Id rather have the food version of a pinwheel please

I had a lesson friday evening with D where we jumped a sorta kinda pinwheel exercise. The lesson in the moment, did not feel as great...but once reflecting on the lesson I can admit there was a lot of learning going on. Tillie's flat work was pretty good and D had us pick up where Miseventer and Tillie left off...with trying to get her to stretch.

Just after our lesson, looking as cute as ever.

I had been working on it since talking to Miseventer and posted about it here: http://somethingtotalkabouteventing.blogspot.com/2015/11/just-do-it-and-questions-about.html

We instantly got good feedback from D on how much more relaxed she looked and that she did appear to slightly be letting go in her balance and trusting herself. Except, I have fallen into a trap of letting Tillie get lazy and behind my leg and mistaking it for quiet and relaxed during this exercise. Also she tends to start poking her nose out like a hunter when I am trying to get her stretch and not really staying connected like D wanted to see...

A little too relaxed

 D kept saying to Jazz her up and activate her hind end without her getting quick...sounds so simple right?! I can understand this concept so well, but I put my leg on to activate the hind end and we end up going too fast. **Sigh** I guess it will come with time.

So we moved on to getting her filling up each rein evenly with lots of changing rein and then some canter work getting her bending a bit more with shoulder fore. Then the jumping started and we warmed up over an X on a 20m circle as usual...and believe it or not mare needed a CROP!!!

Yes fellow bloggers, my red head dragon of a mare needed a crop.

Just kidding...but seriously.

He had us focusing on maintaining a rhythm, using the circle as a natural half halt so we could rely more on the outside leg and less hand throughout the process. We eventually built to the below...Jump 1 a vertical, 2 one half of a cross rail so we could jump the lower side off the circle and jump three a square oxer.

While the jumps weren't super high, the exercise itself offered plenty of challenges. AKA landing on the correct lead, staying in rhythm and NOT over half halting. D wanted us getting an even 4 in each quadrant and staying wide in the turns. Tillie would really drift towards the barn going too wide one quadrant and cutting the turn through the other.

After much more outside leg (to which I have skin rubbed off just above my calf...time for new half chaps maybe?) we finally got into a groove and D had us going through it again and again without stopping until we were both not so "OMG JUMPS COMING FAST!"

All in all, we started out a pit out of sync jumping...but by the end felt like we had a bit more of an agreement through the exercise. I would love to try this again even if its just placing poles!