My poor body - I cannot seem to find the middle of the saddle no matter how many times I reposition myself to the left. I don't know if the right side is so strong that I pull myself over, or when I feel the horse push through my left leg, I automatically shift my weight to the right in an attempt to bring him with me, or I'm just very weak on the left. I do know that when I finally get warmed up and sit up, my upper torso starts to straighten and with concentration, I can stay over my left sitting bone with less effort. The minute I think about anything else, especially in the sitting trot, my right thigh loosens and I'm back to falling off to the right again. How frustrating! Not that this is new, but most all the students have straighter seats here, and I want one too!
Ellen helped me today with schooling, and was moved to say some things were good, so I know I'm headed in the right direction. My back wishes I would get there faster.
Another exercise I saw performed today was canter pirouette between X and M with a flying change at X on the return trip and another pirouette between X and G in the opposite direction, repeated about 6 times. The horse really came to carry himself better on his stiff side and the rhythm also became more consistent, carrying himself in the canter being this particular horse's nemesis. I am gathering information for future installments, so that I can do a brief profile on all the staff here and will give a brief biography on each one as I go along in the next few weeks.
I had another lesson the next day and experimented with sitting tall from my upper torso while keeping my fanny centered. That seemed to position me more correctly, but again, as soon as the concentration went to something else, I was working against myself and my horse. However, again the horse went more round and through and there was even a glimmer of a shoulder-in, so there's hope.
I just finished reading the notes from the USDF symposium on the Dressage un Ltd. website and used some of the concepts in my focus while riding. Having these ideas written helped me to confirm the concepts that Anja and Ellen have been trying to teach me. Next week Mr. Schumacher is back, and I am looking forward to seeing firsthand his concepts put into action. |