Lesson at LCCC

Dandy and I had our first lesson at Laramie County Community College on Sunday morning.  It started at 9am, which meant that I had to leave the house at 6am to get down to Loveland, load Dandy and bring him up to Cheyenne.  The whole time I was thinking it had better be worth it, and it totally was!

Dandy loaded without any trouble, though he was not pleased when I threw a winter blanket on him just before loading.  He was so upset by the strange blanket that he rested his head on my shoulder for almost a minute to calm down.  He went in the trailer the first time I asked, but I unloaded and loaded him about five times before shutting the door just for practice.  I was worried he might think he was setting off on another 9-day road trip.

When we arrived at the indoor arena, which was HUGE (I'll get some pics at my next lesson), Dandy was agitated.  I tacked him up as quick as I could, brought him in the building and tied him up with a row of horses.  The instructor, Suzy, had everyone introduce themselves and say why we had signed up.  She's originally from San Diego and her expertise is mainly dressage.  She told us that she is into yoga, which was evident in the lesson that followed.

Suzy taught us a breathing exercise and had us practice for a while on the ground.  Then we brought our horses in the arena (which is so big it had arena seating) and mounted up.  We mostly just walked, clearing our heads and practicing breathing.  This was surprisingly difficult for me, because I realized that I have been concentrating so hard on my riding position recently that it was difficult to only think about breathing.

I have improved my position tremendously in the past few months according to Paige, but I discovered that all I think about while riding is where my heels, toes, calves, seat, hands, shoulders and eyes are. This was a bit upsetting.  I've been working so hard to be a model riding student that I've become obsessed in the head.

It wasn't until about 45 minutes into the lesson and after a long talk with Suzy that I finally calmed down and only thought about breathing.  We spent the whole lesson just walking, but it was kind of exhausting breathing so deeply.  Dandy calmed way down, and I let him have a very loose rein.  He seemed much more relaxed than he usually is. After the lesson, I loaded and unloaded Dandy a few more times without difficulty and headed home.

It wasn't till yesterday that I felt the full benefits of the lesson.  I went down to ride Dandy last night and it was like we could do no wrong.  I used the breathing mainly during the warm up instead of taking that time to force myself into the perfect position.  He seemed enthusiastic and energetic, and everything we practiced (even the counter cantering) we got right the first time.

I quit riding after only 30 minutes, because I felt like we did everything so well.  Even though I wasn't thinking about my position constantly during the ride, it looked correct in the arena mirrors.  Maybe I'm starting to get a feel for the correct position so I can actually relax and let muscle memory take control, but I think the breathing exercise definitely cleared my head so I gave clearer signals.

My next lesson at LCCC is the Sunday after next, so I'm going to keep practicing like a good little student until then.  I think that these lessons will help to balance out all that I'm learning in my lessons with Paige.  I guess it wouldn't be worth all that driving if it was more of the same.