07/23/2026
Today I had a sublime ride on Pip. It really was. I even looked up the dictionary definition of the word to make sure It matched my experience.
It started out with loud road work making weird noises right next to the farm - it disturbed him in the cross ties and we had to go walk around in the arena in hand for a bit. Then, about five minutes in to walking around under saddle, the Porta potty dude came to pump/clean the potty, which is VERY interesting, and *of course* next to the scary corner. Also, it was an early morning ride before he had any turn out… So he was a little bit on tiptoes already.
The rule for me for the day (pre-chosen):
Be With Him FIRST. Get Him With Me Second. This goal came from watching Ben Albright warm up a very sensitive horse and then navigate a test last week end. It was very inspiring.
I usually try to have one over-arching goal to guide my ride with him per day. It seems to help me stay on track. It turned out to be an excellent choice for riding through some initial hick ups, and getting to the sweet spot.
So, of course he was greatly interested and a little tense about the interruptions and noises, but he came back to me incredibly quickly. With only two little tiny spooks that made me giggle. I 100% percent think that me being With Him First, wherever he was, made *wherever he was* feel safer because we were in balance together and I was not riding in opposition to his perceptions.
We ended up in our own bubble, which reminded me of a conversation that I recently had with Audrey Goldsmith about showing. And somehow, for most of the ride, I felt as though I was riding the air around him. Like there was warm living air between us, and he flowed between my aids without bumping into me. Or me bumping into him. It was really something hard to describe. It was just lovely.
It felt super fluid, even though it was far from perfect. There were boo-boos, but they did not interrupt the flow. The curling up that used to be a problem has all but disappeared, and all I have to do most of the time is just take the slack out of the reins and he places his neck he needs it to be for *reasons*, with a very quiet, soft and consistent contact. And it's not like clockwork, but it's so much better than it used to be. He now has the same amount of foam all around his mouth instead of more on one side than the other. And I can feel just the corners of his mouth with my ring fingers.
The very best part was how his back felt. The Sweet Spot was impossible to leave. He was lifted, and HE placed me in this wonderful, floating place. And he clearly liked how he could carry me that way.
We didn't do anything exciting. Just super simple work, but we cantered, and that's still a big deal for me. I have hardly cantered him at all because the canter is huge, has been a bit unbalanced, and I just didn't think I'd stay on through any little blip.
Today was different. He had me where he wanted me and he stayed right under me. I'm getting the hang of it! The sweet spot was so present in the trot that once we got to canter, it carried right over. I literally felt him re-organize and balance me so I could just sit quietly and not disturb him by leaning back defensively, or doing anything extreme.
It was a short ride, all of my rides on him are. They're so productive there's no need to keep going at it very long with tons of repetitions. And he retains everything so well that I'm just sticking with the short ones.
I am so so grateful to be able to ride this wonderful horse, and to have him in my life. He is patiently helping me with my riding, definitely helping me with my teaching, and making me a better person in general. The best part is that he is happy when I ride him. Happy to learn and happy to participate, even if I fumble around sometimes.
Here I am six hours later, And I still have the same feeling in my entire body that I had at the end of the ride. Bliss. The feeling of everything being in the right place at the right time. Horses are just amazing.
