The German Riding Fairy

The bad news: it was more than tempo.

The good news: I don't care. The German riding fairy has paid me a visit and granted my wish, so I had a fabulous ride on Facet today anyway. I actually FELT like I knew what I was doing (there are days when I'm told I look like it, but I've yet to feel half as good as I'm told I look).

You see, after that great ride last week where I made the breakthrough with tempo, I could never quite reproduce it again. Sure, things got BETTER, but not better enough... I was still struggling to do Training Level work, just struggling a little bit closer to my goal.

Today, however, I actually rode SECOND LEVEL WORK. And, I haven't ridden a horse since Saturday. Clearly, I've been blessed by the GERMAN RIDING FAIRY. Actually, the real difference is that Facet's saddle is in the shop, so I had to ride him in Quila's saddle, and for the first time EVER, I forgot I was even sitting in a saddle. I forgot about my seat, forgot about trying to sit on his back, forgot that I had ever had difficulty sitting his gaits... it was like I'd been riding him all my life. IT FELT LIKE HOME.

Can a saddle make that much difference? Obviously it can. Because it did. I didn't struggle today, not one little bit. I rode shoulder in--and like Quila, I'm a helluva lot better to the right than I am to the left, so I guess it MUST be my problem since Facet's stiff side is opposite hers--and I was able to COLLECT the canter, ride counter canter and do some canter-walk-canter transitions. (We won't discuss my requests for flying changes that he studiously ignored--as in completely 100% ignored my aids, "I'll counter canter for you all day lady, but until you get your aids and timing right, I'm not even going to think about changing" ignored. We decided to try again another day.)

Last week, I struggled to even maintain working canter. Today, I was riding COLLECTED CANTER, and I could do it. Mostly. I was admittedly pushing the envelope, and there were times I pushed the envelope too far and we ended up trotting, but that's part of learning (and once I'd done it a few times, Facet started to play with me and started to fall out of canter earlier and earlier until I gave him a smack with the whip, then he was back to his good old gentlemanly self). I also extended and collected in the canter and felt my sporty stallion respond to leg and seat in a way Quila never has (and that he's never done for me before)--GREAT FEELING--and I rode a trot lengthening.

You cannot imagine what today did for my self-confidence. I do not feel like the same rider that I was last week. I still need to learn his buttons--he responds so differently than Quila--but I was actually able to RIDE him, something I'd been struggling to do before. I'm not a klutz, I'm not, I'm not. Jürgen hasn't been wasting his time on me.

I hope they never fix Facet's old saddle (which interestingly is SUPPOSED to be the same make and model as Quila's, but it sure doesn't ride like it)... or rather, that when they do, it feels just like hers. If it doesn't, I think I'll pretend I never saw it. I will not go back to the struggle. Why should I? Her saddle fits him well, and I don't think she'll mind sharing.

Her saddle is the equine equivalent, I think, of the pants in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. So far, it has fit every horse I've tried riding in it on. Jürgen says that saddles like that come along once in a lifetime, and that I should cherish it. I do. It will have a spa day on Monday, with a nice mineral oil bath.