Riding is FUN!

Once again, it's been a while, but this time I've just been so busy RIDING! I can't say enough wonderful things about Degen. He's such a great babysitter. I look forward to each and every ride, and I'm now riding with confidence and a smile on my face. I've been taking weekly lessons with E, Degen's owner, and she has me focusing on lengthening and strengthening my leg to develop a more independent seat via lots of no-stirrup work. I've seen a dramatic difference in my position in a short amount of time as a result, and I'm now riding a good bit of my dressage schools sans stirrups at the moment. I almost feel like I ride better without stirrups now!

 E graciously brought out one of her old XC saddles for me to use for jumping, and I'm loving it! It's an old Ainsley with a nice forward flap and great knee blocks. I feel extremely secure and just love riding in it. Degen and I did our very first XC lesson with A yesterday, and ohmygoodness, we had so much fun! We worked over a combination of logs and stadium jumps that were set up in the XC field, and I am proud to say I jumped my very first skinny and corner! We also did several mini courses, practiced cantering in and out of the water, and walked up and down the water bank. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous going into the lesson, but by the end, we were cantering all of our exercises with confidence. I had a blast, and I think Degen really enjoyed himself too. He's an old pro, and he really took care of me. Can't wait for the next lesson!

Sky and Degen

We've also got some show goals as well. There is a low-key dressage schooling show down the road from my barn at the end of May, and I asked E if she thought that would be something we could work towards. She thought that was a great idea and even offered to bring along one of her horses and pick us up on the way! I pulled my jacket out of my closet the other night, and it definitely does not fit anymore. Thank goodness it's a schooling show, but it's probably time to do some show clothes shopping!