Small swim and the magic of Merlin

Had to get some new lenses in my glasses and they were late getting out of the shop, so was a little late for my swim. So...I had to do a little smaller workout than usual, did everything but a 200m, which worked out fine as I was a little slow this hot afternoon anyway. The swim felt great, the sprints during my period were very fast and I felt really good technique-wise.

Tonight at riding I rode Merlin, a gray (almost white) 18 year old male. Merlin's known to give a little buck here and there and also has a very sensitive/responsive mouth. He's also very responsive to leg aids, as well as the rider's balance. The ride actually went really well though for me, everyone was impressed with how we worked together. Had a little trouble keeping at the trot gate that I wanted in the clockwise direction around the arena (he's slower in this direction) and had to do some mending to his canter as he likes to drop his hip to the inside. Overall, he has one of the nicest canter's I've felt so far.