Since moving to South Warren we have been attending Lilli Broksby Dressage clinics that are held at the yard down the road about once a month.
Lilli is an old Clandon Park friend. As a child she was outspoken, had untamed dark hair and owned a notoriously feisty grey mare named Gemma. Despite being the same age I was quite intimidated by lili at the time. Back then I was a demure awkward and frankly quite odd little girl with minimal riding ability and a much loved geriatric ginger fat pony. So our interactions were limited but I do remember how much Lili doted on her naughty pony, and when we lost my sisters pony to grass sickness Lili was exceptionally kind, and offered my sister to ride said naughty grey as much as she liked.
Age has only intensified Lili's best qualities. As a young woman she is witty, forthright in the best way and kind to a fault. She has moved on from naughty greys to talented if sometimes tricky black dressage horses. I have stuck with my fat ginger ponies, but gained enough self esteem to actually talk to Lili no and we have a great chat during our lessons. I love going to her clinics I enjoy the challenge of riding properly again. Its great to have someone on the ground to focus your attention and remind you how to ride.
So far we have worked on general fitness and position, a bit of lateral work, and getting Sof to move forward. Sof at times has felt beautiful, but I still feel like most of the time I am blocking her and battling her into a outline. I know she will go much softer if I get my position bang on but we haven't quite managed it. This is something I discovered in our EE lessons, but have yet to find a way to keep that balanced seat. I thought perhaps its her saddle and as a result I have bought 3 saddles in my quest to improve my seat and her comfort but to no avail. Sofies top line is atrophying and I have been worrying that the latest saddle is still a poor fit.
Last week we focused on my lower leg. Having reviewed the quite shocking photographic evidence of my wondering lower legs I wanted to see if I could get some more stability from the knee down. Lili suggested riding without stirrups to help extend my legs. EURICA! Once my stirrups were removed it felt like everything clicked. Sof became soft and round underneath me and the trot felt effortless. Suddenly I remembered finding a similar thing with Tonto when I schooled hi years prior. Its not the saddle fit, its my inability to use my stirrups.
So this is an exciting light blub moment. Now I need to work out exactly why I struggle in stirups and how I can overcome these issues. I think its to do with tightness in my hips and ankles so perhaps a bit of stretch work and maybe some supportive tack will help. In the mean time I will do some more sans stirrups work to build up Sofies back.
