Back to work! As Biasini told you in his post yesterday ( Biasini Speaks…)we have a show coming up and I believe he also told you he was hoping I would be focused and working toward that! So today I started back, after a 10 day holiday, with a lesson from my coach Belinda Trussell.
Belinda may be small in stature but she is BIG on energy and the ability to pour energy into teaching. And believe you me I had better be ready to snap to it. Today we just worked on the connection. That sounds simple enough. Surely if I am riding at the Prix St. George level I should know how to ride with the right connection. Yes. I do know how. However, there is no resting on previous laurels with Belinda. Now we must work on making that connection better, the power in the strides better, the gaits better.
She raised the bar….
Something as simple as riding the corner was a workout. Biasini must be bent round my inside leg, he must be light in the contact, he must maintain the power in every single stride. There can be no lack of bend, no flattening of the stride or loss of power.
Power? Power is not going faster or more forward. Power is bringing the hind end under and pushing off with the hind legs with each and every stride. Bounding! Airborne! All of that!
We did transitions from canter to walk, a few steps walk and then back to canter. The downward transition must to keep the frame and the collection without a faltering, the upward transition must have the uphill and expressive canter in one stride. If not then I would hear about it.
Quick! Lightening fast response! If I did not get it immediately I had to tell Biasini about it and let him know that was not a good enough reaction. Being that fast is hard. Very hard. And yet, during most of the lesson, I was smiling.
Why was I smiling?
Because if Belinda was demanding this reaction from me and expecting me to achieve those splendid and expressive gaits from Biasini it is because she believes we can do it. I might have been gasping but I was also delighted that she would put this kind of energy into pushing me on. Pushing me to get up and over that higher bar.
“I should know how to ride with the right connection.”
“there is no resting on previous laurels ”
“Pushing me to get up and over that higher bar.”
I felt it was a class of a classic horse back riding training. 😃
Shiva🎶
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Glad you found it interesting. Thanks Shiva!
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Reblogged this on and commented:
Love this story – so motivational! We have to push ourselves – in a positive way, to reach our own individual goals – whatever they may be!
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Thank you for the reblog! I’m glad you liked the post. We do have to push ourselves and it really helps to have a coach that asks for just that extra bit more!
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Great job to work so hard!!!! I hope the show will go wonderful, and how great that you can have such a great and energetic trainer like Belinda!!!!
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Yes I am very lucky! Thanks for all your positive comments.
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Having such a great instructor would build confidence
and enthusiasm.
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Yes it does! I am fortunate to have her and to be fit enough to respond! Thanks for your comment.
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You are welcome, Anne. I hope your training
progresses well.
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Wow, amazing post! I also liked the picture, that’s cool.
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Glad you liked it and yes it is a great photo from Rio 2016 of a winning Canadian athlete.
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That’s cool, do you know his name? I’m not Canadian 😉
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If you look at the caption at the bottom of the photo it has his name. It’s Damien. But I can’t remember his surname.
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Oh that’s cool. Thanks!
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and she you!
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At the end of the lesson she said it was “fun” to work on improving the gaits and not just be getting through the test movements. Fun! Yipes!
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❤ so glad you have her!
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I am very lucky really,
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