Today was an interesting day I suppose. I did a bunch of errands and ended up buying a birthday dress from Kauffman's. I hope I'll get to use it when seeing Tarzan on Broadway in 2 weeks!
I rented the Hunter Seat Equitation video from Nedrow Saddlery last week before the horse show, but I did not get a chance to watch it until now. It is a great, short video which explains the basics of equitation and showcases a number of fabulous (and rich) young riders including Jenno Topping and Arianne de Kwiatkowski who did well in junior rider competitions including the Medal /Maclay events. The video is over 20 years old, but the style of riding shown in the film is still proper today, and watching the fabulous young riders in the video really made me want to get out there and ride and practice some more. The main thing the video confirmed my view that when schooling you have to mix it up. Doing the same thing day in and day out is not good for the rider or the horse, and hopefully, I'll be able to do some more advanced and varied things in my upcoming rides. Frank Madden also mentioned how you do not want your horse to anticipate your aids or know what is going to happen next. Several months ago, I had some frustrations with Pepper because he would constantly anticipate the canter before I actually asked him for it. I was told by my instructor that I was being a "control freak" because I would bring him down to a walk and then ask him on my own terms for the canter. If I understand what Frank Madden said in the video, a horse should not do something unless you ask him to do it. Thus, a horse that anticipates what a rider is going to do is not the best thing for that particular rider. Argh!
Anyway, it sometimes is frustrating having been riding for so many years, but still essentially being at the same intermediate level. I don't need to be Greg Best or anything, and I sure as heck don 't have a horse as amazing as Gem Twist was, but I know that I can be better and I will continue to work and grow as an equestrian with what I have been given.
(Photo borrowed from http://www.showjumpinghalloffame.net/inductees/g_twist.htm)
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