I had a great ride Sunday night! I think it helped that Paige was giving a lesson to an adult beginner the whole time I was in the indoor arena, so I knew she was watching me ride.  Why can't I ride better when no one is watching?  We practiced turning with an indirect rein and cantering (which still needs a lot of work).  I'm having a hard time getting Dandy to pick up the correct lead using outside leg pressure.  For some reason, he picks up his leads better with inside pressure.  Unfortunately, a judge will be able to see if I use a strong inside signal to begin cantering, so he'll have to learn correct way.  I blame Sonny for teaching him that way...

We also practiced trotting and cantering over two ground poles, and he seems to be getting less nervous about them.  He's not trying to jump them.  Instead, he feels like he's floating, because he lifts his legs so nicely.

I rode him pretty hard, so it took forever to get him cooled out.  Fortunately, my new Rambo/Horseware Ireland cooler really sucks the moisture out of his coat, so it saves me some drying time (and he looks super cute in blue and white stripes).

I got the car tires changed on Monday afternoon, so I was able to go to Loveland despite the icy roads.  We practiced cantering more, but he seemed a bit worn out after Sunday's ride so I took it easy on him.  I met Laurie, who was riding in the indoor at the same time, and she just switched from western to English a few months ago.  Her horse is a lanky, black quarter horse with a pretty star.  She said that she decided to switch to something new when she noticed that her horse seemed to let out a defeated sigh every time she approached with the western saddle.  She's riding him in a dressage saddle now.

I had to miss my scheduled lesson tonight, because I developed a nasty cold yesterday afternoon (which I'm sure had nothing to do with driving my heater-less car to Loveland the night before).  We rescheduled for Saturday morning, so hopefully I'll perk up by then.  Dandy will be wild from eating and not working all week!