Getting into The Stride

Another dry autumn day arrived yesterday and I got to the yard on time, brushed my tall, white, friend and bridled him up. We set off on the road route and my position on him felt as amazing as it had on the coloured gelding on Sunday. My trots were forward and we felt very together on this ride. On my first attempt at a canter, my instructor told me to try it on my own, I had a few fabulous strides and lost my right stirrup and so we tried again, just getting a rushed, forward trot. I clearly wasn't giving him enough to go into canter and he was testing my authority a little and looking for my instructor. Riding is a path of trust and although he trusts me in walk and trot to give him the signals he needs to keep us both safe, our cantering relationship is still new and not quite there so he was still looking to my instructor for guidance and she was behind us so he chose to take over and do his own thing which is not what we want. We carried on the route and had some more good trots and I felt my confidence was growing even more. On our second visit to a cantering ground, she asked me to go again and sitting up straight, hands forward and down, I gave him a huge squeeze, pushed with my seat and off we went into a beautiful, unified canter. I was so much in my seat, my heels totally taking my weight and my body moving with my lovely friend. It was amazing and the most amazing part was I did that. No one was at the side of me, leading or encouraging my friend to do what I asked, I gave him the signal and he listened and off we cantered in a beautiful horse and rider dance. I was so thrilled and once we returned to a trot, slowed him to a walk and gave him the biggest pat and well done I could. I'm loving this journey so much and feeling I'm ready for anything. I know it'll still have its ups and downs but now it's feeling like I'm becoming a real horse rider. My instructor is slowly letting the reins go and standing back and watching what she has so amazingly helped me to achieve, a dream I had so long ago and I am so thankful to her and the lady who has the school for giving me this chance to prove I can do it. I just hope I keep on achieving something good where horses are concerned. The relationship I have with these amazing creatures is so dearly treasured and I'm so honoured to be given the opportunity to try and achieve my own dreams as well as knowing the privilege of being a horse and rider team. After our lovely successful canter, we headed back to the road and did some amazing trot to halt and halt to trot transitions. I am getting him more directly into a trot and also pulling him to a halt successfully more efficiently each time. I did lose that blasted right stirrup again which was strange, haven't lost a stirrup in trot for a long time. But soon was trotting off again and halting well. We arrived back to the stables and I untacked him, put on his stable rug and helped fill up his hay net. He and a few other horses then enjoyed a lovely apple I'd brought for them. So until Sunday, as that is when my next lesson is, Thanks for reading, Marie