Yesterday was slow bareback day. I can’t take slow on a daily basis. Today, my insides were churning with a small fire called “Go Fast”. Yes, I can go out of control. We are in our last days of Fancy training with Erin Patterson, world renown Missouri Fox Trotter champion and trainer. I decided that today would be a good day for Erin to ride Fancy before I rode. Fancy was quite relaxed during our ground session and games. I figured Erin could get Fancy going. When I rode, she would be ready for gaited speed and cantering. Oh yes she was. We had no argument about going forward when it became my turn to ride. It was heaven. We gaited around the arena both ways. We did her flat foot walk and fox trot. My shoulders, belly button and legs seemed to be doing a much better job at telling Fancy the path wanted to be on. I thank the bareback riding for that! My legs and feet improved their directional ability and Fancy responded. We didn’t light up the arena, but it might have glowed!
The canter is in my infant stages. Fancy takes off and goes at what my brain thinks is warp speed. My body tenses up and I start bouncing. I try to bend my knees to help relax. This is difficult when zooming. Fancy also takes short cuts. She cuts through the arena before getting to the end. She goes into a pace gallop on the end of the arena which have her legs more lateral with a four beat gate. It is not relaxing. When we come to the end of the arena, sometimes her front legs get stiff as she slows down to make the turn. This bounces my body out of the saddle before we make the turn. I feel like I’m bounced about a foot or cloud high out of the saddle. I’ve seen a video of me when she bounces me but you can’t tell that my body left the saddle. hmmmm
I’ve learned that I must use the outside rein. She doesn’t respond to my legs or inside rein when I tell her to leg yield around the corners, not cut through. I’ve learned that I must keep her cantering. She occasionally changes gait to a very fast fox trot. Scream! I’ve learned that we must canter until I can breathe and possibly think. I discovered that my focus is down, looking at her head or the track in the arena where she will turn and fall (but she won’t). She doesn’t respond to my rein request to slow down.
Fancy and I must keep cantering until
- I can breathe
- I can think
- I can look up at where we are to go instead of down at the arena dirt where I’m certain my death awaits.
- Fancy canters, really canters, and I have control of the speed switch.
And then we have to do it the other direction.
We cantered the second direction until I noticed my cell phone in the arena dirt. We were at a good stopping place too.
We must get back to seven consequtive rides on the chosen pattern and the bareback riding is excellent for that. My thoughts about cantering Fancy riding bareback are currently a “no go scream”.
I love my life with Fancy!