I had my first riding lesson of 2009 and it was a good lesson! I made the conscious effort to warm up before I headed to the stables in hope that I wouldn’t be so stiff in the saddle. I think I looked slightly odd marching on the spot and throwing my hands above my head in a vague attempt to recall the routines I did in previous aerobic sessions!
My instructor was double booked so I had another lady teach me. I was back on Topes and as I did some walk and halt transitions I explained to the instructor my ambitious attempt at a horse share. She said that I may have overhorsed myself and probably knocked my confidence as a result, (the horse was 17hh!). I didn’t think overhorsing yourself included getting a horse too big but clearly I’ve managed it!
Talking of knocked confidences, I mentioned to the instructor my problems with my canter and the number of falls I had recently from the downward transitions to trot. Cue lots of flatwork without stirrups! As we attempted canter on the right rein with no stirrups I ended up going round and round the school bobbing on top of an accelerating and deccelerating horse! Paranoid my leg muscles are non-existent, my squeezing just made Topaz trot faster and faster! Eventually we managed about three strides of canter before she broke off, so we switched the rein to have a go on the other rein. Maybe it was all the squeezing that did it, or the thought of sitting to a fast trot without stirrups for another 15 minutes that put me off but thanks I managed to get Topes into canter after a few strides in trot! We tried it again just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and I managed it again! I can’t say if my seat was any good, (and probably wasn’t fantastic with the amount of leg I was using to keep the horse cantering!) but it certainly built on my confidence, particularly as I didn’t fall off at all during the downward transitions.
I have another lesson to look forward to next week, so fingers cross we can nail my seat in canter!
Things to Work on
- Squeeze with lower leg/calf and remember to lift diaphragm.
- When going into canter avoid lifting hands up for balance.
- When doing circles remember to use the outside leg and bring it back slightly for guidance
- Keep reins short to maintain contact, no matter how much Topaz pulls!
- Stick hands more forward in jumping positions
I apologise for my lack of posts – it’s been particularly busy in the office and I didn’t manage to squeeze myself in for a lesson with my instructor. But desperate to get my equine fix I decided to advertise myself as a ‘confident novice’ looking for a horse share in my area. Now I’ve been riding for three years and have helped out at lots of different yards. I can tack up and untack, groom horses, rug up, catch them from the field and help out during riding lessons with beginners. I felt relatively confident in my ability but I don’t think I’m ready to shed the umbrella term ‘novice’. So when a lady got in touch with me with a possible horse share that was ideal for a competent novice I jumped at the chance to see it.
The day I arrived at the yard, everything seemed just right. Everyone was very friendly and smiled and greeted me. The owner was extremely friendly and laid back and the horse was absolutely lovely. She was easy to catch, easy to lead, stood still to be tacked up and extremely forward going when I rode her. If I had to sign the contract there and then I would have certainly jumped to the chance! But I decided it was a good idea to go back and have a second look another day just to make sure everything was as good as it was that day.
Come the second day and everything went wrong! I was left to catch the horse myself in the field, which was not a problem but I could not get her to budge! I couldn’t lead her out of the field and I was stood tugging and tugging for 15 minutes before the owner came to give me a hand – how embarassing! Next I had trouble tacking up the horse as I could not reach up to put the saddle on or stick the bridle on! Before I thought if this could become even more embarassing the horse wouldn’t stand at the mounting block for me no matter how much I tugged at the reins! The horse is lovely, if a little big for me but the experience certainly taught me that I am no where near as experienced as I thought I was. I feel less confident in myself and think I need a good few years before I should even consider a horse share again. I am so envious of people who have grown up with horses and have gained so much experience. I have no horsey friends and I have no horsey contacts and with a full time job that also involves working at the weekend, it’s very hard to squeeze in my horsey fix.
Let’s hope things will perk up soon!
Filed under: Riding Lesson | Tags: cantering, cross poles, horse, jumping, lesson, riding
I had my first private lesson in weeks today, as my instructor works part time on the yard and is very popular with the riders! When I tried to book another private lesson with her I was told she was fully booked up in the evenings until the end of January!
So why is Jenny so popular? Not only is she extremely friendly and approachable but she is also a great instructor. I feel motivated by her in my lessons and she does her best to push me, (and I think I need a lot of pushing too!). So today’s lesson built on the last one I had and we did a bit of flat work and lots of transitions before trying some jumps to help me work out canter strides and when to fold and when to sit back. She placed two small cross poles one stride apart and I managed to go over them pretty well on the left rein after some practise. The first time I jumped the poles I didn’t put enough leg on and Topaz took half a stride before taking off for the judge leaving me very unbalanced! Thankfully I stayed on and managed to go with the flow quite nicely.
But trouble began to brew as we tried her on the right rein, which is her weaker rein. We were turning too quickly into the fences, so she wasn’t straight and she ran out a good few times when we tried it again and again. There was so much to think about, (as there always is) and I was busy trying to sort out which reins to pull on and which legs to use that I’m surprised I didn’t manage to fall off!
By the end of the lesson I had managed to jump two straight poles that were 2ft 3in high which is probably one of the biggest things I have ever jumped, (except for a huge log I had to jump back in Cardiff the second day after I had learnt how to jump as well!)
Overall it was a brilliant and fun lesson which left me wanting to go back for more, (which I think most lessons should do). However Jenny has assured me it’ll be lots of flat work next week to work on my approach to fences as I seem to lack control in canter! Next lesson is the following Thursday so I hope I won’t forget everything I’ve learnt in today’s lesson!
Filed under: Riding Lesson
I’ve been very quiet recently as I’ve been out of the saddle for a while. This is not due to any injuries thankfully but that I have gotten myself my first job and spent the last couple of months finding a new flat and moving. I’m now settled in my new job and finally had my much overdue riding lesson!
I went for lesson at a yard called Willow Farm and managed to get there nice and early despite getting lost! I rode a horse called Topaz who was a little sluggish and cheeky and there was much tail swishing when she wouldn’t trot on for me. My new instructor, called Jenny, got me to do some flat work in walk, trot and canter to check my position and riding ability. She also helped me with the tension I often get in my shoulder, particularly in canter, and stretching out my hips to improve my leg position.
Topaz has the loveliest trot and canter I have sat on for a while and could easily sit to her trot without any stirrups. It certainly makes a change the bouncy gaits of Buck and Sammy! Towards the end of the lesson, Jenny got me to jump a cross pole in trot, which Topaz refused first time round, which is unusual for her! Admittedly I didn’t have enough leg on, and thankfully when we went round to do it again, she jumped it nicely. We did it again in the other rein and even managed to pop a straight jump in canter, which I’ve never done before. Although my stirrups were a bit long, thankfully I didn’t lose my stirrups nor did I get left behind or fall off. Jenny counted the strides in for me which helped, as I can’t seem to judge strides when jumping, and the lesson certainly made me want to go back and get another lesson!
Willow Farm do private lessons in the evening, which is brilliant for me as I work until 5pm during the week. I’m hoping to book myself in for another lesson, although there’s a bit of a waiting list to get Jenny to teach me again. I’m off to Addington next weekend for the Dressage to Music Finals, which I’m really looking forward to. I’ll be working as a dressage writer for the Quadrille semi-finals and will take plenty of photos to pop on this blog!
Things to work on:
- Use more leg in canter
- Remember to pull legs back throughout the lesson
- Relax and pull shoulders back when riding, especially in canter
- Keep elbows back
- Keep stirrups on the balls of my feet
- If on the right rein, pull right shoulder back slightly when turning, and vice versa for the left rein
I’ve been taking time off riding as I’ve been home to seen my family. So imagine my surprise today when I had my Sunday afternoon group lesson and heard the riders had been working on canter strike offs and cross country!
I was given Sky to ride today, who I’ve never ridden before, as I’m pretty sure they reserve her for grade 3+ riders. A bit worried she might be difficult to ride, one of the girls told me she was a lovely mare to ride. Just as well really as the class voted Sky as lead file as they believed she was the most forward going horse in class. I personally would have voted for Millie, who I rode in my last lesson and is THE fastest little pony I have ever ridden! She’s so fast that usually when we are trotting in open order she has to come in on the inner track as she walks and trots so quickly!
Today’s lessons was working on rhythm, which was extremely useful. We did some work without stirrups in trot and one by one cantered around the inner track randomly to see if we could develop a balanced and rhythmic canter. Sky cantered wonderfully and the teacher said she had a good balanced canter. Although she did seem to want to join every one else who were walking around the outside track, thankfully she did listen to my legs and hands. When Beth, the instructor introduced a cross pole on the inside track for us to canter across, Sky did as she was told and I certainly didn’t feel like I was going to fall off and felt out of control. Unfortunately for one rider, his pony continuously refused to jump the cross pole, despite getting faster and faster in canter every time they made the pony come round again. It seems as though the pony is just as quick to slam on her brakes as she is to canter around the school! Thankfully the boy managed to get the pony to jump the poles after following a tiny pony!
I’ve booked myself a private hour lesson with Glo again next week as I think time off the saddle has made me lazy and slightly more weary about falling off. But I have a job interview tomorrow with the British Horse Society to work on their magazine so I’m really looking forward to that. Hopefully I’ll be able to find myself a job combining my journalism skills with my passion for horses and riding!
Things to work on
- Keep elbows back and shorten the reins during walk
- Fold during take off, not before
- Use the outside leg more when turning to avoid letting the horse drift across
- Stretch legs down during canter
- Change whip after a change of rein, not during the change of rein when crossing the middle of the school
- Do not take the reins of a martingale bridle over the horses head when leading!
Filed under: Riding Lesson
Today, I said some words I thought I would never say. I said “I would rather ride Dylan, than ride Zeb”! Dylan, as cute as he is, is an incredibly lazy horse but nothing comes near the laziness Zeb exudes when you ride him. Glo told me when I was first given to ride him that Zeb is naturally set like that: quite slow and ploddy. Towering over me with a height of at least 16hh, my legs felt quite dwindly by his sides. And as I tried to warm up during the first 10 minutes of my lesson I hadn’t quite remembered just how lazy Zeb was!
I probably managed about three strides in trot after much kicking and whipping and the minute Zeb goes into trot and I start rising he decides to slow back down into walk. When everyone turned in so the instructor could brief us on our lesson, she told me to go on round until I managed to get canter out of Zeb. It was highly embarassing as there were lots of parents watching and I was circling round the group desperately trying to keep Zeb out on the track and get him to at least canter on one rein. At one point I managed to get through and got a canter stride out of him but that was about as much as I could get out of Zeb.
During the lesson we did some working trot and cantering to the back of the ride. I think I managed a couple of strides in canter but that was pretty much it. By this point though the rain had stopped and we went outside to do some grid work. The teacher had hoped we would walk around the school with each person trotting the poles in the middle of the school and cantering them. The poles were laid out so that in order to go over them, we would have to ride a figure of eight. The thought of trying to complete a course of poles in canter made me lose hope completely. I genuinely thought I should just give up as I don’t think I could even manage to get over the grids in trot, let alone canter. And as each student had a go, it was my turn to perform my figure of eight. To my utter surprise, Zeb actually perked up and listened to my legs really well. I managed to ride deep into the corners so I could tackle the poles head on and he was extremely forward going: probably the fastest I have ever felt him trot! Emily said that Zeb probably livens up a bit during jumping and grid work as he finds going around the school in circles rather boring. I was utterly surprised that he could go so well and was quite pleased that I was able to get something out of my lesson.
Unfortunately we ran out of time so we couldn’t tackle the poles in canter. But the lesson gave me a chance to really think how I should be sitting, particularly in trot when I need to sit back in order to to put my leg on and get some impulsion from the horse. There were a few occasions when it felt like Zeb did listen to my legs when I was leaning back a bit more in trot. The lesson certainly made me think how my body should be when riding a slower moving horse. While Zeb is no dressage horse for sure, I’m sure he makes a lot more effort during the jumping lessons.
Things to Work On
- Lean back more during walk and pull arms back, keeping elbows bent
- When riding Zeb, do not have a firm contact as this will normally slow him back down to walk
- When jumping make good use of the school and ride deep into corners and the track
- Rules of jumping: impulsion, straightness (and some others which I can’t remember, but will add here soon!)
Filed under: Riding Lesson
My car’s battery had died and luckily I found out last night before attempting to get to the stables today! So I had to make do with the bus and I was so busy looking at houses for sale that I missed my bus stop! I ended up having to walk all the way down a hill and make my way to the stables despite all the fencing Cardiff County Council has decided to erect, so my journey took me twice as long as it normally would!
Today I was given Seta to ride, which was extremely nice as Seta is a forward going and honest ride. I did notice that I was originally suppose to ride Maverick. Although he’s a livery horse he can also be a bit slow, and I felt extremely guilty for being given Seta as it meant the newest member of group three was given Maverick and I’m pretty sure he’s been given a lot of the slower horses for his past few lessons.
While there was a bit of light rain, the weather was incredibly humid and sticky. Seta came straight from another lesson so I didn’t want to push her too much as I can imagine she’s feeling pretty tired. After a bit of a warm up, we went outside to do a bit of jumping. The class had about 8 riders and while we were going round in trot we had to maintain a jump position as each lead person cantered to the back of the ride. My calf muscles certainly felt like they’ve had the biggest stretch in years and I was bright red by the time we could go down to walk. But we were told to change the rein to repeat the whole thing on the other rein and I think I was ready to collapse by the end of it!
After much practise with our jump seat, we progressed to trotting over some poles and cantering over them invidivually. While Seta trotted over the poles nicely, I had huge problems with her in canter. I recall riding her before and couldn’t get her to canter, because I have a habit of tensing which also gets her worked up. It didn’t help that the turning to the poles was extremely sharp, so when Seta cut across the cones we completely missed the poles! Emily, the instructor, made me go round again and while I managed to balance Seta and get her into canter, she cut across the cones again and although she managed to get over the poles, she broke down trot. And this was in front of all the riders who have a median age of 13!
Emily converted the last set of poles into a cross fence and we were allowed to decide if we wanted to go over it in canter or trot. Thinking that Seta gets a bit worked up and unbalanced in canter, I decided to go over it in trot, which thankfully went quite well, although I folded too quickly. I think I have problems judging strides, especially in canter, and I can’t judge when a horse is about to take off. But this was sorted when Emily put another cross fence up, so I would be jumping two fences in a row. With the first fence I think I may have folded too quickly again, but when I sat down after it and folded it again the movement felt much smoother – a feeling I must remember when I jump again!
I later found out that Seta doesn’t really do canter as her canter is unbalanced. I suspect it didn’t help that I don’t rider canters very well either! With the last week of my course approaching, (an exam every day – eek!) I’m hoping to find myself a job that will give me some time (and money!) to start my private lessons with Glo again.
As I was leaving the yard I overhear an instructor tell a girl that they are going to move her up from grade three plus to grade four, much to her excitement. Might I add that the girl was about 8!
Things to Work On
- Keep heels DOWN
- Do not fold too soon!
- Get a trot to canter transition in a jump seat: if a horse is listening to your leg, there is no need to sit down to get canter
Filed under: Stable Management
I managed to get as much of my coursework finished this week so I could head down to the stables on Friday to help out, and just as well I did! It turns out they were a little short staffed that day and were glad to see me, although they were wondering if Glo might have sent me to help out!
I was a bit reluctant to go down to the stables because in the past when I’ve helped out at different stables I’m usually left to wander around the yard by myself with no clue of what I had to do. Thankfully, Maxine, one of the working students kept an eye on me all day.
So first things first? Well I arrived a little late, at 11:30 and spent a good hour sweeping up the yard, which was so tiring! It didn’t help the sun had decided to come out and I was bright red by the time we had finished sweeping the whole yard! I then had a lunch break and spent it watching Jane teach a private lesson.
I like watching other people ride as I like to see how everyone else rides and how they handle the horses they’re on. This particularly lesson was interesting because the rider had the complete opposite problem to me in canter: he literally turns to jelly and wobbles from his middle up to his head! Glo is always telling me to loosen up a bit and it’s interesting to see the other extreme people can have too. The rider fell off during the start of his lesson as well, because the horse he was riding tripped in canter and got a little unsettled and sped up. I’m not entirely sure what I would have done in his situation, but I probably would have fallen off as well! Luckily he rolled and didn’t seem too hurt.
After a quick bite to eat and a nosey at other people’s lessons I went back out to see what else needed doing. Maxine tells me at this point in the day they go round and poo pick the stalls. So armed with a straw fork and a wheelbarrow I promptly went round the back of the yard to clear out the stables.
Now the last yard I worked at, we often stuck headcollars on the horses, tied them outside the stables and went in to clear the stables. So working around the horses was a new experience to me. Working around Charlie, Sammy and Sam was nice and easy, as they’re one of the most docile horses around. But when I went into Seta’s stable to see if there was any piles of poo she pulled a face at me, pinned her ears back and swiftly stuck her bum in my face! Not wanting to be kicked on my first day helping out I swiftly ran out of the stables, giving a Seta a good telling off! Embarassingly there was a little girl who was helping out at the yard, who looked about 10, and she had overheard me in the stable next door as she was tacking up a pony. She asked me if everything was okay and I cooly replied Seta was just pulling faces at me! Thankfully the other ponies were okay to muck out, although when I approached Gypsie, who for some reason was being kept in Bubbles’s stable, she had other plans in mind! As I stuck the wheelbarrow in front of the stables door and tried to clean around Gypsie, she was knocking the door wide open. I’m pretty sure I was told to keep an eye on Gypsie and for good reason as well. After closing the door against the wheelbarrow for the sixth time, the minute I turned my back and tried to finish clearing the stall Gypsie had opened the door again and decided to go for walkies! I called out to Ann who ran off to get some feed to tempt her back into her stable. I ran after Gypsie, who trotted off, clearly not wanting to be stuck inside all day and went round the back to say hello to her friends! Thankfully Ann managed to get hold of her and get her back into her stable. Just my luck to have a pony that decided to run out! But when I mucked out Queenie’s stall, a pony of about 13hh, the door was wide opened half the time I was there and she patiently stood still waiting for me to finish poo picking.
Working on the yard made me realise that while I wouldn’t enjoy riding the likes of Sammy and would much prefer riding someone like Seta who is forward going, I feel more confident being around Sammy than I do around Seta. At least with Sammy I know he’s not going to bite or kick and will patiently wait for me to do whatever I need to do. Having said that, Charlie has a heart of gold as well as I feel confident around him and he’s a grade three horse.
The last thing I had to do on the yard was tacking up the horses for the evening classes. Surprisingly it was much easier than I remember it was. I remember working on a yard for my NVQ in Horse Care and we were told to catch a horse, unrug it, groom it and tack up according to industry standard. This means doing everything in 5 minutes and it took me an hour! But maybe because I’ve done some tacking up and grooming in the past but I found it extremely easy to do, which gave me a confidence boost knowing that my stable management skills aren’t as bad as I thought they were!
Maxine suggested coming in for the student working days, which is 8 – 4 as this includes an hour’s lecture and a riding lesson as well. Hopefully if I get my work done for next week, I’ll be able to pop back down to the yard again and perhaps do something more adventurous: like clipping!
Filed under: Riding Lesson
The weather has been so lovely recently, but probably not the best for riding! As I sat in the school and watched some of the grade twos ride, you could really feel the humidity. I hate to think how some of the horses feel in their stables!
Nevertheless I had a pleasant ride today as I was given Prince to ride – the stables’ latest addition to its herd. He’s probably just under 15hh and possibly dun in colour, (he had a black mane and tale and browney chestnut body) and seemed very honest as I got him to jump a cross pole for me.
Today’s lesson we did a lot of transitional work during our warm up outside. This could be why Prince responded quite well to me as we spent about five minutes doing walk and halt transitions, (and he halted for me a good few times) before doing walk to trot transitions and I even managed to go from trot to walk on Prince as well. I’m not entirely sure if I would have got the same response from riding Dylan!
Next we did some work without stirrups or reins and thankfully I managed to stay on, although Prince has a smooth trot and I didn’t bounce around too much. I was a bit reluctant to go into canter without stirrups but Prince’s canter and trot is so smooth I managed to sit nicely on him and not bob around too much! I didn’t get a chance to try Wiola’s tips on shifting my thighs back so hopefully I’ll get time to try them out in my next lesson.
Today’s instructor was Helen, who I’ve never met. She seemed very nice and told me she had never taught a class with Prince in. And since I had never ridden Prince before it was going to be a learning curve for both of us! But Helen was a bit quiet when she watched me ride so I’m not entirely sure if this meant my riding was okay or atrocious!
After a sweaty hour with a bit of jumping at the end, the horses were allowed a bit of a hose down before being put away. As I got Prince out of his stables to give him a hose, one of the stable girls told me to avoid getting his saddle area wet and just to hose down his legs. But Prince didn’t seem to like to cold water splashing against his legs, despite the heat of the sun. As I tried to aim the hose closer to his legs, (he was shifting further and further back!) the hose gave way a bit as it was stuck under a bucket and I accidentally sprayed Prince’s belly with cold water – he did not look amused! After pulling some faces at me, I managed to get him back into his stable and left him in peace!
Things to Work On
- Don’t cut corners too quickly when approaching jumps.
- Use outside leg more when turning otherwise the horse will swing wide
- More leg is needed on approach of jump – Prince ran out of steam just before the cross pole and walked over it!
- Do lots of halt/walk transitions before attempting anything in trot.
Filed under: Riding Lesson
I’ve written this blog entry a little late as I’m currently nursing a bruised back and exceedingly sore bottom. Read on to find out why…!
This week’s private lesson was with Peter for an hour as Glo had gone off to Badminton. I was put on Bess which I was pleased about, because if Glo isn’t around, I’m often stuck on the slowest horses and Glo sometimes swaps them around for me.
Peter, as the one instructor said, seemed to have verbal diarrhea with me that day as he hadn’t stopped talking the minute I sat on my pony! This surely can’t be a good sign if Peter has to continuously tell me what to do! The problem stemmed from the fact that I had problems getting Bess to listen to me when I asked for a halt. Peter told me to stop sitting on her looking pretty and to do something with the reins. I thought I was but I was trying to deepen my seat as I’ve always believed that if you have a good seat, a horse will listen to it and you won’t have to use the reins so much. I remember one instructor back in Essex telling me of a rider who could ride a horse without any reins because it responded completely to her seat. How amazing is that! But Peter tells me that I’m not at the level to do that yet, and because I only ride riding school horses, they need to learn to listen to my aids and sometimes this might involve a giant yank at the reins if they won’t listen.
Oh dear – this seems a bit deja vu to me! Sarah, who taught me in my last private lesson also told me to be more firm with the horses and this is something Glo is always harping on about to me. I think I feel that in order to ride well, I shouldn’t have to kick and use the whip all the time, (and sometimes it feels like I have to with certain horses!). Nevertheless I managed to make some progress with Bess in our walk to halt transition, so we stepped up the mark and worked on walk to trot transitions and working on riding into the corners as well, (which is a lot harder than it looks!)
Peter also explained to me the whole idea of riding a horse up into a contact – something I thought I’ve always been doing but it seems like I haven’t been. The lesson worked out pretty well and I managed to get Bess riding nice and straight and into the contact as well as riding deeply into the corners. I managed it a bit in canter, which is great considering I usually have no direction or steering in canter! My seat is deepening although Peter says I’m still extremely stiff in my upper body.
So after a nice lesson with some improvements, Peter told me to cross my stirrups so I could do some work without them in the last 10 minutes. This is something I’ve been wanting to do since Peter last taught me and told me that riding without stirrups should hopefully improve my seat in canter. However, as I was trotting along nicely with Bess, Peter told me to make a 20 metre circle at one end of the school. As I got to the centre of the school, Bess thought I wanted a change of rein and started veering right. Desperate to correct her without causing her to jump as she’s extremely forward going, I must’ve either given her a kick or yanked the reins as she suddenly turned left and I swung off behind her, smacking into the wall of the school and landing right on my bum!
I felt winded, sick, dizzy and extremely annoyed at myself for falling off during flatwork. Peter asked if I was okay and managed to get me back on, but after walking a couple of strides I had to get off and sit down as I started seeing flashing lights. Peter patiently waited for me but probably seeing that I was slightly out of it, he hopped onto Bess and got her going around the school again.
As Sarah jumped on Sammy last week, Peter made riding look so easy. Bess was being a bit rebellious and shaking her head whenever Peter yanked the reins but after 5 minutes he managed to get her to go from canter to halt in one smooth transition. Why can’t I do that?? Thankfully my head felt a lot clearer and I hopped back on and got to do some trotting and cantering before my lesson ended.
Today though, I have noticed a lovely nice bruise going straight across my upper back where I hit the wall yesterday. My right shoulder blade also feels a little funny but I think it’s because it took most of the impact when I hit the wall. I also find it a bit painful to get up when I’ve been sitting down, but thankfully my bum is nice and fleshy and there isn’t any sign of bruising! I may have to give my Sunday lesson a miss as I don’t think I’ll be able to sit comfortably on the horse! The lesson I learnt this week? I definitely need to be more assertive on the horses I ride and next time I feel myself falling, I damn well need to hold on tight to the saddle!
