Wizard Ride 152: Of course, Of Course…

Friday, 6/18/10

Due to my action-packed weekend schedule, I had a rare morning ride on Friday. We started the ride by warming up in the dressage court outside, focusing on forwardness and getting a little impulsion at the walk and trot. We took a break from the lateral work since we did leg-yielding work for the past two days and instead worked mostly on straight lines and large shapes. Wizard is getting the hang of the forward trot and does not break into a canter as often as he used to.

Once he was warmed up and responsive to the aids, we walked over to the large outdoor arena where we did a little work over cross rails. There were four jumps set up on the two outside lines. All four jumps were cross rails. We worked at a trot over two sets of trot poles and them over to the little jumps. First, we took one outside line, and then looped around and took the second line. It was our first little, teeny-tiny course! Wizard’s jumps were round and forward- it felt SO nice to be doing a little work over fences again! I’ve really missed jumping for the past few years.

After we hopped the four jumps, I took Wizard into the indoor arena where we did just a little cantering work. Each time I canter him, we both get a little more balanced. I’m able to sit up and ride with a softer hand than I was in the very beginning, and as I ride softer, he canters more softly.