Calm, Forward, Straight

Calm, Forward, Straight

Thursday, April 22, 2010

In the Arena #9

"Dive deeply enough into any subject and the questions that shimmer before you are spiritual." Jack Hawley

Today was easily the most frustrating riding session I've had with Val. It culminated with me sitting on his back in the middle of the ring, bawling. (quietly so the neighbors wouldn't hear) I'm embarrassed to admit it but that's what happened.

After I regained my composure, we had a few small successes and quit on a good note. In a weird way, having a mini breakdown was helpful, cathartic. I suspect I was letting go of something... control ?! One of the reasons I love my horse is that he is so patient with me. As I was untacking and cleaning up, he was extra sweet and affectionate... (resulting in extra treats, clever devil)

I stopped at the post office on my way back home and in my p.o. box was the book "Dressage in the Fourth Dimension". My friend and fellow dressage student Nancy had recommended it last week in an email - so off to Amazon.com I went.

This quote really resonated... especially after looking over a number of recent posts I've made:

"When riders obsess over correctly applying physical aids to the exclusion of any other consideration (such as harmony, balance, and so on), they focus on the physical, asking themselves questions like: "Did I give my leg aid at the right moment?" "Was my rein aid too strong?" When this happens, they forget the big picture." Dressage in the Fourth Dimension

I look forward to sharing more of this book in future posts.


                           Always keeping it light, Val grabs my "middle"

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