Chessington 9

1st July 2010

Chessington Equestrian Centre, Chessington

Short report tonight, I'm tired. Cycled to the yard again, this time on the bike I crashed on 18 months ago - the first time I've ridden it since. It felt surprisingly good, and as I know the route now, was relatively stress free. I'd only decided to bike there half an hour before leaving, so at least I hadn't spent all day getting nervous. I was riding Ernie today for the first time, and also going on my first hack from there, with Donna who was escorting for the first time. A lot of firsts then. It was great. I was perhaps more relaxed as I wasn't being watched in a school, and I felt completely at home in the saddle. There was a lot of roadwork, but I had no idea what sort of route to expect, and there were also a lot of lovely shaded bridleways. We mostly walked on the roads, but on almost all of the bridleways we trotted and cantered. It was a great confidence boost, as during lessons I'm constantly trying to improve, but this gave me a chance to see that I really could just ride. I may not be able to jump huge fences, or perform flying changes, but out on a hack, I'm as capable as the next person. My lower leg felt amazingly secure when trotting and cantering, and there was a good inch or so of air between my knee and the saddle, so I think I've managed to break the habit of gripping with my knees. Ernie was great. As I was behind the whole time, I'm not sure he would have done much other than walk/trot/canter when I asked him as Patchwork was doing the same in front, but either way, he didn't put a foot wrong. And was lovely and comfortable. Combined with a good (and fast with an ave of 20mph) cycle home, I'm generally feeling very positive about riding - both bikes and horses.