Just an amazing month!! Everyone is super happy with the new barn, and I can't believe we've only been there a month. Kai and I have been taking several lessons each week, and the improvement is unbelievable. We are not at all the same pair!I've learned to let Kai go forward, and I've settled into 
it and relaxed so much that I can actually drop the reins and ask for more trot and not panic! We've also begun cantering regularly, and by the 28th I got up enough guts to ask for the canter all by myself (outside of a lesson). And of course I lived through it :) Kai has also relaxed a ton...he's stretching into the contact, using his back, and almost ALL headtossing has stopped -- even at the halt. I usually get one bounce of the head at the end when he knows we're done for the day, but that's it.
On the 22nd we went to a show, and the difference between this and the last one were, again, unbelievable. We arrived late, and my class was pretty much starting as we pulled up the driveway. I scratched my two hunt seat classes, changed clothes while my mom groomed, threw the saddle on, and went to do my dressgae test!! It was a hurry, and mister-old-man-who-needs-a-year-to-warm-up had none. Go figure, we added 26.5 percent to our last test, and took first place with a 66%!! 
No more warm up for us!! By the second test Kai actually started to warm-up, so we had to deal with the wonderful coughing fit in the middle, but we still pulled off a 58%. Oh, and out of four halts, we had zero head tossing, and actually got an 8 on our final halt in the first test!! We also got an 8 on one circle and Kai got an 8 for gaits :)
One of the best parts of the day was that a friend of mine came along for a photography project, and followed me with her camera all day. The pictures are absolutely amazing!!
Pictures from the show:
Kai keeping up with the baby:
Three Month Before and After:
Before:
After:
Just an amazing month!! Everyone is super happy with the new barn, and I can't believe we've only been there a month. Kai and I have been taking several lessons each week, and the improvement is unbelievable. We are not at all the same pair!
it and relaxed so much that I can actually drop the reins and ask for more trot and not panic! We've also begun cantering regularly, and by the 28th I got up enough guts to ask for the canter all by myself (outside of a lesson). And of course I lived through it :) Kai has also relaxed a ton...he's stretching into the contact, using his back, and almost ALL headtossing has stopped -- even at the halt. I usually get one bounce of the head at the end when he knows we're done for the day, but that's it.
On the 22nd we went to a show, and the difference between this and the last one were, again, unbelievable. We arrived late, and my class was pretty much starting as we pulled up the driveway. I scratched my two hunt seat classes, changed clothes while my mom groomed, threw the saddle on, and went to do my dressgae test!! It was a hurry, and mister-old-man-who-needs-a-year-to-warm-up had none. Go figure, we added 26.5 percent to our last test, and took first place with a 66%!! 
No more warm up for us!! By the second test Kai actually started to warm-up, so we had to deal with the wonderful coughing fit in the middle, but we still pulled off a 58%. Oh, and out of four halts, we had zero head tossing, and actually got an 8 on our final halt in the first test!! We also got an 8 on one circle and Kai got an 8 for gaits :)
