Use the whole saddle

At the warm up area by the dressage rings. It was the hottest it's been for riding so far this year. A painted turtle was laying her eggs on the long side of the ring by the woods; she'd dug her nest and already laid two by the time we tacked up and rode down. Tony and the dogs hung around the area so we wouldn't inadvertently ride roughshod (literally!) over her and the eggs. She finished laying her eggs and left without burying her cache. Tony finished her business by lightly filling in the hole with arena dirt, and marked the area with a couple of large sticks. Hope those eggs hatch before the end of the month, elsewise they may yet get trampled by the DQs and their steeds at the big dressage show.

No real new news; I'm still very stiff in my shoulders, arms and hips. I continue to fight Mico during the initial warm up phase. I do medium walk work and try to encourage him to stretch over his topline before gathering him up and moving into the working trot. Sometimes it takes me quite a while until I get myself relaxed or at least soft enough to get Mico to come through. Usually I'm the last one of the three of us to pick up the trot during warm up. It doesn't bother me. I don't feel comfortable working at a faster gait until I get some half-halts working. I've started doing some simple leg yielding to get myself more coordinated in the aids. Otherwise, Mico pulls me along.



I'm learning how to push the issue and get more correct work rather than trying to sit perfectly and maintain the facade of looking good. I'm slowly becoming less perchy and more effective; in the past couple of months I've started to get my lower leg underneath me and in contact with Mico's sides, instead of bracing them forward in the safety position. It's not even near 100%, but it is something.

At the trot I tried to work on bending lines and circles. I've been trying to use my upper body more‚ I'm really noticing how stiff I am, especially to the left. I do have a left seatbone, after years of trying to get it connected to the seat of the saddle. It wasn't until last Thursday's lesson with Janet that I actually started to sit in the correct place on the saddle. Meaning, I am learning that I don't have to ride the pommel and have my knees pinched on the very edge of the knee roll! I can use the whole saddle! When that happened, I could feel both my seatbones come into pretty even contact with the saddle. I'm starting to get off this plateau of training level dressage.

The canter work has deteriorated somewhat, especially going to the left. I have to be organized and soft enough to slide Mico into the canter imperceptibly, but since last week I've been allowing him to run into the left canter‚ a perfect example of needing to push the issue and not accept status quo. I actually did quite a bit of canter work, first to the right, then coming back to the trot and trying to get myself and Mico organized as quickly as possible, change rein, and work on the left canter. We finally had a couple of good departs, and I ended on that note.



I'm starting to feel more positive and realistic about how I ride, now that the weather has settled down and I'm not falling prey to inertia, I've been riding consistently. Katrina and I sent our entries in for the Kingsbury horse trials at the end of July, that gives me a month and a half or so to get myself and Mico well prepared and polished for our rides there. We're going to the Green Acres three phase this Sunday to get a little mileage beforehand. The Malfunctioning Misfits event team were supposed to have their official debut there, but since Christine broke her leg, they may be on hold for a while. I feel really bad for her, a sinking feeling in my chest, but her misfortune means that I have the opportunity to get some hours in the saddle on Irish, and hopefully educate my seat more. And get me used to riding a larger horse again, there is no way little brother Keane is going to finish less than 15.2 hands.