Did a Horse Show... and Hubby is Visiting in three weeks
So it has been an eventful month, so far. I moved with my family into a new, smaller house, which is nice. I have to share a room with my brother, and so far, it hasn't been bad. We get to bond a bit, and surprisingly, we do not get on each other's nerves. It took us about almost two weeks to get everything moved it. Now that everything is pretty much settled, the new house is starting to feel cozy, and it has been a bit more peaceful.
I did my first horse show on November 7th, and ended up placing rather well in the classes that I entered. I got second place in both my English Under Saddle Class, and my Hunter class, got fifth place in my trail class, then won my Bareback Ride-A-Buck class. It was a nice, although very chilly day to be showing. I was nervous throughout the day, but glad that I went out and did well in my classes. I rode Noony for show day. He was being shared by me and four other riders, so he had quite the work out, and was pretty much done by the time it got to the afternoon. He was good all morning, then was starting to get antsy as the show day wore on. He was starting to back up when trying to get him in the ring, and had to be trotted with another handler into the ring. He was good once in the ring, and did as the rider asked, though once out of the ring, it was becoming more difficult to get him back in for the next rider. He had some breaks in between, which was good. I have some horse treats from the show day that I have to remember to bring to the barn for Noony!
I had a lesson yesterday, and it was a cantering lesson on the lunge line. I was quite proud of myself, this time. I did not fall off, and managed to flow with Noony, and actually kept him in the canter for one or two full circles on the lunge line while sitting the canter. Now, my next challenge is to keep him cantering while going in the gallop position. Once I get into the gallop position, I find that I have trouble with keeping my leg on for him to canter, which causes him to go back to a fast trot. It is something to work on for the next lesson, and to keep in mind as well. I know I still have to work on being more assertive, and making my commands clear to my mount. I just need to learn to relax, let go, and be a leader to my lesson horse. My instructor tells me that I am a very light rider, as in I am soft with my commands and body, in which softness is good. I do like hearing that I am a soft rider, as I constantly worry about being too harsh on my lesson horse. I do not want to be one of those riders who pull, kick, or be overly hard with their mount. I want to be balanced, and soft, so my horse is soft and supple with me. At the same time, I know that when my lesson horse does not listen, I have to be more clear. For example, I still do this annoying thing where I constantly am tapping at his sides to keep him moving forward, rather than squeezing once, then releasing if he listens. If he doesn't listen, then it should be a light kick with my legs, and if he still doesn't listen, then I should tap with the crop, along with the aids from my leg to get the point across that not listening will result in a firmer command. Instead of following the one, two, three step, I noticed that I continue with the tap, tap, tapping at his sides with my legs, which in return, just becomes white noise to him. It is something that I keep in mind to do, but once lesson day comes, I resort to that stupid habit. It is a habit that I need to break, and am determined to break.
I have a practice ride on Friday, so I will use that time to work on my flatwork, and work on my aids with Noony. I love practice rides because it is time alone in the saddle. I can focus my attention on practicing things that I've learned in a previous lesson, while also trying to improve my timing in giving out my cues, and improving my seat. I hope that this Friday, I will make some progress with breaking my annoying habit. In fact, I should be aiming to doing a practice ride after every lesson, as more time in the saddle will help me get better at riding.
Now, that is enough of talking about riding and horses. There is some other big news that I am excited about. My husband is coming to visit the States in about three weeks! He is coming in on December 11th, and staying until January 23rd, in which when that time comes, I will be going back to England with him until March 4th. I am looking forward to seeing, and spending time with my husband again. I am also looking forward to bringing him to the barn to meet my instructor, and to meet the lesson horses. I hope he doesn't mind coming out to the barn with me, and hope that I don't mess up in front of him, or fall off! I am glad that he will be able to film some of my riding, so that I can look back on the videos and see where I have to improve. I also hope that by him watching me ride my patterns for dressage, he can tell me how straight I am when doing my centre lines, or if my twenty metre circles actually look like circles, and not potatoes. Maybe he can also read my dressage test out, so I can practice doing the whole test during one of my practice rides. I know I am rambling about horses and riding again, but I think... I want to, in a way, share my passion with my husband. It's something that is a part of me, and will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. I know his passion (well hobby) is gaming, and I love that he shares that with me. I love that he will sometimes stream his gaming through skype, and that I get to watch him while he plays Team Fortress 2, Minecraft, or some other game. It is so interesting watching him be so focused on building, or working with a group of players to defeat the opposing team. He gets so engrossed... especially in Team Fortress too, like there is a determination and focus in there that I love. It is also funny watching him sometimes, especially when he gets annoyed at players who are lacking in the team work department, or are not that good at playing. Maybe I am weird for liking to watch my husband play games, but I cannot help it. I like watching him have fun!
I hope that the visit between December and January will be awesome, smooth, and enjoyable for us. I love that he will be spending Christmas, and New Years here. Of course, I will still be working during the visit, but maybe I can find a way to get New Years off? At least, if I cannot get it fully off, I hope that my manager will be able to schedule me to only work until the afternoon or early evening, so I get home in time for the ball drop.
Anyway, that is enough of my rambling. I noticed that I have typed a lot! Until next time...
I did my first horse show on November 7th, and ended up placing rather well in the classes that I entered. I got second place in both my English Under Saddle Class, and my Hunter class, got fifth place in my trail class, then won my Bareback Ride-A-Buck class. It was a nice, although very chilly day to be showing. I was nervous throughout the day, but glad that I went out and did well in my classes. I rode Noony for show day. He was being shared by me and four other riders, so he had quite the work out, and was pretty much done by the time it got to the afternoon. He was good all morning, then was starting to get antsy as the show day wore on. He was starting to back up when trying to get him in the ring, and had to be trotted with another handler into the ring. He was good once in the ring, and did as the rider asked, though once out of the ring, it was becoming more difficult to get him back in for the next rider. He had some breaks in between, which was good. I have some horse treats from the show day that I have to remember to bring to the barn for Noony!
I had a lesson yesterday, and it was a cantering lesson on the lunge line. I was quite proud of myself, this time. I did not fall off, and managed to flow with Noony, and actually kept him in the canter for one or two full circles on the lunge line while sitting the canter. Now, my next challenge is to keep him cantering while going in the gallop position. Once I get into the gallop position, I find that I have trouble with keeping my leg on for him to canter, which causes him to go back to a fast trot. It is something to work on for the next lesson, and to keep in mind as well. I know I still have to work on being more assertive, and making my commands clear to my mount. I just need to learn to relax, let go, and be a leader to my lesson horse. My instructor tells me that I am a very light rider, as in I am soft with my commands and body, in which softness is good. I do like hearing that I am a soft rider, as I constantly worry about being too harsh on my lesson horse. I do not want to be one of those riders who pull, kick, or be overly hard with their mount. I want to be balanced, and soft, so my horse is soft and supple with me. At the same time, I know that when my lesson horse does not listen, I have to be more clear. For example, I still do this annoying thing where I constantly am tapping at his sides to keep him moving forward, rather than squeezing once, then releasing if he listens. If he doesn't listen, then it should be a light kick with my legs, and if he still doesn't listen, then I should tap with the crop, along with the aids from my leg to get the point across that not listening will result in a firmer command. Instead of following the one, two, three step, I noticed that I continue with the tap, tap, tapping at his sides with my legs, which in return, just becomes white noise to him. It is something that I keep in mind to do, but once lesson day comes, I resort to that stupid habit. It is a habit that I need to break, and am determined to break.
I have a practice ride on Friday, so I will use that time to work on my flatwork, and work on my aids with Noony. I love practice rides because it is time alone in the saddle. I can focus my attention on practicing things that I've learned in a previous lesson, while also trying to improve my timing in giving out my cues, and improving my seat. I hope that this Friday, I will make some progress with breaking my annoying habit. In fact, I should be aiming to doing a practice ride after every lesson, as more time in the saddle will help me get better at riding.
Now, that is enough of talking about riding and horses. There is some other big news that I am excited about. My husband is coming to visit the States in about three weeks! He is coming in on December 11th, and staying until January 23rd, in which when that time comes, I will be going back to England with him until March 4th. I am looking forward to seeing, and spending time with my husband again. I am also looking forward to bringing him to the barn to meet my instructor, and to meet the lesson horses. I hope he doesn't mind coming out to the barn with me, and hope that I don't mess up in front of him, or fall off! I am glad that he will be able to film some of my riding, so that I can look back on the videos and see where I have to improve. I also hope that by him watching me ride my patterns for dressage, he can tell me how straight I am when doing my centre lines, or if my twenty metre circles actually look like circles, and not potatoes. Maybe he can also read my dressage test out, so I can practice doing the whole test during one of my practice rides. I know I am rambling about horses and riding again, but I think... I want to, in a way, share my passion with my husband. It's something that is a part of me, and will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. I know his passion (well hobby) is gaming, and I love that he shares that with me. I love that he will sometimes stream his gaming through skype, and that I get to watch him while he plays Team Fortress 2, Minecraft, or some other game. It is so interesting watching him be so focused on building, or working with a group of players to defeat the opposing team. He gets so engrossed... especially in Team Fortress too, like there is a determination and focus in there that I love. It is also funny watching him sometimes, especially when he gets annoyed at players who are lacking in the team work department, or are not that good at playing. Maybe I am weird for liking to watch my husband play games, but I cannot help it. I like watching him have fun!
I hope that the visit between December and January will be awesome, smooth, and enjoyable for us. I love that he will be spending Christmas, and New Years here. Of course, I will still be working during the visit, but maybe I can find a way to get New Years off? At least, if I cannot get it fully off, I hope that my manager will be able to schedule me to only work until the afternoon or early evening, so I get home in time for the ball drop.
Anyway, that is enough of my rambling. I noticed that I have typed a lot! Until next time...
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