my saturday ride started like any other; i was on Lusco, we warmed up doing bending at the walk and trot etc. i could tell Lusco was having concentration issues, it was immensely hot and he was more interested in watching the horses over the fence in the barn next to ours than paying attention to my leg. he was also lagging (a typical Lusco trick, hence why i got spurs). the heat was unexpected..it was roughlu 87 degrees at 11am when the rest of the week had been in the 60s. anyway, we were all doing warmup bending and flexing, Brie had me really urge Lusco faster just to wake him up, and then we were informed that Norman (who was riding Pippin)and myself would be practicing the centerline entry. at the canter.
i love when we're introduced to new exercises because it makes me feel like i'm steadily improving. generally at lower levels, you enter a test down the centerline at A at the trot. but in upper levels, it's done at the canter, and either way you are judged on the straightness of your line. the canter is a more difficult gait for a horse to stay on a straight line in, because they need a slight bend to keep the correct lead. this calls for good balance and strength.
the exercise was that i would follow directly behind pippin at the canter, we would canter down the longside from H to K, round the corner and enter the centerline at A, canter a straight centerline down to the far end and pass C, and then trot and break by H. the turn from the longside onto the centerline is pretty tight, so the horse must be very balanced and collected in order to make a clean entry. it's about a 10m turn, so it woud require good horse/rider communication. i circled several times to give Pippin and Norman adequate headstart, then Lusco and i began along the longside. i was pleasantly surprised and impressed with how tight Lusco made his turn; we made an impressive entry at A. however his energy was "low" (in his mind) so he annoyingly broke to a trot around X. Brie instructed me to try again and get more impulsion, so i urged Lusco forward with my spurs and we made a fairly good entry again. however this time, Pippin wasn't far ahead of me, and in order to keep the canter i had to really spur Lusco forward, but he was blowing off my collecting aides, so we were fast approaching pippin's behind. well, i decided to really haul up so we didn't crash! unfortunately Lusco ignored first the halfhalt, then the true halt, then the bit, and somehow or another, between me hauling him back and him spacing out, he took a huge tumble after tangling his front legs. what a dummy!
i'm really not sure how i stayed on him. he was down to his knees literally faceplanting before i realized what had happened. i thank my lucky stars for my reaction time, because it saved me from a nasty head first spill. instead of clinging to the reins, my instinct took hold and i immediately dropped the reins, giving the horse his head, and ultimately allowing me to put my feet "on the dash" (meaning shoving them against the stirrups way out in front of me) and making sure i stayed in the saddle. my full seat breeches really helped too- Kerrits to the rescue! i stuck like glue while Lusco regained his composure. had i held the reins, i would have been flung off over his head and probably face planted as well, but happily, that didn't happen.
Brie was concerned about the horse, but he was fine; slightly bamboozled and a little embarrassed, i think, but no worse for the wear. and i didn't get so much as a "good job" from anyone watching! haha i kid, i kid. i didn't need praise to be satisfied with myself for not flying off. anyway, looks like i lived to see another lesson!
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