Doesn't mean we should have airs above the ground! I took a lesson with Harald Bauer yesterday (one of the head riders at the Spanish Riding School), and we spent most of the canter work on the hind legs. He's a firm believer in the "deep and round" philosophy, and my mare did not want to do the flying change "deep." She put on quite a show, I'm afraid. She doesn't like to feel constricted, and he took away my giving rein and made me keep my hand fixed. She didn't like that AT ALL!

Although I understand his theories and why he wants me to ride a certain way, I don’t think it’s going to work for Bella. So, here I am with less than a week before the next recognized show, with a horse whose brain I just fried, and a wet arena and no way to fix this! I called my usual instructor in desperation, and she’s going to fit me in tomorrow afternoon.

My young horse is making NO progress. Between the rain and the fact that she tried to rip her ear off and needed 30 stitches, she's basically a pasture ornament right now. *sigh* I hope we'll get past this constant injury phase and be able to move into real work soon.