Sometimes your trainer just says something that causes the light bulb to go off, and you have that “AHA!” moment. What was yours?
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My trainer Deborah Lockemeyer looked up at me perched atop this Hanovarian and touched my knee and said “Annie, you CAN do this.” I knew she was right. I just needed to hear it out loud.
For years I learned that “inside rein saves lives”. While that may have been true in the beginning, I found that I was teaching my horse to travel incorrectly. That is; until Sharon Vander Ziel introduced the concept of traveling straight on a circle. Meaning, soften the inside rein, connect with the outside rein, straighten the horse’s neck…magic! It’s funny how easily we skip over basics and biomechanics. I try to keep this at the forefront when going through all the paces.
I had this terrible habit of rounding my shoulders forward until my riding instructor, Sue, said during a group lesson, “Remember ladies, high beams on!” and then demonstrated by putting her shoulders back, raising her chest, and engaging her core. It was funny, but it also made an impression that aided my riding for years!