Let's Do This

Blogger is still being a complete and utter PITA - I tried to blog Saturday after my lesson and it glitched out and wouldn't let me start a new post and told me my blog had no posts, so that was a fun time. So here's my obligatory post about how much I hate it. Legit considering switching to WordPress at this point..... And I HATE WordPress so you know things are truly dire. 

Anyway, I digress. I had a really awesome lesson Saturday. DH drove me (he wanted to see how the truck pulled, and the answer was perfectly ♥️), so he got to see Emmy in a lesson, which I'm not sure has happened in.... Months? After we got warmed up, I asked TrainerB if we could run through 3-1 cold just to confirm where the giant holes were - of course I had my suspicions that ended up being correct, but it was mostly a fact finding mission lol. 

Predictably, the changes were disastrous 🤣 they exist, but they are not clean or completely on the aids right now, but we worked on them throughout the lesson and they definitely got better, which was encouraging. The turn on the haunches were also a hot mess - the turn to the left exists, but to the right she wants to fishtail the hind out and turn on the forehand instead. TrainerB wryly commented that she knows Emmy is capable of putting her haunches in since that's something we're still addressing in the right lead canter, but in the walk she's like nah imma fling them out. 

The medium trot is still hit and miss - we unlocked a whole new gear in warm up at the show, but I cannot get it consistently yet 🤣 so we'll keep plugging away! But the half pass was easy once I figured out how to ride it (and which direction I needed to go lolol).

But ultimately.... 3-1 felt... Attainable? WHO AM I AND WHAT ALIENS HAVE BRAIN SWAPPED ME 😱 don't get me wrong we have soooooooo much work today (including lots of conditioning!) but like... It doesn't terrify me? 

Enjoy some video clips 😁 disclaimer - I am PAINFULLY AWARE that in some moments she is balled up and BTV - had a chat about that at the end of my lesson with TrainerB. I'm still getting used to riding in the double, so I'm sure at times I am contributing, but we're stepping up the expectations and doing harder things and we're both trying to figure things out. Don't @ me about it, I know we're not perfect 🤣 but it's something I am aware of and actively trying to fix. 

Highlights include me getting lost in the first half pass and not being able to figure out where the letter I was riding to was 🤣

More work on changes. We had a few instances when she changed in the front and then we had a few awkward strides of cross cantering before the back caught up. I'm only working on changes in lessons, way too much margin of error for me to try alone at home! 

Half pass 🤣 the dialogue had me in stitches later. 

But it got better! 

And better!! We ended on this note and she got alllllll the pats and cookies. 

Looking forward to another lesson this weekend!

WW: How it Started

Facebook has been showing me a lot of photos from early on in my dressage adventures, and I'm so grateful to get a chance to see how far I've come. 

I can't wait to see where I am in another decade! 

New Whip, Who Dis?

It's been a while since I posted pictures of the rig, and since we changed things up, I figured it was time to post an updated version of the Blog Hop: Truck and Trailer Set Up. 

The ol' trailer isn't looking too bad for 25 years! Now that we have the dressing room renovated into the weekender, the only things still on my wish list are a hydraulic or electric jack, and WERM flooring in the horse compartment (okay also maybe insulation and fans lol). I think DH will be doing WERM for my birthday this year, so fingers crossed 🤞

While I was gone this weekend in Georgia, he also took the opportunity to replace all the reflective stickers and paint the hubs (since I am incapable of keeping hubcaps on it ). Not too shabby!