A Video of the New Normal

Ever since my ride on Kristen's Mr. P, in which he told me I was carrying a lot of tension in my thighs, my whole riding world has changed.  I really took that lesson to heart.

The best teacher.

Every ride since then has been better and better.  When I relax my seat, I can use it to influence him.  And I sit taller and better.

Not only that, but we haven't had a single incidence of head shaking or getting his tongue over the bit.  We're both so relaxed.  And once he's relaxed and the tempo is even, it feels like I can make anything effortlessly happen from that place - leg yields just feel like they melt effortlessly in either direction instead of taking a lot of effort for example.

But don't take it from me, I have (cell phone, non-Pixio) video.  It's just a few seconds of us trotting at the end of a long lesson, but I am so damn proud of this, because not only have we gotten to this point, we appear to be staying here, because I've been able to get this trot every time I've tried for the last month.  That's just incredible for me, since I usually learn something and then backslide quickly. #slowlearner

It wasn't even the best we got on this particular day, but it still makes my heart happy to see this big of a change in us.  I have two more minutes from this video and it all looks as relaxed and even as this 15 second clip.

Thanks, Mr. P, from both me and Connor.