Sunday with PMG

A photo from Saturday

For Sunday we had booked a double session to allow time for Peter to ride Danilon.

Peter worked Danni through shoulder in initially and then worked him at canter stopping to adjust his bridoon bit higher in his mouth. Peter experimented with the flying changes and suddenly Danni "Got It" and as Peter revisited yesterdays exercise of a loop five metres either side of the centre line Dani started to change. Not little mean changes but big exuberant expressive changes - one, two, three across the centre line one way and again one, two, three for his second trip! We were thrilled by Dani's progress with Peter. And now it was my turn.

The first exercise was the shoulder in on the circle working from the inside leg to the outside hand - bringing his shoulders in by bringing my outside hand across the neck. I think my hands still have that Pony Club demarcation line and don't cross the neck very readily and so naturally I wobbled about, havering between angles, secure for four or five strides and then woops my weight would slip to the outside leaving my inside seat bone flaoting in the air with the horse no longer working from my seat to my hand. This exercise showed a particular weakness in my left pelvis position and levelness that I need to work on at all paces before those flying changes will come my way with any accuracy.

Peter wasn't happy that Dani was anticipating the change of direction and legs too much now and wanted to go back to work on two concentric twenty metre circles with my not letting Dani's left shoulder escape outwards on the change of rein to the right circle and working him truly from the left leg to the right hand on the left circle. Moving up to canter trot transitions but now making Dani wait until he was working securely before making the transition. Solid work to lay the foundation for Dani's future i hope.

And this is Lizzie, Dani's no one wife and Mrs Robinson - still showing no signs of foaling but nickering gently when we just visited her with her super - ah well another sleepless night for us, at least Dani could have the good grace to stay away too but he was already covered in shavings from his first nap of the night!