Sunday, November 16, 2008

Those who can't, Teach

I had a couple coaching sessions scheduled today, but I canceled because my ankle really needed to rest after yesterday's adventure. The weather was amazing, high 60's, sunny, light breeze. I was so annoyed to be down and stuck taking it easy on a day like this.

I decided to coach Kendall. I put Rain on the 45 and practiced getting a good circle with her. Then, I put Kendall on her back and tried to coach her and help her ride better. Now, she rides with gripped legs and toes pointing down. She thinks riding like a jockey is very cool, but I wanted to get her thinking about riding in harmony with the horse, beyond the 2-point. I started to explain "rise and fall with the one on the wall" and then I started helping her learn to ride the canter. I asked her to try to keep her butt in the saddle at the canter.

After some laps thinking about keeping her butt in the saddle, she started to relax her legs and she looked so much better! It was a big change and I look forward to her making more changes and getting her riding really good.

Rain is great with her.

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