2/7/2006 - Tuesday, 9AM

• Rode in outdoor arena, using small English saddle for the first time

• Rode without a martingale; tacked up without help

• Learned about showing - etiquette, no talking in ring, lineup, fidgeting, etc.

• "Warmed up" in "schooling ring" at a walk and trot

• Needs to work on keeping heels down at trot, and keeping a trot instead of breaking gait continually (granted, there was a lot of mud to contend with)

• Ended trotting on a good note, after keeping heels down the entire time at the trot, then sitting and staying sitting back while asking for and receiving a walk....perfect transition! Just need to keep it up....

• Performed in a mock class, with lineup, walking, trotting, reverse, walking, trotting, lineup, back up

• Practiced quick rider changes with Annica in preparation for the show

1/19/2006 - Thursday, 9AM

• Rode outdoors, in the outdoor arena, for the first time in a while because of weather conditions

• Warmed up at the walk, going both directions

• Walked over poles/crossrails in both directions, learned not to look at the poles but ahead of them

• Learned about gaited and trotting horses, "boneshakers"

• Went solo on posting trot, around the arena a number of times

• Worked on not holding onto the saddle when trotting, in order not to tip balance forward

• Tends to curl leg up underneath instead of elongating it to stay sitting back in the saddle when posting, instead of leaning forward and losing balance

• Did well with keeping Prissy at a steady pace and still trotting, while posting...lower leg still needs work, but improving a lot

• Learned show rules....what's expected, what the judges are looking for

• Learned the aids and cues for riding

• Incredible determination to learn and improve....such drive is amazing and can only help with riding in the future.

11/10/2005 - Thursday, 10AM

• Rode outdoors, English saddle/bridle, with martingale

• Warmed up at the walk

• Learned to count the steps (1,2,1,2...) and to tell which foot is stepping out first, from stop and from backing

• Walked over poles and was able to tell without looking which foot went first

• Worked on sitting trot a lot - lower leg really unstable, flops around too much

• Stood at the halt and walk to find alignment

• Trotted on the lunge line with feet out of stirrups, holding the saddle to find the rhythm

• Worked on dropping/picking up stirrups

• Learned the emergency stop in order to learn to sit back when shifting gears, not sit forward

• Did an excellent job on the rising trot - most of the time had body in correct alignment, and used upper leg to rise from saddle

• Halted to find alignment whenever balance was thrown off

• Did well with looking up and forward instead of down at the horse's head

• Learned about alignment and importance of body weight in cuing the horse

• Work on keeping a steady pace without breaking gait

• Learned to extend the walk

11/3/2005 - Thursday, 9AM

• Worked in outdoor arena, rode first, English saddle/bridle w/martingale

• Warmed up at the walk, did figure eights and standing

• Worked on slow sitting trot, and keeping Priss at a steady pace without breaking gait

• Practiced rising trot a lot, staying at a steady pace

• Not worrying about diagonals at this point

• Worked on leg/foot position

• Weaved in and out of cones

• Did well on rising trot, but need to move waist/hips/upper body out of saddle without moving lower leg out of position

• Good job, Maggie!

10/20/2005 - Thursday, 9AM

• Rode in round pen, using English saddle, no martingale

• Did an absolutely fantastic job when learning to stand in the stirrups!

• Found balance very quickly with very little help

• Learned to move quietly with the horse, while standing

• Learned to stop and start while standing, and usually maintained balance there

• Excellent leg position and timing when maneuvering cones and obstacles

• Again, I'm very impressed, Maggie, and very, very proud of you! You're an excellent student!

10/13/2005 - Thursday, 10AM

• Rode using a bareback pad for the first time

• Learned to walk and balance without holding on to the horse or pad, concentrated on the correct posture and sitting deep in the saddle

• Started out bouncing all over the place at the trot, but =by the end of the lessons, learned to follow the horse's movement more, and move the hips/lower body with the horse

• Stayed very well balanced and over the center of the horse

• Learned very quiet, subtle cues

• Great Job, Maggie!

9/22/2005 - Thursday, 10AM

• Skipped a week because of Prissy's lost shoe

• Priss was really stubborn - she didn't want to do the same thing again that she'd already done

• Good job keeping Priss trotting

• Posting needs more work - keep practicing!

• Cantering was good - stayed in the saddle nicely, although more work is needed on staying in the canter and continuing around a corner

• Did well with cone collecting and bucketball

• Went down the trails afterwards to finish off riding the cranky horse

• Don't get discouraged...practice makes perfect!!

9/8/2005 - Thursday, 9AM

• Rode in new arena for the first time

• Worked on balance and keeping Prissy on the rail despite rough terrain, huge rocks, and uneven footing

• Getting better every day at posting trot - worked in round pen because of footing in the arena

• In arena, set up six cones and worked on walk/halt/walk/halt patterns

• Learned how to ask for a halt without leaning forward or heels coming up

• Worked on walk/halt/back/walk combos as well, and changing the pattern around

• Learned to clean stalls, rake the aisles, fill the water buckets

• Took off saddle and ran up stirrups all alone!!

• Yay Maggie!