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Duncan: Lesson #4 w/ Katie, 04/24/08
Duncan: Lesson #4 w/ Katie, 04/24/08
During my last lesson, Duncan was like a horsey zombie; during this lesson, he showed he's still that spunky boy I know him to be! I was happy to see the motivated Duncan resurfacing--but guess who else resurfaced? Those pesky invisible cobras! They showed up just in time to hide under the first jump of the outside line--two jumps which we hadn't gone over before. Katie was shocked when Duncan seemed to commit to the first jump of the outside line but instead screeched to a halt, spun, and took off with me off-kilter. I tried to save it (Frankly, I was worried I was going to land on the little roll-top at the jump's base...) because I felt like I might be able to get my butt back where it belonged, but one odd bounce sent me sailing, spinning, and landing on my back. I got back up, no worse for wear, and gave it another go. I admit it, I should have allowed for the possibility of a repeat performance; I mistakenly anticipated a launcher jump. On the second unplanned dismounting, I had to lay there for a second and do a quick self-assessment: Where am I? At my riding lesson...no longer on my horse...arrrgh. Am I in one piece? Yeah. Might as well get back on and try again! For the third approach, I deliberately stayed BEHIND the motion to ensure I had a definite commitment from Duncan; certainly, this was not pretty jumping, but it is what a good friend of mine refers to as "ugly, but effective." He made one last (successful) attempt at running out on it, but I finally figured out how to sit out the stop-n-spin maneuver, and I got him right back to the fence! (For my next trick, when approaching our next brand-new fence, I'll attempt to prevent it from happening at all!) He improved each time we came to it thereafter, but wow, he was getting a bit head strong from getting all wired about the fence. With Katie's guidance, I will be trying out a new bit with him (strictly for jumping, not flat work). I am proud of how our lesson went, and believe it or not, I really enjoyed myself. He did a great job when he WAS going over the jumps, and I feel like my position is getting more solid. He did a flying lead change to his infamous LEFT lead during our figure eight exercise over the hay bale vertical! Yes! He is getting better about simple changes, too. I have nothing but pride and love for him, my crazy boy! [music by Gnarls Barkley and Puddle of Mudd]
YouTube | April 26, 2008
