Cob Jockey

On Monday, Connor and I had a fantastic ride on our own where I did nothing but 20m circles and ride along the rail, focusing on my position.  I really focused on the effectiveness of my seat and legs in the new position we've been working on, and thought about my shoulders moving back, my hands moving forward, and my butt being "in the pocket" of the saddle.

I am woefully low on media from this week, but how bout dat symmetry score!

Our lesson on Tuesday ended up being fantastic.  It's amazing how quickly I can get him to work when I start in a good position.  My trainer immediately commented on how it looked like I was genuinely sitting around him. 

She had us do a quarter turn on the forehand at the walk at each "corner of the square" before trotting off down that leg of the rectangle, which really helped him rock back and lift his front end.

Poor guy gave me a great effort on Monday for a whole hour even though he definitely had to pee

I'm oversimplifying the work right now in order to not lose my position, but my trainer had a good point that I need to make a point to do smaller than 20m circles with him right now, especially in the canter.  We still have problems engaging the inside hind, especially to the left, which I'm sure is partially due to me always sitting to the left and partially because he likes to escape out the right side.

Nobody will complain about more Hank photos!

At the end, we did turn on the forehand to walk pirouette, and I could feel my position start to break down even though it was a great exercise for Connor.  I have to strike a balance between what's necessary for him and what I can do without losing this position that I still very much have to focus on in order to maintain.