1. Teach in fluent English
2. No lunge ropes
Today, my trainer took me to a ring where using a lunge rope is not possible. It wasn't a round ring, but a sort of rectangular ring with curved ends. The middle is another rectangular ring with curved ends, but filled with grass and a couple of trees. A small grazing area xD
I learned faster than any of my previous lessons today. Rode Mamat again. He's so pampered. <3
Anyway, since Mamat wasn't on the lunge rope, I had to act fast and at the snap of the finger in order to ride him. There was no trainer standing next to me and controlling the horse with the lunge rope. Trainer stood at one corner of the ring and stayed there, shouting reminders and guidance at me. I have learned to use the reins well. Still need practice, but I can now turn the horse around, guide the horse to where I need to go, slow the horse down and of course, stop the horse. I tried being gentle and not jerking the reins, but I don't think it can be helped sometimes =/ Mamat is very stubborn, I had to be really firm with him. It took real effort to make him slow down, and many times, I had to pull the reins so hard that he stopped completely... *sigh* Silly Mamat.
I was also given a whip to hold today. Damn, those things are hard to hold with the reins and everything >.< Don't worry, I never whipped Mamat. I find that I don't need to, just wave it around where he can see it and he speeds up XD I must say, much easier than kicking his sides. I'm still having trouble with the stirrups and keeping my heels down =/ I keep tiptoeing... And everytime I kick a horse into moving, my boots goes right through the iron! Thank goodness for my heels! -.-
More good news though! My rising trot improved a helluva lot! I didn't even think of my butt and knees today. I landed softly everytime, rose nicely everytime. My back was straight. Only thing I concentrated on today was my shoulders and my heels. Rising on the trot is starting to become natural! :D
Walking is improving too. Really need to get it into my head that my shoulders need to be back, chest proud and heels down D:<
Still have a lot to improve with the sitting trot. Apparently, once the trot starts, my torso stiffens like a branch and I start bouncing hard, which causes me to lose balance. I gotta let go and relax the way I managed to do in walking. Trainer says I'm definitely softening and I could feel sitting trot getting easier, but I have quite a while to go yet.
I really like today's trainer. His English is fluent enough for me to understand without needing to think and he gave me a whole lot of tips that the other trainers didn't bother giving me. Like the softening of my torso, the other trainers would just say "Relax"... Who doesn't know that! >.>
He also speaks in a REALLY loud voice :D Which is good! Mumbling can't be heard when you're on a horse, guys! I definitely had fun today. It was an excellent ride. For me that is. Two girls fell off their horses today :( Ouchie! Luckily, no serious injuries. Also, I have pics!
Hmm. My toes stuck out quite a bit here. Was concentrating real hard on heels lol.
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