New England News and Much More

This weekend in New England I certainly accomplished much. I chose a high school, bought my first three Hagen-Renakers, found patterns for skirts and dresses I'd like to make in the future, and took a few pictures. I don't have as many to share as I would like, but I have a few.

One of the best photo opportunities I met with was at a horse show. We didn't expect to be going to a show this weekend, but when we drove down to ogle Mount Holyoke College's riding facilities we ran right into the midst of one. I got a couple photos, which are probably blurry, and you will get to see them on Saturday or Sunday when I do a picture post about riding.

Hmm... speaking of real horses, I'm extremely stiff. Why? On Tuesday I felt a need to do a lesson without stirrups. Off they came before I even got up on Jones, and to get on him I had to make a big jump. Even after just warming up at the sitting trot I was in pain. This tells me that I need to work on leg strength a lot before I go to many more shows (by the way, our next is two Saturdays from now and is a two-day show). Debbie had more elaborate plans for us than just doing the sitting trot, however. We did sitting trot, posting trot, and canter on Tuesday. Shall we just say... ow.

By the end of the lesson I knew for a fact what is wrong with my leg. It is not strong enough to support itself, so I rely on my stirrups to hold me in position. In order to further secure myself, I keep my hands safely down by Jones's neck, which breaks the ideal straight line that goes from the elbow directly to the horse's mouth.

Keeping my hands by his neck limits my effectiveness when giving directions, as well as making it look as if I'm sitting on my hands. In other words, that's bad. On Saturday we will be jumping, since we'll have a show the weekend after. However, I fully intend to take the saddle off Jones and walk him out bareback, keeping my legs in proper position.

Okay, this turned into something longer than just an explanation for my stiffness (which hopefully stretching will get out). I'll be posting once more today, about some other horse knowledge. I have yet to decide the topic, though.