Step in to the light

Sam had three days off after his chiro work and then it was lesson day.

I decided I didn't want to switch bits to the Pessoa my trainer recommend but stay with the Herm Sprenger.

Pessoa Magic Copper Moon Dee Bit

Herm Sprenger Dynamic RS Aurigan Eggbutt

I felt the behind the vertical and after jump speedups was new and I wanted to work through my issues (like not keeping my heels down over jumps) before I swapped other stuff.

I just wanted to check steps off a list before going there, just didn't feel like the right time. So I compromised and used a flash for a little extra leverage. Which means I had to ride in my dressage bridle with my flash noseband that I've never used. I have two nosebands for the same bridle but haven't needed the flash until now.

I had a great lesson. Sam was calm and thoughtful. He didn't speed up after the jumps and hardly dropped behind the vertical. My trainer asked if I drugged him, hehe. Maybe the change in feed and chiro work and the spot lesson with the pro rider all helped to mellow Sam out.

However, because I fell off, of course it was back to basics. I had to ride around with my thumbs/knuckles touching the whole time and the jumps were lowered to like 12" - I was at 24". Also worked on getting my leg around my skinny horse instead of gripping with my knees.

Sunny ride with Sam in dressage bridle with flash - you can see the heel up issue

It was a great day and the sun was actually shining and that makes everything better. Two days after, I flatted on my own and worked on riding with my hands together and of course wrapping my legs around Sam. I like having homework between lessons. If I don't have any, I can't seem to come up with useful things to work on and don't ride for any significant amount of time.