Finally - a glimpse of lightness and "hey, I can ride him"

My lessons with Saumur have been going really well, mainly because Saumur is no longer so anxious and is able to remain relaxed (to his standard) most of the time. And, uh, minor detail, I seem to figure out how to ride him! I him – OK, after what, 13 years?? Better late than never!

Judy has been working with me on “light hands, weight in the saddle, remind him he has hind legs” – which is basic, but very difficult for me to do on Saumur. When Saumur used to get strong my initial reaction used to be to lighten my seat to get off his back, but then make it up with being strong in my arms. Needless to say, things would go downhill from there.

Yesterday we were able to do correct shoulder ins in the trot and canter, and when I kept Saumur engaged and off his forehand (duh), riding him in a light contact, he gave me the most awesome feeling: I had him on my seat! I actually got several “good riding!” out of Judy, and she’s a hard one to please (yep, Jude, and we love you for it J!)

Saumur was one happy dude after the ride, he is so expressive that you always know where you are with him. In this case: Pass the carrots to Saumur, Hanuta to Judy, and Moser Roth to Birgit, please! Oops, and let's not forget the Henri Bardouin for JP (yep, there is something for everyone, although Saumur seems to be the easiest to satisfy: He's happy with  plain carrots!)