Madison and Michaela (above)



Madison and Blue (above)



Michaela and Penney



Michaela riding Penney without assistance.



Michelle's horse Jasper, hoping for another treat I'm sure!



Brushing Penney after the ride.



GDaddy showing Michaela how it's done.



Alex, Madison, Emily, Michaela, Kaitlyn, and Teri (Penney's Owner)

Teri is learning to post and she's doing very well. In this lesson we worked on switching diagonals.



Stretching after a long stretch of posting.



Your leaning forward and being silly. No fun allowed! ha ha.



Get your lower leg back a little.



This is nice, but you need to keep the weight in your heels and post from the bottom of your heal.



Get your lower leg back a little and toes in.



Awsome leg position, very nice Teri.



VERY VERY VERY Nicely done! Your leg and seat are perfection in this pic. This is the perfect post! Notice how you can still draw a straight line from your shoulder, through your hip to your heel. Your lower leg may be just a hair too far back but it's nearly perfect. This is what you want. If you are balanced and post from the bottom of your heel, this will come natural.



Get your lower leg back, remember the straight line from your shoulder, through your hip to the back of your heel.



Beautiful leg position.



Ver nice.



Get your lower leg back. You look like you are sitting in a chair!



Get your lower leg back.

Teri has begun work on her hands and hand position. Our goal is for her to have nice steady hands and to move with the horse therefore avoiding "bumping" the horse's mouth. We don't want her hands to be heavy but we don't want them to be flimsy and funky either. Achieving this skill takes a little finesse and coordination. Overall she is doing AWSOME. She's gone from being all over the place and floppy to strong and steady, hands included. I am very impressed. Penney is wearing boots because we did a little cantering work in the round pen before we began, we are trying to get the old girl in shape. For the record, Penney has a beautiful, floaty, wonderful trot, when she kicks it in gear. I was absolutely shocked. I've only since her Western Pleasure jog. No kidding, I'm going to post video!



Your hands are just a hair high in this picture. It looks like you may be trying "puppy dog" a little.



This looks nice.



You are leaning too far forward.



Penney's nose is sticking out she's "in front of" the bit as opposed to "on the bit" which is what we want. More leg! More leg! More leg!



Ahhhh relaxation.

Jonni and I are working on her overall riding form. She has a great seat but needs a lot of work on her hands, posture, and legs / feet. In this particular lesson we were focussing on her hands.

Jonni has a fantastic attitude when we work together and because she has a great attitude when in training, she has the potential to go far. When it comes to sports and training WE ALL need to remain teachable and never "Know it all". Tiger Woods has a team of trainers that stand over him and correct and critique him as he practices. Just like other sports, the harder we work the better we get. I'm saying this because with Jonni I see someone that truly loves the horses and wants to learn and that's always a pleasure to work with.

 

In this picture you you need to sit up straight, roll  your shoulders back, lengthen your reins a little, and get your hands off the mare's withers.



Your posture looks much, much better in this picture. You need to get your shoulders back and your hands are a little low, you've broken "the line". There should be a straight line from the bit to your elbow. You are doing that funky thing with your fingers that Teri does to, they are squished together. Other than that, this is a nice pic.



Wow, the chick in the pink needs to lay off the cokes. Anyway, much better hand position. You could bring them in just a hair closer to your body but I can't really fault you a whole lot on this one. Very nice Jonni.



Your arms are a little too straight in this picture. You need to bring your elbows back in by your sides a little more.

Jonni and Jasper



Jonni has a fabulous seat and can do a beautiful posting trot without stirrups. The area's she needs to work on is 1) her leg position - her toes tend to point straight out and they need to point forward or in. 2) Her hands 3) Shoulders back 4) look-up and watch where you are going. Jonni and Jasper are a perfect match for each other, physically, they look really good together. Jonni had a great attitude and very pleasant to work with!



No kidding, this girl can do a beautiful posting trot without stirrups. I was so so impressed. She didn't bounce, it was smooth, and just beautiful to watch.





Kathryn and Penny



Ohhhhh, we have much work to do on the hands, but fabulous leg position. You need to get your hands down and bring them in closer to you. Your elbows should be bent, they are sticking straight out.



What a beautiful leg position. You look balanced, the entire length of your calf is on the horse. You are going to be a great rider if you practice what you learn even when you are "riding for fun". You should strive to ride correctly, even when riding "for fun".



This is a beautiful picture, you look wonderful except for one thing... your whole foot is crammed in the stirrup which is DANGEROUS. If your position get's out of whack ... STOP .. and re-organize yourelf. Only the ball of your foot should be in the stirrup ESPECIALLY when you are riding for fun. Your foot could easily go all the way through the stirrup which would allow the horse to drag you if he / she took off (bolted).



You look great here, but I see a little too much foot in that stirrup.



Look at your leg... this is perfect. The entire length of your calf from knee to ankle is on the horse. Your ankle is flexed down and inward, your toes are forward, your heel is down, the sole of your foot is pointing out. Great job Kahtryn. You have great potential but your going to have to practice when I'm not around.



Your heel is digging into the horse in this picture (although I think she doesn't care, she looks like she's about to fall asleep). Keep your toes pointed forward.



This looks really nice Kathryn.



Way too much foot in the stirrup.

You need to work on 1) riding correctly AT ALL TIMES even when not doing lessons and "Riding for fun" 2) You are definitely ready to begin serious work on your hands

Connie came over and gave me a lesson in ground driving, and she gave Teri and Kathryn riding lessons.

Connie and Jack









Connie and Kathryn

Kathryn is doing so good. I was so proud to "show her off" to Connie. In the pictures below, she has a fabulous little leg position. She listened really well and did what Connie asked. Way to go Kathryn!!






Kathryn looks TOUGH AS NAILS!!!! I love it!! When she does start showing in the Hunter Divisions, she will be the one to beat!!






Connie and Teri

Teri did very well riding with someone new. She totally got what Connie was telling her and she tries so so so hard. She gives it her all and we are definitely seeing results.



(Above) I love this picture. I can totally see a bend in Penny. She is listening to your cues. You have a lot of inside leg on her and she is responding nicely. This is what you want. What's really cool is, you have almost no contact with your inside rein yet you are getting this nice bend out of her. Your leg is a little far back but you are getting the job done in this pic. This is what I mean by riding off your legs and not your hands. Don't get me wrong, you do want contact with the horses mouth but this photo is a good example of the horse responding to leg pressure.



(Above) You have very nice contact with the horses mouth in this picture. There is a nice strait line extending to the bit. You need to sit back a little, you are leaning forward. You need to get your heels down more and toes in.



(Above) Your leg position is BEAUTIFUL in this picture.



(Above) You need to get your weight down in your heals. You are getting a nice bend out of Penney in this picture.





Girlfriend!!! Get your heels down!!



You did really well taking from a new person.



Your leg position looks awsomw in this pic. You've come a long way Ms. Teri!!

When I bought Jack I quickly realized he knew only a few things such as how to lead at a walk, stand tied, have his feet handled, stand for the vet, load on a trailer, and he'll let you mount him. That is quiet literally all he knew. And he would walk on you and nip really bad.

Today he'll do the following:

• Lunge to the left and right at a walk, trot, and canter.
• Obey voice commands on the lunge line (for the most part, we're still working on it)
• Speed up and slow down on the lunge line according to my voice commands.
• Pick up the correct lead at the canter on the lunge line.
• Ground drive lightly.
• Follow the bit to the left and right (some)
• Move off my legs (some)
• He'll let me clip him.
• I trust him enough now to let the kids work with him some. He's a pretty good boy.

When I first started riding him, he was very anxious almost like he was waiting on me to do something stupid on him. He's settled down a good bit and is a lot more relaxed under saddle.

Goals:

• Ride quietly under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter.
• Pick up correct leads.
• Flying lead changes.
• Trail ride quietly.
• Prove himself to be kid safe.
• Jump.
• Become Show Worthy for the Kids

Up Coming Training Sessions Will Include:

• More lungeing working on transitions and voice commands.
• Ground Driving
• Lungeing in Side Reins.
• Trotting under saddle
• Cantering under saddle.
• Intro to trail riding
• Intro to jumping (ground poles and cross rails)
• Intro to full sized arena (Connie's)

ANNOUNCEMENT

Atlanta Spring Classic II Hunter Jumper Horse Show

Location Information

The Atlanta Spring Classic is located in the Charles Walker Arena, and Arenas 4-7. The $25,000 Grand Prix on Saturday is held in the Olympic Stadium. Free Admission!

Event Description

Come by the Atlanta Spring Classic horse show to witness world class show jumping at its very best! Over 800 horses will be in attendance. Riders ages 6 to 60 years participate. The highlights of the Spring Classic will be the $7,500 Children's/Adult Jumper Classic along with the $25,000 Grand Prix events each week. Show jumping is daily from Tuesday through Saturday from 8a.m. to 4-6pm in the Charles Walker Arena and Arenas 4-7. A $25,000 Grand Prix will be held on Saturday at 2p.m.

Some days, it's just fun to groom and hang out with your horse!

You are doing so much better! You just need to relax more and keep concentrating on sitting deep in the saddle and moving with the horse. Your hands are really in the way in this pic. I think next time you need to just rest them on your thighs. At this point it's just going to take a lot of practice. You will get it though, I promise.



You are looking down and holding on to the saddle too much. Next time, I want you to rest your hands on your thighs. That's the only way you are going to be able to get your seat. You really need to start looking up when you ride. If you are looking down you are concentrating on the horse and not yourself.




Our new little lesson pony ... Jack. I have a good leg position in this pic and I am looking up. My hands are too high and I've broken the straight line from my elbow to the bit. I tend to "cheat" when I'm working with Jack. Instead of shortening my rein real fast I just pull it across his shoulder to pull his nose back to the inside. He knows nothing and tends to be all over the place but he's getting with the program pretty fast. I really am bad about "puppy dogging" my hands.

This our new lesson / show pony named "Jack Sparrow". We believe he's part Welsh or Halflinger. He's 14 hands and 5 years old. He was a rescue horse to an extent. He was living in very less than ideal conditions, eating hog slop  - literally! So far he's been worth the $250 it took to buy him. Anyway, he seems to be reallllllly "green". I've been riding him lightly in the round pen just working on turning and bending in small circles and moving forward off my legs. He's doing very well. He learns fast and really responds well to praise and affection. I love this little horse! I do feel like I'm riding a yearling though, compared to my 16.2 hand paint named "Jasper".

This is a perfect example of what happens when you look down.... you begin to lean forward in the saddle. I'm actually a little up tight in this picture which has a lot to do with it too. This was the first time I've ridden Jack - EVER. I should be sitting up, leaning back a little and watching where I am going. My leg is in a good position, I'm just leaning forward and looking down.