Jumping

I think I am finally starting to figure out this whole jumping thing.  Charlie is a fantastic horse, because he is so steady.  I can flop and flail around on him and he just keeps jumping.  His only fault is he rushes sometimes, but we are really starting to click.  I am more confident and this helps me not be as tense.  When I relax so does Charlie and I am getting some control over the tempo.  We still have rushing moments, but it isn't as bad.  In the beginning I felt like I was just hanging on and trying to get my butt out of the saddle.  Now, I can feel when the take off is going to happen and I am getting more balanced.  I still have a long long long way to go, but it is a start.

Most of this improvement started when S set up a grid for us.  It finally gave me a chance to just focus on me.  Once I got the hang of things I started getting my balance.  And since then I feel like I have been making progress every lesson.

One of the most frustrating things for me is the regression in my riding.  When I went of to college I was in fantastic shape and a good rider.  I had awesome stickability, oodles of balance, a very still leg, and a light steady hand.  Now, I am far from fantastic shape, ok stickability (Stinker hasn't dumped me yet so I still have something), my balance is kind of meh, my legs swing all over the place, and my hands have a mind of their own.  My legs are what make me the most crazy.  A lot of it has to do with my hips and ankles.  I played basketball all through college and destroyed them.  When I was in grad school, I started sitting a lot more and exercising less and learned my hips are jacked up.  I started having back problems and this led to getting my hips x-rayed.  The doctor took one look at the x-rays and said, "Wow, you have a lot of wear on your hips, even for an athlete."  Thanks doctor...  Back to the point, my hips are super tight and contract my hamstrings, they also .  In addition, I have sprained my ankles so many times that I have a drastic reduction in mobility.  All of these add up to the fact my heels like to creep up and my legs like to creep forward.  None of this adds up to good riding.

Back to the point at hand.  My riding isn't where I want it to be, but my jumping is improving.  I am lucky to have access to Charlie, because he is a great teacher.  As much as I like him I really miss my horse.  The little Stinker sees the vet on Monday and I hope that I get a game plan.  Right now I feel so lost since I have no idea what is wrong with him.  I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to ride him in the clinic next weekend, but I have a sinking feeling that will not happen.  I will most likely be riding Pongo.  He is a good horse, but not my style.  I like them a little hot and he is more on the lazy side.  Plus his gaits feel really weird.

Since I don't have any good pictures, I leave you with this video of my little idiot.