Here’s a fun test I found on someone’s blog. Ufortunately it’s not where I thought it was so I can’t give credit 🙁
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Month: April 2005
I feel guilty that it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Nothing very interesting is going on right
now. I’m riding Clipper in three lessons
per week and occasionally I hack around the arena on my own. Clipper is more fun to jump than hack so I
usually do not look forward to our hacking sessions. It’s obvious that Clipper thinks riding
around the arena at a walk, trot and canter is boring. He’s always looking around, perhaps hoping to
see something to spook at. Usually he
finds a butterfly, a fluttering leaf, or a waving blade of grass, which sends
him scooching sideways and huffing. He
concentrates when we jump, which is why it is more fun. This morning, however, he stopped at a jump
he hadn’t jumped before. He objects to
not being formally introduced to objects he is going to leap over. This doesn’t bode well for the show ring since
there is no introduction prior to the round. We’ll figure it out. He’s very
careful and does tend to spook so it’s my job to give him confidence when we
approach things he hasn’t seen before.
Besides riding I am writing my master’s thesis, which is
about as much fun as going to the dentist. I find more ways to fiddle with my data. I find ways to format. If I work
at home, I clean house. Anything to
avoid putting thoughts on my research to paper. It’s a good thing I’m not going to be an academician. Only eight more weeks in the quarter until I’m
finished. I can’t wait.
What’s on the agenda after eight more weeks? We plan to move up north, back to my homeland
north of Seattle. I’ve been rejected for countless jobs. Applying for jobs is a humbling exercise for
the ego. My husband has some solid plans
about how to go about earning money, which is good news since we want to live
indoors. I, on the other hand, am
responsible for keeping Clipper safe and healthy. There are any number of jobs I can do and if
I need to I will. You probably won’t see
me serving the billionth burger though.
That’s my news for now. It probably won’t change very much for at least another month. My creative energy is taken up by my thesis
and hence the few blog posts. I hope to
have the darn thesis off my desk in another month. Then perhaps I can begin dreaming about
moving north in earnest. After the
dreams, I plan. Then the adventures
begin.
I am probably one of the very few people who doesn’t like the switch to Daylight Savings time. I really don’t mind that it gets dark before 7:00 p.m. in my part of the world. I do mind that it’s dark when I wake up and that I feel like I have jet lag for a couple weeks after we make the switch.
I’ve learned some new things during my last two lessons on Clipper. He wasn’t really carrying himself at the canter and he tends to transition into the canter as if he was shot out of a cannon. Last Thursday was very windy so we didn’t jump since the standards were falling over. My trainer had me get into two-point at the trot then ask him to canter just using my outside heel and a smack with the crop near my outside leg, if necessary. He did it! He made nice smooth transitions into the canter, carried himself, balanced himself around corners. It was lovely! I felt like the reins were gossamer rather than sturdy leather.
Yesterday we tried another new thing: a bounce. Most jumping lines include a jump, at least one stride and often 4-7 strides, then another jump. A bounce is a jump in and jump out, without any strides in between. Neither Clipper nor I had ever done one of those before. I aimed him at the in jump, put my hands in his neck and let him figure it out. He’s such a smart and good boy that he didn’t get intimidated by it at all. He just did it. He seems to like his job and is a pleasure to ride. I didn’t get nervous at all either because I have a lot of confidence that he can do anything in the arena as long as I stay out of his way. That is the hardest thing for me. I’m a bit of a fiddler. He does tend to land left over jumps, rather than straight so I do have to guide him right so he will be straight over the jumps. That sounds easier than it is because my perception of what is straight isn’t the same perception as my trainer. More right rein, more right rein! rings in my ears constantly. Then I put it all together: the soft canter transition and canter, bringing him back to me when he wanted to rush, and guiding right when he wanted to veer left. My trainer practically gushed at the end of the lesson, which is out of character for her. I’m very proud of him.