a straight line, three strides after the jump you stop, resume canter on the other rein and go back the way you came! I assume that stopping is not an absolute necessity I am guessing that flying changes would work too but none the less this is what we did in the lesson.
Number two … you DO NOT keep your hands on your pommel – why was I taught this in the beginning? Shorten your reins to about half, raise your hands to be be paralel to your horses mouth. This way you have more leverage to collect, stop and accellerate! Think about it, if you have these arms perfectly bent in a L-shape above your pommel where is the control to your horses mouth? Exactly, the only place you can go to is into your lap! Obviously, if your hands go into your lap, your body falls behind your vertical and then what? Your horse buggers off with you.
Number three … riding is not a secret science!!! Why does everyone pretend that riding is this secret society that only the elite can be part of? News flash … it should all be kept as simple as possible! And this comes straight from the horses mouth. Period.
Number four … if you worked for someone who was constantly screaming, swearing and shouting at everyone everyday at work, how much would you enjoy going to work. Enough said. So, where is the rationale by riding aggressively ALL THE TIME? When striking off into your canter, go into the 2-point or light position, give reign and let your horse go forward first (less is always better and work up to more) when approaching your jump, choose 4, 5 or 6 strides where you balance your horse into the jump. Works, a charm when everyone is relaxed … what did I do? Again, I forgot how to ride … followed all the steps, saw my stride, doubted myself and instead of believing in the stride I had, I tried to fling a 600kg showjumper of the jump with the top part of my body! The horse then decided, to hell with you mate, you mess it up, you jump it! So, I did … the perfect swan dive right through a blue oxer!

If I wasn’t beside myself before, I was no completely a nervous wreck … this was the one lesson I did not want to mess up! I of course, crash the whole goddam thing!
Nerves got me so bad, the lesson now had to end … I have to learn to stay calm but how in the name of the good Lord above us do you keep calm when you practically have a celebrity teaching you!? Do nerves ever get better?
Signing off with a very battered and bruised ego …