Massive Improvement

[NoviceNic]

Those were the words of my new RI today. :D As Captain and I walked around the school she watched me from behind and said "Nic you really have improved massively" and that I really looked relaxed and my body was moving in all the right places. 4 yrs it has taken me. :eek: Only 3 lessons with my new RI and I am off to a flying start. :D Not only relaxed but when Donna schooled Captain he kept running back to me as I am his "Comfort Zone". Probably because she made him work and he knows he gets away with it when I ride.:rolleyes: Still on the long and winding road but with a big grin on my face.:D

[momofsix]

Great job!

[kedwards]

Awesome! Sounds like you're off to a great start with this new instructor.

It really is amazing what a big difference the right instructor makes. It took me a while to realize that, but I'll never settle for just satisfactory instruction again.

[NoviceNic]

I have been riding for 4 yrs and it is the first time I was told that if I slouch on one side it will make Captain lean. Apparently I tend to drop my left shoulder. This may answer my question of why I cant get Captain around a smooth corner. He tends to be eratic and go around in angles rather than curves. Also I knew that if I looked up it would mean I was watching where I was going but I never knew it helped me with my position. So I am sticking to Novice Nic for a while. ;)

[kedwards]

Funny, those two things are two of the major faults that my wonderful SJ instructor noticed and corrected (or mostly corrected) when I started with her. Like you, nobody before her had mentioned my tendency to collapse my left side. Yet, after she mentioned it, I reviewed old photos and it was clear as a bell.'

It sounds like you won't be able to stick with that name for long if she keeps correcting things though. I suppose you'll have to find new problems for her to fix pretty soon.

[cazrider]

Really great to hear NotsoNoviceNic:D

[NoviceNic]

NotSoNoviceNic :D I like the sound of that one.

[Skib]

That's great Novicenick. - also for me to have some comparison with someone else who's been riding four years. I first found out about this balance stuff reading Mary Wanless "For the Good of the Rider." She talks about the stuffing leaking out of one side of you.
In the days before I found this board, she was a revelation to me.
Even though I dont ride her style, and am permantently crooked, she is so interesting on both riding and riding lessons.
But dont write off the four years till now. And that includes the learning we have both done through making mistakes.
I too have had a breakthrough - and though it may be a miracle cure for my problems in lessons, I suddenly realised it might not work for other people, because it hangs together with the style of riding I've developed and all I have learned so far.
I am sure it is the same with you. You know more than me because you have Captain. This relaxation, and balance stuff is so important, and you may feel it has come a bit late, but what has happened in your last few lessons rests on all the riding and thinking things out which you have done so far.
And may we both have many more great lessons to come.

[VickiGG]

Isn't it amazing what some instructors see - my new instructor found I was dropping my left shoulder, so I practised not doing it while driving - and that helped. Now she sees I need to sit over to the left with my left hip bone. Amzing the difference it makes to Garbos straightness. He simply couldn't round up before because he couldn't go straight - as soon as I did it he stopped falling in on the left rein! Amazing!:cool:

[Stella2]

Isn't it great when a (riding) plan comes together? :D

[Lora]

It really is amazing what a big difference the right instructor makes. It took me a while to realize that, but I'll never settle for just satisfactory instruction again.

I agree with this about 95 percent, I'd like to add that occasionally switching instructors, (even when you like the one you have) is VERY beneficial. If nothing else, they can explain the same abstract point in different wording that might hit home better.

My third instructor from previous barn was awesome, loved her and felt good about safety with her. But she never mentioned WHY we slide the leg behind the girth. I had one session with a parelli trainer and she suddenly said something about what it does. (my fault it didn't stick in memory but at least it was said)

Does that make sense about switching I hope?

[NoviceNic]

I think that in the 4 yrs of riding the first 2 yrs was just abot getting back on and having fun. The last 15 months have been about trust, bonding and confidence building. My level/confidence is so up know I think I am capable enough of schooling Captain with advise from my instructor. That way we build our experience together.