Lesson day

I always give Bestie Monday off after our Sunday lesson, then ride Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It was difficult to follow my usual riding pattern this week.

Last Tuesday we had a snowstorm, and there was just enough snowfall that by the time I got home, and our driveway got plowed, I decided not to drive to the barn. The horses had gone out, so I knew she had been able to stretch her legs.

Then on Wednesday, I had book club. Again, the horses had gone out, so I figured she wouldn't miss me.

On Thursday, I had yoga. But I decided to drive over to the barn after class and say hello and at least give her a good grooming.

I knew I had to ride on Friday and Saturday or it would kind of be a waste to pay for a lesson. When I got to the barn Friday night after work, it was cold, in the teens, and I do not enjoy riding when it's that cold. I felt like the Stay Puff marshmallow woman with a hat under my helmet, two shirts, vest, down jacket, long johns and jeans. And neck warmer.

We ended up riding in the lower arena with Katie and Rocky. No one else was at the barn by then. The lower arena is definitely a bit warmer than the upper one; it has the plastic walls which seem to create a slight greenhouse effect when it's a sunny day. The temperature was just below 20 degrees while we rode. I stayed pretty warm except for my hands. Bestie was kind of distracted and speedy, probably a combination of the cold, lack of riding, and the not as familiar arena. Finally, after about 25 minutes, I rode into the center of the ring and Bestie and I hung out there and watched Katie and Rocky while I kept my hands in my pockets. My fingers were aching.

Saturday was a better day. We rode in the upper arena and got a few long side 1/4 lane serpentines in. She was much more focused.

Our lesson today was awesome. Generally we have to negotiate through some sort of tantrum, but she was perfectly fine. Even when the horses in one of the adjacent paddocks started running and snorting, she kept jogging along. We did long side 1/4 lane serpentines, full arena serpentines, lots of jogging, some posting, At one point she spooked - it sounded like something slid off the roof - but she came right back to what we were doing.

Paula videotaped us because we were doing a lot of work on straightening Bestie out and strengthening her in a balanced way. Unfortunately the lighting is kind of tough for filming in the arena, so the video was a bit too hard to see and learn from. I think I need to straighten up a bit - that much I could see. :)

I feel like we've made so much progress and that we're both more confident. Because of hockey, I can't do a lesson this coming Sunday, so we rescheduled to Friday. Then the following weekend I'm in Massachusetts, so I'll have to see if we can work out another day change. I hate to have a long stretch without a lesson since we're doing so well.