One of the many things I greatly appreciate about Sandy as a teacher is that she is on a constant quest for more knowledge; be it by riding in clinics, auditing, reading, or watching online training sessions. Last weekend she audited a Heather Blitz clinic in Ohio, and came back full of new ideas and suggestions. Heather follows Mary Wanless' principles quite closely, which include a lot of visualization. For example, in order to keep my seat bones in the right position Sandy used one of Heather's tips: Imagine there are flashlights in your seat bones, and the light has to shine straight down, not forward or backward.
Also, Sandy observed an exercise that really improved the horse's throughness. So when it was time for my lesson she said "I'm dying to try it out on you": Trot two steps, walk two steps, trot two steps, etc. The key is to keep the horse honestly trotting (no shuffling), and to do crisp transitions from the core. This led to trot two steps, halt, trot two steps, etc. If he runs through the aids, then rein back.
Another thing that Heather mentioned is that the horse's tone and the rider's tone should match. Now, Saumur is one tightly toned sucker... me?? Some room for improvement, especially on the core. The exercise worked really well (I have sore abs to show for today) and Saumur felt awesome. Very light and flowing, everything seemed easy, the 10m canter circles could have easily led into pirouettes, and we also had some nice half-steps. Definitely one of the days where everything just clicked. Being a Type A personality I am hardly ever satisfied with myself. However, yesterday, I have to say, I was happy with myself. I even managed to keep my hands low and quiet, keeping with the mantra "strong shoulders, soft hands".
The evening finished well with Remy's 4th birthday celebration. Luckily we didn't have to hire a clown - he gets a pony tonight. So it was apples and carrots for Remy and his buddy Chambord - and excellent red wine for the grownups.
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