Dressage Lesson

Today I had a lesson scheduled with Mary O'Rourke. We've missed a lot of lessons due to weather and then poor Mary getting sick. Mary knows I'd like to go to the dressage show at the Kennebec Horse Farm in April. And I know next to nothing about riding dressage. So, Mary has he work cut out for her trying to whip me into shape. We got down to serious work today. Thankfully, Luke has dressage training as he was formally used as for eventing. I just have to learn what I need to do.

I lunged Luke before Mary arrived. Luke is getting very good at it and today he picked up the canter very nicely which I've just started asking him for. He was a bit fresh though! Once Mary arrived we started today with learning some of the basic steps for the pattern of a dressage test. Mary would like me to enter the show with a test that will include walk, trot and canter as Luke has such a fabulous canter. But, we'll see how I come along and decide this later one. I really want to show Luke off as he is such a lovely mover. I have to say though that I got really tried in the lesson. I think it's easier to ride a 1 day 100 mile endurance ride then do 1 hr. of a dressage lesson! It was a great lesson though and I felt like I really made some improvements. Though I'm not sure just how round I was getting my 20 meter circles.......... And what's this rule that you can't cluck to your equine to get it to move out? I think Mary was ready to put duct tape on my mouth, I just couldn't stop doing it!