Magic and I rode this morning. When we ride around the farm, he does not like to stand still. If he stops he wants to start up again. I am happy for him to be forward but we do need enough patience to stand still. Trail riding with a group helps with this a lot because they go so long that when they stop, Magic is happy to stand still. I have been thinking about balance when I stand up in the stirrups. When I worked on it the other day it was not what I wanted. I got to thinking that jockeys must have good balance to ride so high above the horse. Dressage literature dictates that good position requires very long stirrups. Some time ago, Andrea commented that she thought I would do better if I had shorter stirrups. I don’t remember what prompted me to do it but I shortened my stirrup leathers one notch when I got to the arena. I noticed immediate improvement in my balance in the “two point position”. I think I will keep them this length for a while. We rode in the arena, around the Oak pasture and around the field up on Shirey. I enjoyed the ride.
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