Let The Games Begin

I finally can get back to writing a blog about riding instead of flowers , butterflies or the weather.

I started riding again last Wednesday. Today, Monday I had 5 dressage lessons and want to tell all of you out there that think YOU feel out of whack while riding, you should have been there today.

One shoulder was consistantly higher than the other and I COULD NOT make my brain go to my hip(left ) at all! Poor Carol tried and tried to verbalize where and how to move and sit and ask and talk to my poor horses.I could not get it."Like this,,,,,like this,,,,,,,,,is this right,,,,,,,silence,,,,oh god that CAN'T be right,,,,,,,oooh,,,,ahhh,,,,,ping ,,,,pop,,,,tear,,,,rip,,,ugh.After trying to tell me how to get it on the horses,she poked and prodded me on the ground,"move like this...."(ARE YOU SURE?????)I thought?After THAT didn't work,she stopped me again and told me to sit still and stretched my legs out by about 8 feet. Pulling with both hands, we roared with laughter,both of us thinking,,,,,Oh this is going to be a long recovery.

After quite graphic discussion of the way to use one's pelvis we got on with it.Finally I heard the words"THAT"S BETTER! CAN YOU FEEL THAT?" (OH SURE I feel that!UGH!!!!!,I thought)

Riverdance was number one and was a saint until the medium trots,where he checked out on me and went back to Belmont Park to race against his grandfather Seattle Slew.So he got me today.Peter Pan was next and said he was as tight as a violin string.But quickly turned into Mr.Rythm and flow so it wasn't so bad.Harry was a saint but I couldn't seem to get straight and connected for the longest time.Pickles definately had a contract out for me today and said,You'd better be good if you want me Honey.But we got him in the end.I was never allowed off the circle with him.And Stryder was an angel.

So after over 3 hours of riding without stirrups I bolted into town for some mental balancing,then off to Mr.Muscle for another hour of popping and stretching.

I watch a lot of people work out in town and they make it look easy.They can grab parts of their bodies and stretch that I can't even reach with both hands,let alone stay on my feet. I get knocked out of my comfort zone (Which happens in the first excercise), personal failure crosses my mind. I beat myself up call myself retarded ,apologize to my teacher for being so dumb, slow, uncoordinated. But I FINALLY realized after I needed extra rubber bands to aid me in my stretching, that I it wasn't a lack of coordination, talent, or ability, but simply that I am too TIGHT! DUH!Then I rolled around on this round thing looking for knots in my muscles.Boy did I find them! UGH!

When I am supposed to do things eight times and I start to shake at number four and then breakdown at 5 or 6 and HAVE TO STOP!It is not failure.It Is not bad.It IS OK!There is a long road ahead for sure.It is an interesting feeling when the excercises are more powerful than I am .When one reaches their limit and has to make a decision .Can you go past this,can you get through or does one wait till next time.decisions definately have to be made.

This is very challenging and it's great to be SO FAR OUT of the zone that I know.So it's not just you all out there that feel like upside down turtles.I am right there with you all.I am sure learning a great deal about stretching and the importance of it for us and our horses. About time!