Relax, ape arms and eyes on the shoulder

Tonight I attempted a seven jump course with Pet step. Although I finished the course several times, I never really got to the point of satisfying Laura...I still have a lot of detail work to do. In particular, I need to hold my hands/knuckles right - almost in an ape like position, hold my body right (not lean forward) and keep my shoulders back and up as if I had eyes on my shoulder looking over the jump. I also need to get used to keeping the horse under control in a two-point (butt off the saddle) by staying relaxed and trying to get 'responses' rather than 'reactions'. All that said, I felt pretty good about the whole thing. The jumping really highlights what I need to work on in my flat work. I also had a long talk with Laura after the lesson about pentathlon stuff. After the San Antonio camp, I would be able to come back with a training plan of the jumping...something I really need to put in place.