It’s been many weeks since I took “the tumble” off of Copper. Since the great tumble, my riding lessons returned to the basics. I had to re-learn how to ride my horse properly, and correctly.
Copper was a Western pleasure horse before he entered the dressage and English world. He spent the first 16 years of his life competing in many rated Western shows and did pretty well in them. Western riding and English riding are very different worlds, that go beyond different saddle types. In the Western pleasure world, Copper was trained to have a nice slow and steady walk, trot and lope (canter). Although those abilities made him a star in the Western world, it’s the opposite for the English world.
For the past 3 years, we have been working on getting Copper to be a forward moving horse – and that means, training him to move from behind and push himself forward in movement, as opposed to using his front legs to pull himself forward. This is the reason I took my tumble…I didn’t have the strength, or skill to do this properly.
So, that’s what my lessons have been focused on, proper movement, proper power. After around 12 lessons doing nothing but working on walk/trot transitions, Copper and I had a huge breakthrough.
During these last several weeks, I stopped my somewhat independent Tuesday afternoon rides, my confidence wasn’t there at all. I was very focused on being able to properly ride him, I was afraid to ride when not taking a lesson. That all changed last Tuesday, when I decided it was time to give it a try again. I rode for a bit while my trainer was finishing a lesson, and then it was just me and Copper. I was so amazed at how well I did. I was able to feel when he wasn’t engaging the power from his rear, and I was able to get him re-balanced. For that ride, I worked on transitions and….canter!!! It was my first time cantering since my tumble, and it was incredible. The weeks of working on those transitions, and getting Copper to be a forward moving horse didn’t just help Copper, but my body suddenly became incredibly strong!
Today, it was hot. But I was determined to ride. I got to the barn, put my boots and half chaps on and tacked up Copper. I was ready to ride, but…there were no other lessons happening like there normal is. My trainer was occupied at that moment so I found myself alone…with my horse…no one else in the arena. This was a first for us.
So I tighten Copper’s girth, check all the tack, and walk to the mounting block. Now, I wasn’t totally alone in the barn, people were around, but I was the only rider. I can count on 1 hand the amount of times in my 8 1/2 years of riding I’ve done this (this was only the 3rd time, and the 1st time with Copper). I get Copper to the mounting block and I get on. We enter the arena, and he looks around and turns his head towards me as if to say, hold up, there’s no one in here but us! I halt him, get myself all situated and we start our warm up.
I basically treated this ride as a lesson. I did everything my trainer has had me working on these last several weeks. I was able to get him into his forward sassy walk. When I felt that he was too heavy in his front legs, I was able to shift him back with a slight adjustment to my hands and body. I was able to trot circles and over ground poles in both directions. I was even able to canter in both directions. And I did this all by myself.
After my ride, I excitedly run to my trainer to tell her how it went, and she is just beaming with joy. She then told me she deliberately wanted to leave me alone to see how I could handle being a true independent rider. If I had needed her, she would’ve come to assist, but I didn’t need her.
“The tumble” had to happen. It took my confidence away big time, but it forced me to fight to get it back. It forced me to work even harder at learning, understanding and executing my riding so that I could be a better rider for Copper. Today’s totally solo ride happened because of “the tumble.”
I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again…riding is a journey. There are ups, downs, circles, missteps, and everything else in between. I am very fortunate that I have found an incredible trainer to guide me through this journey. I am also so fortunate to have this beautifully talented Appaloosa in my life.❤️🐴
Confessions of an Equestrianoholic 