Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Be amazed

By what you ask?  Two posts in two days!  Here is another quick post about the second half of last Wednesday.  After galloping I did some riding and was then planning to haul Alyssa and her horses to a photo shoot.  Turns out there was a rainstorm out that way so the shoot was cancelled.  That meant I got to take Zida to jump night.  Wasatch Sport Horses puts on 'jump night' every Wednesday and it is an affordable way to haul out and jump.  While she doesn't call it a lesson, it is still a mini lesson.  I haven't ridden over there since that icy December ride with Diva.
So much ice
Last fall and into the winter I really started working to polish up my riding.  I was stuck in that green horse ride, while not terrible I knew I could do better.  So, while the ground was snow covered I watched videos of great riders over fences and doing dressage.  I rode in my mind and tried to make every detail perfect.  I'm a true believer in visualization helping to form your reality, low and behold my back is flatter, my leg is longer, my eyes are up.  Yes there is still much to work on, but I feel like I'm on the right track.
This mare can be so fancy

A huge storm blew through right before our ride

I've got a soft spot for white noses

Definitely got yelled at for collapsing over this fence, but it was the only one for the whole ride!

Double bounce here

Sitting up and keeping her straight

Wow I need a hair cut!
Thanks to Alyssa for taking pictures!!!!
The first line we came down I kept Zida super straight as we landed I heard Steph yell, 'I would have bet money she wouldn't be straight through that, and I would have lost.'  To which I said something along the lines of 'I love winning!'  Throughout the ride she pushed me to ride better and better.  By the end she told me she was impressed, she was convinced that my galloping at the track would wreak havoc with my position and was happy to be proved wrong again.  I told her I was really working to not let my different styles of riding mix together in a destructive manner, and that I was working to improve my galloping skills as well.  Again she mentioned seeing my most recent galloping pictures and being impressed.  At that point I was on cloud nine and grinned for the rest of the evening.  She isn't one to sugarcoat things or blow smoke so three 'you look greats' in one night pretty much made my week.

15 comments:

  1. Nice! Always a good confidence boost when you get complimented :) And I love that pic with the rainbow in the background!

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    1. And confidence is what we need riding these giant animals!

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  2. Such a fun lesson to watch. Haha, glad your ride was better than mine.

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    1. Zida would have been in big trouble is she had tried papa ' green bean shenanigans

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  3. You look great!! And you sure deserved those compliments! ;)

    Out of curiosity, which riders would you recommend watching? I am really trying to work on my position, but don't know enough about different riders to look for something. I do a lot of flat/dressage work, with some bits of jumping thrown in.

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    1. ThankYou! Check out any videos with Denny Emerson or George Morris or Anne Kurinski I will try to do a post soon with the videos I watched:)

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  4. Awesome sounding lesson & photos, great compliments too! :-D

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    1. I love lessons! It has been so long since I've taken them regularly I hope to start soon

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  5. You guys look awesome (and very deserving of compliments)!

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  6. These pictures are beautiful. I know what you mean about the "green horse ride" and I'm trying to polish up some things about my eq that have gotten really sloppy.

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one with green horse position woes

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