I Swear I Am Riding

I haven't been writing about riding because not much has happened lately other than a lot of unexpected chaos. The one thing I most value about my summer vacation is the opportunity to settle into a routine of nothing but ho-hum. This summer has been anything but.

• We spent 16 days traveling in Europe.
• Izzy needed a few non-riding days to reconnect with me.
• A crew of tree trimmers was out while I was trying to reconnect.
• My mom came for a visit.
• Izzy stepped on a rock which required a full week to recover.

​Over the past couple of days I feel like I am finally getting into a riding routine, but the one thing that I am missing is lessons. I haven't had a lesson with Sean Cunningham of STC Dressage since the first Saturday in June. He is in the midst of a huge project, so it might be another week or so before we can start up again.

Proof that i am riding.

In the meantime, I am trying to remember what it was we had been working on so hard during the spring. After complaining to Sean some time ago that I always feel like I circle back to basics, he responded that basics are THE BEST. He reminded me that the world's top riders spend a lot of time working on BASICS. So, that's what I have been doing. In each and every ride, I test Izzy's suppleness. Like Sean used to remind me, I ask questions. 

This week, I focused on moving Izzy around in the canter. Since he negatively anticipates the flying change, I've been chipping away at the anxiety by not asking for it. Instead of asking for a change, I ride across a short diagonal, straighten him, and then I continue on in the same lead. Yesterday, Izzy hopped and hopped and finally grunted in exasperation when I had him hold the counter counter. I very politely thanked him for the effort and then asked if he would like to change leads. I sat left with a half halt, and he popped over like it was nothing. Good boy!

Today will be more of the same: basics, transitions, and a lot of not asking.