Leave it to Trainer B to make up the twistiest, turn-iest, loopiest course ever when given a setup with an outside line, an outside single and three diagonal singles. You could make this pretty hunter-y by doing outside line home (when home is the left side of the image), diagonal oxer away, single oxer home, … More First Jump Lesson of 2018
I had a jumping lesson with Duke on Thursday night, our last one before the show on Sunday. It was…um, varied. Short version: I stayed on through a hairy moment, and made huge improvements in my riding. Long version follows. So we weren’t messing around with jumps that night. Everything pretty much went right up to … More In Which Everyone’s Hearts Stopped for a Sec
Remember that time I told you guys that this summer I would be riding a horse named Artie who was a jumper but we’d be trying out eventing together? Scratch that. In the past few weeks, I learned that I will instead be competing with a horse named Duke. We’re sticking with the paint horse theme … More Meet Duke
I had a lesson on Stryder recently while his leaser, who usually rides in my lesson, was on vacation. (Lucky duck!) It turned out to be an enlightening lesson. I mean, they all are, but this one especially. I have become used to horses that require a more active ride, which means I don’t have … More Do Less
You are required to read the title of this post with this type of inflection: The a-MAAAAYYYY-zing MAY-sie. It’s just how it’s done. Who is The Amazing Masie? She is my trainer’s horse. She’s a grey Dutch Thoroughbred mare and she’s so adorable and fancy. A few weeks ago, I got a text from Trainer … More The Amazing Maisie
Having a good canter rhythm is one of the most important things while jumping, right? So why does it sometimes feel like an epiphany to realize that fact? Like, duh. In my last lesson, Artie and I had great rhythm going. Steady and mostly forward, and right up to the base of the fence (except … More Feel Da Rhythm
In my last lesson, I jumped Artie. He’s super fun! He has that awesome “yes ma’am” attitude. As Trainer B put the jumps up she said it would be quite a bit higher than Artie is used to. I think that put it into my subconscious that we would be jumping “high.” And Artie was awesome! … More Perspective
I am a secret badass. It’s true. People do not look at me and think, dang, that girl is a badass. Probably they think the exact opposite. In fact, I once casually mentioned to a friend that I’m kind of a badass, and he laughed like, okay Lisa whatever you want to tell yourself. And I was like, … More #Badassitude
So I fell off last week. It was fairly dramatic, yet also anti-climactic, and I wasn’t hurt. I was riding Prada, who, despite having already experienced several unplanned dismounts from, I still quite like riding. She’s fun and fancy when I stay on. Anyway. It was my first real jumping lesson after a long break from … More Delayed Onset Anxiety
I knew it was going to be an interesting lesson when I got the following text from Trainer B: You’ll be on Prada Thursday night. She’s a bitch to tack up so please be careful. I felt I should clarify what that meant for my own personal safety. Apparently I could expect Prada to both … More Just Call Me “The Spider Monkey”
Centered in the Saddle 