The weather for yesterday’s lesson was a relief. The sun, clear skies, and lack of wind turned the day before’s panicked and spicy “drinker of the wind” into a relatively plodding half draft horse. She was way more focused on me and really enjoyed the work we were doing – even though it was hard for her.

As I’ve mentioned, Kiss struggles with balance. The goal for us is to get to a more balanced and even-tempo-ed state through lots of half halts and working on various types of circles. Today, we worked on Figure 8s, which is basically riding two circles, switching directions in the middle.

Kiss seemed to really get into the exercise, while I discovered I had a LOT to work on. For example, my left hand tends to want to straighten and pull when we’re tracking left and she drifts out to the right. Logically, I know I need to counter-bend her to the right to block her from popping her shoulder out, and put my right leg on her to insist that she shift her weight in the opposite direction, but my “safety” instinct is to pull her left. It’s so weird what our bodies resort to in order to subconsciously protect us.

As many dressage riders do, especially when starting out, I struggle with my hands. It’s important to keep the hands up and over the withers, using the elbows and not the biceps or the forearms to take up contact. Getting used to this is going to take some doing, but I’m going to practice as much as I can. I’m determined to improve my riding to meet my horse in the middle here.

Another challenge for me is my toes. I’m naturally toed out, so I need to practice rolling my thighs inward and keeping my toes forward. I suspect this will also help my running. Generally, toe-ing out is assisted by weak glutes, so more glute and core workouts are in my future!

One thing I became acutely aware of as we wove around these circles in the shape of an 8, which on its side looks a little like an infinity symbol, was the infinite layers of perfecting one’s athleticism. It’s not enough just to stay on and be balanced, you really need to perfect your position. And, as you correct one thing, something else usually breaks because that’s the way the body works. You focus on your hands and then your leg position goes wonky. You focus on your legs and then your upper body leans or you drop a shoulder. It’s all connected.

After riding though, I feel fulfilled. I’ve gotten a workout, I’ve stimulated my brain, and I’ve worked on emotional connections with my horse. It’s unlike any other sport, really. I can’t wait for the weather to be consistently decent so that we can practice more regularly. It’s going to be interesting to see how we improve!