Maggie's Lesson Journal
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2/7/2006 - Tuesday, 9AM
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Rode in outdoor arena, using small English saddle
for the first time
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Rode without a martingale; tacked up without help
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Learned about showing - etiquette, no talking in ring,
lineup, fidgeting, etc.
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"Warmed up" in "schooling ring" at a walk and trot
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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)
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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....
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Performed in a mock class, with lineup, walking, trotting,
reverse, walking, trotting, lineup, back up
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Practiced quick rider changes with Annica in preparation
for the show
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1/19/2006 - Thursday, 9AM
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Rode outdoors, in the outdoor arena, for the first
time in a while because of weather conditions
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Warmed up at the walk, going both directions
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Walked over poles/crossrails in both directions, learned
not to look at the poles but ahead of them
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Learned about gaited and trotting horses, "boneshakers"
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Went solo on posting trot, around the arena a number
of times
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Worked on not holding onto the saddle when trotting,
in order not to tip balance forward
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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
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Did well with keeping Prissy at a steady pace and
still trotting, while posting...lower leg still needs work, but improving a lot
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Learned show rules....what's expected, what the judges
are looking for
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Learned the aids and cues for riding
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Incredible determination to learn and improve....such
drive is amazing and can only help with riding in the future.
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11/10/2005 - Thursday, 10AM
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Rode outdoors, English saddle/bridle, with martingale
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Warmed up at the walk
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Learned to count the steps (1,2,1,2...) and to tell
which foot is stepping out first, from stop and from backing
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Walked over poles and was able to tell without looking
which foot went first
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Worked on sitting trot a lot - lower leg really unstable,
flops around too much
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Stood at the halt and walk to find alignment
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Trotted on the lunge line with feet out of stirrups,
holding the saddle to find the rhythm
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Worked on dropping/picking up stirrups
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Learned the emergency stop in order to learn to sit
back when shifting gears, not sit forward
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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
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Halted to find alignment whenever balance was thrown
off
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Did well with looking up and forward instead of down
at the horse's head
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Learned about alignment and importance of body weight
in cuing the horse
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Work on keeping a steady pace without breaking gait
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Learned to extend the walk
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11/3/2005 - Thursday, 9AM
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Worked in outdoor arena, rode first, English saddle/bridle
w/martingale
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Warmed up at the walk, did figure eights and standing
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Worked on slow sitting trot, and keeping Priss at
a steady pace without breaking gait
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Practiced rising trot a lot, staying at a steady pace
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Not worrying about diagonals at this point
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Worked on leg/foot position
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Weaved in and out of cones
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Did well on rising trot, but need to move waist/hips/upper
body out of saddle without moving lower leg out of position
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Good job, Maggie!
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10/20/2005 - Thursday, 9AM
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Rode in round pen, using English saddle, no martingale
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Did an absolutely fantastic job when learning to stand
in the stirrups!
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Found balance very quickly with very little help
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Learned to move quietly with the horse, while standing
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Learned to stop and start while standing, and usually
maintained balance there
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Excellent leg position and timing when maneuvering
cones and obstacles
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Again, I'm very impressed, Maggie, and very, very
proud of you! You're an excellent student!
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10/13/2005 - Thursday, 10AM
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Rode using a bareback pad for the first time
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Learned to walk and balance without holding on to
the horse or pad, concentrated on the correct posture and sitting deep in the saddle
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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
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Stayed very well balanced and over the center of the
horse
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Learned very quiet, subtle cues
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Great Job, Maggie!
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9/22/2005 - Thursday, 10AM
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Skipped a week because of Prissy's lost shoe
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Priss was really stubborn - she didn't want to do
the same thing again that she'd already done
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Good job keeping Priss trotting
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Posting needs more work - keep practicing!
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Cantering was good - stayed in the saddle nicely,
although more work is needed on staying in the canter and continuing around a corner
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Did well with cone collecting and bucketball
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Went down the trails afterwards to finish off riding
the cranky horse
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Don't get discouraged...practice makes perfect!!
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9/8/2005 - Thursday, 9AM
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Rode in new arena for the first time
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Worked on balance and keeping Prissy on the rail despite
rough terrain, huge rocks, and uneven footing
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Getting better every day at posting trot - worked
in round pen because of footing in the arena
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In arena, set up six cones and worked on walk/halt/walk/halt
patterns
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Learned how to ask for a halt without leaning forward
or heels coming up
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Worked on walk/halt/back/walk combos as well, and
changing the pattern around
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Learned to clean stalls, rake the aisles, fill the
water buckets
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Took off saddle and ran up stirrups all alone!!
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Yay Maggie!
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