Brilliance!

Ask me how my ride was this morning.

AMAZING!!!

I put the stirrups back on my dressage saddle so we could work on going forward while staying laterally supple. I know it's partly because I'm riding better (longer leg, better posture, clearer aids) from all our no stirrup work, but Izzy was just ON today. I had to keep my core engaged or should would have just blasted out from under me. Walk--soft, forward, flexible. Trot-balanced, supple, engaged. Canter-forward, free, cadenced. There was no bracing, no head flipping, no running on the forehand.

I like to think that part of it was how she was dressed.

She's sporting a brand new pink halter, fancy black rope, and we're back in the Eskadron climatex wraps, which I will have to write a review for.

I'm not sure what changed (other than me), but I like it.








After our wonderful ride, I fed her cookies. I mean, who can resist that face? Then I pulled her mane. It was overdue in June, but I wanted a lot to hang on to for XC, which was a good idea, but didn't help much. Then I couldn't pull it, then I didn't see the point since we weren't going anywhere.

However... the new nylon halter and the mane pull are building up to something. There may or my not be a pony picture extravaganza tomorrow.










PS Izzy was in fact SO GOOD that three ladies at the barn actually stopped me to tell me how brilliant she/we looked. I'm so proud.