In the Arena # 106 - Bareback dressage - it was fun while it lasted + chores get done...

Amidst all of the saddle shopping excitement, we managed to fit a couple more rides in this week.

Wednesday, we worked on building up our fitness with more trot work. I am finding leg aids tricky to apply effectively and consistently (half halts especially) without stirrups. This resulted in petering out / unbalanced corners. I also suffered (worse than usual) from inside rein-itis, which skewed our steering. My big clue was how I kept swinging Val's rump almost into the electric fence. I guess admitting you have a problem is half the battle...  almost getting shocked helps too. Yes - I forgot to turn the fence off before our ride. As per usual, once we got some forward action, the other issues were easier to resolve. We ended the ride on a good note with a series of crisp transitions.

On Thursday I set up a cone course. Time for remedial steering class. Let me tell you, steering works waaaay better when you keep the outside rein contact steady. Being a classic over compensator, when I get rattled and have to think about handling the reins, I tend to abdicate inside rein contact entirely, before (eventually) finding balance. Once I got it together, Val appreciated my efforts and rewarded me by reaching for the bit and smoothly motoring around the cones. For a few minutes there,  I would think and Val would do. Sublime. Then we commenced to do an excellent imitation of a barrel pattern - extreme slow motion style.

Theoretically, we only have one more week of mandatory bareback rides. I'm awaiting, dare I say anxiously, the tracking number of my new Sattermeister saddle. Yes - Sattermeister. Haven't you heard of them? Ummm - me neither. While compulsively checking each and every dressage saddle available on ebay one night, I ran across a pretty saddle with an unrecognizable name. I emailed for extra pictures and asked if there might be another name stamped on the flap. Could Sattermeister actually be Sattlermeister - master saddler in Austrian -  maybe? Email came back with happy gullet pix, and the words Karl Neidersuss 17 W Symphonie. After mulling over it for a day or two, I emailed back offering something between the starting bid, and the buy it now price. They said yes. Who knew you could do that? I'm just not cut out for the stress of ebay auctions.

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Other goings on... I began unpacking and organizing my jewelry studio - finally. And, the seemingly endless search (over a year) for an electrician to run power to my tack room, studio and light pole may be over. Cool - next winter I won't have to shine my car headlights on the paddock to pick poop in the morning. Equally as stressful as the saddle search, and oddly enough equally expensive.

one side hay barn...

one side studio...

piled high...

oh - it exploded!

Made me tired just watching..

us too...

zzzzzzzzzzz...