Centered in the Saddle

I have been having a blast with The Chief. We have been doing mostly dressage rides and/or hacks. It’s been wonderful, and I have had some personal dressage riding breakthroughs that are super exciting!

But that’s not what this is about. Sometimes, a girl just needs to go for a good gallop. So, I went for the jump tack instead of the dressage saddle, and we headed into the field.

The Chief knew something was different and had his swagger on. I think he was slightly disappointed when we didn’t jump anything but we still had a great time. We did some timed trot sets with walks between, and then some canter/gallop sets.

Is there anything better than galloping in an open field? (Okay, fine, galloping and jumping XC fences might be better BUT STILL.) We did work on adjustability within the gait and specifically practiced going up and down the gentle hills out there. He was super. Very responsive and adjustable.

Anyone else ever pick tufts of grass to aim for and practice adjusting to it and precision? Or is that just me? It was almost like being out on XC, and a good exercise in going from a springy, bouncy canter to a ground covering gallop and all the gears in between.

I tried to snag a between the ears video during one gallop stretch but sadly it seems I had technical difficulties and it’s not in my camera roll. *sob*

The Chief and I both worked on our fitness yesterday. I had worked out prior to riding, including many squats, so my quads are screaming today. Totally worth it.