A Surprise! Biasini wants to do some line-dancing moves! Take a look . Video is just 53 seconds. I will explain, after you watch it, why I had to put music over the sound track.
Why the country and western music? Well someone, who shall remain nameless, uttered a mild expletive when Biasini did his line dancing dart sideways. It is not possible to remove the soundtrack on You Tube so I chose some music that I think works quite well.
So what is important about the surprise? I had ridden Biasini past that door at least 6 times but on the 7th he saw something. So he felt it necessary to get away. I always try to quietly tell him “no, you’re fine, stay here.” And he does. But if I lost my balance and pitched sideways the outcome might be very different. The key is core stability. Ah yes the core!
Core Strength and Stability: The Rider
I need core strength to be able to stay upright and go with Biasini when he surprises me. How do I get that or keep that? That is where the Eldergym comes in. During the Pandemic I started to do the Eldergym classes online. These workout classes cover everything: cardio fitness, body strengthening, injury prevention, balance and of course Core fitness. There is no doubt in my mind that my fitness and strength have both improved in the time I have been joining the 30 minute online workouts of Eldergym.
The past couple of weeks my coach Belinda Trussell has really been raising the bar and I have had to step up and grab that bar! Here are a few Belinda quotes from lessons this week.
“I want him soft in front with that amount of power behind.“
“You are going at 1000 rpm. I want you to collect the canter and get 1500 rpm. Collected but quicker. “
“BEND! In EVERY corner!”
“Sometimes you pause as you bring him back to collected canter. You can not waver in your thoughts at all!”
And now the horse’s core
“He has to lift his core more than that. “ This was when I knew I had to do at least two half halts before the corner and one coming out of the corner. “Yes! That’s it. When you have him all the way through you can feel him lighten up” And that was exactly what I felt. When I got him to lift and engage his core he was up and light in front.
So both of us, Biasini and me, need an engaged core. Biasini can engage his but he needs reminders to do it. I have to remind myself.
Stay safe, stay well and enjoy the weekend everyone!
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