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Maggie's Lesson Journal

2/7/2006 - Tuesday, 9AM

Rode in outdoor arena, using small English saddle for the first time
Rode without a martingale; tacked up without help
Learned about showing - etiquette, no talking in ring, lineup, fidgeting, etc.
"Warmed up" in "schooling ring" at a walk and trot
Needs to work on keeping heels down at trot, and keeping a trot instead of breaking gait continually (granted, there was a lot of mud to contend with)
Ended trotting on a good note, after keeping heels down the entire time at the trot, then sitting and staying sitting back while asking for and receiving a walk....perfect transition! Just need to keep it up....
Performed in a mock class, with lineup, walking, trotting, reverse, walking, trotting, lineup, back up
Practiced quick rider changes with Annica in preparation for the show

1/19/2006 - Thursday, 9AM

Rode outdoors, in the outdoor arena, for the first time in a while because of weather conditions
Warmed up at the walk, going both directions
Walked over poles/crossrails in both directions, learned not to look at the poles but ahead of them
Learned about gaited and trotting horses, "boneshakers"
Went solo on posting trot, around the arena a number of times
Worked on not holding onto the saddle when trotting, in order not to tip balance forward
Tends to curl leg up underneath instead of elongating it to stay sitting back in the saddle when posting, instead of leaning forward and losing balance
Did well with keeping Prissy at a steady pace and still trotting, while posting...lower leg still needs work, but improving a lot
Learned show rules....what's expected, what the judges are looking for
Learned the aids and cues for riding
Incredible determination to learn and improve....such drive is amazing and can only help with riding in the future.

11/10/2005 - Thursday, 10AM

Rode outdoors, English saddle/bridle, with martingale
Warmed up at the walk
Learned to count the steps (1,2,1,2...) and to tell which foot is stepping out first, from stop and from backing
Walked over poles and was able to tell without looking which foot went first
Worked on sitting trot a lot - lower leg really unstable, flops around too much
Stood at the halt and walk to find alignment
Trotted on the lunge line with feet out of stirrups, holding the saddle to find the rhythm
Worked on dropping/picking up stirrups
Learned the emergency stop in order to learn to sit back when shifting gears, not sit forward
Did an excellent job on the rising trot - most of the time had body in correct alignment, and used upper leg to rise from saddle
Halted to find alignment whenever balance was thrown off
Did well with looking up and forward instead of down at the horse's head
Learned about alignment and importance of body weight in cuing the horse
Work on keeping a steady pace without breaking gait
Learned to extend the walk

11/3/2005 - Thursday, 9AM

Worked in outdoor arena, rode first, English saddle/bridle w/martingale
Warmed up at the walk, did figure eights and standing
Worked on slow sitting trot, and keeping Priss at a steady pace without breaking gait
Practiced rising trot a lot, staying at a steady pace
Not worrying about diagonals at this point
Worked on leg/foot position
Weaved in and out of cones
Did well on rising trot, but need to move waist/hips/upper body out of saddle without moving lower leg out of position
Good job, Maggie!

10/20/2005 - Thursday, 9AM

Rode in round pen, using English saddle, no martingale
Did an absolutely fantastic job when learning to stand in the stirrups!
Found balance very quickly with very little help
Learned to move quietly with the horse, while standing
Learned to stop and start while standing, and usually maintained balance there
Excellent leg position and timing when maneuvering cones and obstacles
Again, I'm very impressed, Maggie, and very, very proud of you! You're an excellent student!

10/13/2005 - Thursday, 10AM

Rode using a bareback pad for the first time
Learned to walk and balance without holding on to the horse or pad, concentrated on the correct posture and sitting deep in the saddle
Started out bouncing all over the place at the trot, but =by the end of the lessons, learned to follow the horse's movement more, and move the hips/lower body with the horse
Stayed very well balanced and over the center of the horse
Learned very quiet, subtle cues
Great Job, Maggie!

9/22/2005 - Thursday, 10AM

Skipped a week because of Prissy's lost shoe
Priss was really stubborn - she didn't want to do the same thing again that she'd already done
Good job keeping Priss trotting
Posting needs more work - keep practicing!
Cantering was good - stayed in the saddle nicely, although more work is needed on staying in the canter and continuing around a corner
Did well with cone collecting and bucketball
Went down the trails afterwards to finish off riding the cranky horse
Don't get discouraged...practice makes perfect!!

9/8/2005 - Thursday, 9AM

Rode in new arena for the first time
Worked on balance and keeping Prissy on the rail despite rough terrain, huge rocks, and uneven footing
Getting better every day at posting trot - worked in round pen because of footing in the arena
In arena, set up six cones and worked on walk/halt/walk/halt patterns
Learned how to ask for a halt without leaning forward or heels coming up
Worked on walk/halt/back/walk combos as well, and changing the pattern around
Learned to clean stalls, rake the aisles, fill the water buckets
Took off saddle and ran up stirrups all alone!!
Yay Maggie!