Can you see how tense I am?
My shoulders alone are way up around my head.
Sometimes my arms were out a bit too far.
..and something you really can only see in the video is that my back was very rigid..not flexing at all with the motion.
I am not saying it was all bad. There were small sessions where I was composed and it looked cute..but the bad was - well ... BAD!
I was the first on into the line up.. ha ha..
This is one of my classes. A pretty nice size and some talented horses!
Sorry the pictures are so blurry. They are still shots off of a video.
14 comments:
I don't remember how secure I felt in a sidesaddle the few times I played around with one. I do remember that the horse invariably misbehaved and I had to throw my leg over and do a little tuning. Now that was uncomfortable. I guess I wonder why the fear? Do you feel unstable, is it inexperience, or being judged? I think it's really cool that you're doing it!
I don't know anything about saddle seat riding but to me you look nice but yes, a bit tense.
Could it be that the tenseness was caused by your leaping head twisting about? Afterall, that IS our security in the saddle at the end of the day and if the horn is twisting about, your hardly going to have a secure ride.
I reckon that if it hadn't been for your leaping head moving about, you would have been more confident about riding Oliver through his excitedness.
My nervousness comes from many places..
1. Doing something different in the middle of others doing the norm..
2. Feeling like I am on center stage and what I do is remembered - good or bad!
3. Feeling like I represent not only sidesaddle in the fact that I want others to get involved, but also the magazine I work for.
4. Just maybe a bit of self esteem doubt..
Julie;
If work doesn't preclude me from going to SASHA, do you want a lesson while I'm there?
Attafox... do I really NEED to answer this question???
Hell Yes - I want a Lesson! ha ha ....
I won't get to SASHA though until Friday ...and I show aside Friday evening!
Just keep in mind, Julie, that perfection does not happen overnight. Keep working at it and it will come. Considering I have never ridden a sidesaddle let alone a gaited horse like Oliver, that may not mean much, but I think you should keep going. More practice and maybe some equipment modification. You and Oliver present a pretty picture, both you and he will click together and be hard to beat!!
Nice Shoulders! LOL! Go read my answer to your question on M-S. Maybe that's why I can't hear when I'm tense! My shoulders are covering my ears!
But seriously, you are out there doing it! You get a huge amount of credit just for getting equipped and out there.
I still think you and your fancy new outfit looked great!
What about taking Oliver on a few trips out to different barns to ride astride & aside. Ride him astride first to get both your nerves settled and his energy level down a bit and then ride aside.
Same with the show, why not do an astride class first, get yourself feeling good and then do your sidesaddle class.
Julie - do you ride in Spanx? If not, you should get a pair. It will help with your core.
Don't be so hard on yourself. It is great to want to be so good and it is really great to watch yourself to improve and you will. You are doing it right by seeing where you need to work. I think you looked so elegant and I am sure as you go you will look back and see what huge progress you make:) OH and Oliver looked so handsome:)
Wow, what amazing photos.
The photos are wonderful (and you look so stylish too-lol)
Show nerves...the bane of us all. One of my previous trainers suggested a wine cooler before our hunter courses. ;-)
Seriously, though -- if you have available inexpensive, close-to-home schooling shows, they are a great way to work through show nerves with less at stake.
Since I rode a little 3/4 Arabian against thoroughbreds in open hunter shows, I also felt like I was a representative being judged differently. So I tried to forget about the competition and consider the show as a test of our progress. The heck with the judge and other riders. Did our course flow and did we take the fences in stride? If I felt good about our go, it was a good show, regardless of what the judge or competition thought.
You go girl!
Wow, I'm proud of you for getting out there and showing! With a little time you and Oliver will bring it all together and do magnificently. Meanwhile, you look very nice in your gorgeous dress and I have seen much worse in equitation riders. You look more nervous than anything. Maybe all you really need is a glass of wine like Oregon Equestrian said. lol.
How about working on your sitting trot? There's no rule that says you have to post, but if you start posting you need to finish the class posting. (Though it's doubtful most judges would even know that)
It takes a lot of schooling to ride aside. You need to remember even though you know how to ride a horse, sidesaddle is a whole new ball game. When you first learned to ride were you showing spectacularly within a year?
You absolutely need to give yourself a break. You are pushing too hard and expecting too much. You're bound to fail, at least in your own eyes.
Go back and read these comments AND take them to heart.
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8533706630841572685&postID=168678104782557417
One of the comments made was about wearing an apron instead of a skirt. I think an apron makes a huge difference. They don't shift and clump up the way a skirt can.
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