Western Riding Lesson 4

After a loooong, long weekend and with a bit of "I don't really want to" attitude thrown in on the Monday morning of the 21st of March 2011, I arrived at GAS for my 4th Western Riding lesson with Debbie Griffiths.

Both Gerhard and I did our own groundwork and warm-up quite effectively and proceeded to tack up our noble steeds.

We worked in the lunge arena again and I had a lesson together with my fellow student Gerhard Koekemoer.

We steered our ponies around obstacles without reins using just our feet. We learned about "the banana" and the "gears" (i.e. where to apply pressure to squeeze the fruit and get the correct response for the "gear" we want).

This was followed by jogging, with no reins and our hands on our hips, with no reins! That was fun!

I wasn't really in the mood for this lesson, but ended up enjoying it greatly in the end.

Some things I should keep working on:

• Shoulders up and open
• Back straight
• Heels down
• Toes in

Besides that, I've been told I have a good seat and that I am doing well.
Practice makes perfect I guess.

You can read previous posts in this series here: http://timonmeerkat.blogspot.com/search/label/western

Western Riding Lesson 3

Yup ... I am still sticking to it and learning so much while having a great time too.

On 12 March 2011 I had my 3rd Western Riding lesson at Glen Austin Stables. You can read about the previous lessons here:
http://timonmeerkat.blogspot.com/search/label/western

This time I pitched early, on purpose, to that I could fetch my lesson pony (Billy B) myself and do all the preparation and groundwork myself before the lesson started. Billy was a star and I quite capably managed the warm-up and groundwork myself.

David and I had a group lesson with Debbie Griffiths in the lunge arena. We concentrated on the correct aids for turning - much more so on using our legs than on using the reins. Can you say dead legs? We also practiced our seat, in-saddle balance, keeping that back straight and those shoulders open. Practice makes perfect? Debbie was happy that I did much better and that I am making progress. She'll make a cowboy ot of me yet!

We also jogged a bit more which I really enjoyed in the lunge as there is far less risk of just being run away with. Not that I believe Billy would run away with me - he is a sweetheart and a bit lazy to boot. He gets a bit ADD towards the end of the lessons.

Thanks Debbie. Thanks David. Great lesson!

Western Riding Lesson 2

After the workshop that I blogged about earlier, I attended my 2nd Western Riding lesson at Glen Austin Stables on 5 March 2011.

We were a group of 5. Two ladies. 3 men. Debbie Griffiths was our Master Cowgirl.

We learned how to do the following groundwork:

1. Fetch your horse
2. Turn your horse around you, in hand, with application of your own body weight
   
3. Stretch your horse's legs (all legs)
   
4. Turn your horse out (with lunge rope around bum - on both sides)
5. Check you horse's back and general condition before kitting up

These steps have to be performed before each ride. It's a good warm-up for your horse and some vital bonding takes place so that by the time you are ready to get on, you are comfortable with the horse and he is comfortable with you.

We were then taught how to kit the ponies up properly and how to mount. (Thanks for your help V, could not have managed without you).

In a group lesson format we were taught the basics of steering, walking and jogging. Admittedly, I was a bit afraid of the jog, but did manage to get a few strides of the jog in before losing all my nerve.

A great lesson. Much learned.

Western Riding Workshop

Glen Austin Stables presented a Western Riding workshop on Saturday the 26th of Feb 2011. As my hubby is an avid English Rider and would like to see me in the sport and as I was curious about Western Riding I decided to attend.

It was great fun. We were walked through the basics of Western Riding, of warming the animals up and of putting on all the kit. I thoroughly enjoyed it and decided I would give it a go and take weekly lessons.

Thanks to everyone at GAS who made this day possible.