Be careful what you wish for - you might get it. In this case, we were wishing for warmer temps. Seems the Universe was listening. The good news: Yes, warmer weather. The bad news: Lots of ice on the ground, and snow and ice coming off the arena roof with loud thuds. Ah, and the timing: I had two lessons today.
Actually, it turned out not being that bad at all. It's always what you make of it. I had to overcome "meinen inneren Schweinehund" (let's just say the polite way to say is I had to overcome some of my apprehensions). All the riders were watching the huge eaves of snow hanging precariously off the roof, clearly visible through the windows.
Sure enough, when it was my turn: Time for the snow to come down. It didn't take long and the loud thuds got Remy to scoot off from under me. Deep breath. Judy gave me the option to quit. Actually, she gave me two options: Either ride with authority or don't ride at all! Makes perfectly sense, of course, Remy needs to know that I believe everything is OK - even though I'd like to jump, too. As Judy put it: "Your seat placed firmly in the saddle is his security blanket". I went down to business, thinking: "OK, Remy, my butt may not be the greatest security blanket, it's perhaps a bit on the bony side; but please take comfort in it anyway".
Andrea came in with Simon, her young horse, also known for 'occasional outbursts of playfulness'. It could have gone either way; Remy and Simon egging each other on, having fun 'hopping' around, or both of them taking comfort in each other. Luckily, it was the latter, much to the relief of their riders. As Andrea mentioned at the end: "That went well, we both survived". Amen, sister!
Ah, but I still had Saumur, and there was plenty of snow left to come down for him. Why should Remy get all the fun, anyway? Saumur: He of the bolting kind. Again, choices: Riding through it or packing it in for the day. Again, buckle down and get through. Actually, we ended up having a 'Lightbulb-Moment-Day': 10 m circles to the left are often a problem because Saumur throws his haunches in. Today was a good day to work on small circles (easier to control a bolt), so we did just that. And wouldn't you know it, I finally figured out where/how to place my left leg so Saumur's haunches are not coming in: More bend in the knee, with the leg further back, and voila! Done deal.
As the saying goes: "Either sh..t or get off the pot!" (Explanation to people not familiar with the expression: It means "Either get the job done correctly, or leave it alone - don't just sit there and do it halfheartedly").
So, to sum it up: I did my business and then I got off the pot. Very relieved - I may say!
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