Frustrating ride.

Blah ride today.  Gali was great for getting his feet trimmed, and it was nice to catch up with my trimmer.  I expected a productive ride and was excited to have the ring (mostly) to myself, but when the barn owner began watering the arena, Gali’s brain went on a temporary vacation.  He was so distracted, and despite the fact that the barn owner was watering out of our way and we should have had plenty of space to work, Gali decided that both ends of the ring were terrifying, and that the middle was the only safe place to be.

Some figure eights helped expand our working area, but he was inverted, bucking, and counterbending all over the place.  I’m actually glad he was a little bucky, because otherwise I think the people watching would just assume that I was an idiot - that's how bad it went.

I'm disappointed, not just because of how the ride went, but because I was unable to turn a ride that started off poorly into a ride that ended well.  I feel like every exercise, trick, and maneuver I should have used was completely forgotten, and my position went to shit.  I feel like I am desperately in need of a lesson, but I can't afford one until mid-December, most likely... I guess reading and really thinking through what I messed up today is what I'll have to settle for.

The one positive thing about the ride was that we got to work on some de-spooking methods, and if the ring didn't fill up with pony clubbers as I was ending, I think I would have been able to make more progress in that regard.

To quote my celebrity soul make, "I’m marking it down to learning, 'cause I can", and I've got to treat tomorrow's ride like a fresh slate - and maybe tomorrow I can actually start No Stirrup November.