I was in a horrible cruddy mood today. All day, I watched it pour down rain and get colder and colder. Cersei awoke from her afternoon nap about 4 and wanted to go play, so I grumbled and bundled up and headed out. (Her afternoon nap is distinguished from her morning nap by a pee break sometime between 11 am and 1 pm, in case you were wondering. A tired dog is a happy dog!)
Anyway, so it was 33 degrees and raining, but I rode anyway. It was Champ's day, and I didn't want to do anything except ride around a few minutes til my mood improved. The ground was sodden and it was almost dark, so I went did a few short laps on the dead-end part of Polk Lane. There are only four houses on that street past my barn, so I felt safe enough out there.
We did a couple of laps walking to the end and jogging back, while I thought about how exactly one posts without stirrups and without falling off. Eventually, I just wiggled my toes out of the stirrups and gave it a shot. I didn't fall off! I can see what a great exercise it is for balance and core strength, and I plan to do it again next time I ride Champ.
Then I got my truck stuck in the mud again. Oh well. I didn't even have a meltdown about it; I'd already ridden so I was pretty chill. K tried to tow me out, but she couldn't get much traction so we'll just leave it there til Wednesday.
The unexpected side benefit was getting to take my husband's 325i to the grocery store. Vroom zoom zoom, it's like piloting a small rocket ship around.
Posting without stirrups sounds so intimidating. I never learned it because I... well.. cheat.
ReplyDeleteYou're very inspiring, you know. :)
Sometimes our coach would start a lesson by removing all of our stirrups. It would suck, but it sure teaches you not to use them as a crutch. I actually prefer to ride without stirrups much of the time now...I often kick my feet out, but if they happen to bang against Raven's side we're off like a shot.
ReplyDeleteiolirtwi: ???
Sara, it's not quite as hard as I thought. And I think it'll help with my balance in general!
ReplyDeletedp, I considered the stirrup-banging problem but it's not something Champ is bothered by. And western-type stirrups don't swing as wildly or bang as hard; it's one of the benefits of them.
It's still raining here :(
I ride Raven in light synthetic stirrups for that very reason. I am considering getting a western saddle for her because I kind of want to take reining lessons. Nobody rode western where I grew up, but it's about a 50/50 split in these parts and I want to give it a try.
ReplyDeletestiffe: a french adjective describing a woman after she shovels a foot of slush off her driveway. AKA dp.