It must be the shoes

I had my first lesson today with my new boots, which are very nice even if they are women's. I also rode with a new saddle, a dressage saddle. It felt pretty good. I was a lot closer to Bella. Or I felt that way at least. Dada and Kate said I looked good and rode well. I felt unbalanced only once or twice, so that's good. It was mostly on free walks that I felt out of sorts. In free walks, you lean forward on the horse's neck and let her pick the gait, I think. I think we will stick with this saddle. Apparently, it is a lot more comfortable for Bella. I think the Australian saddle weighs a lot.

I have been having issues keeping my horse - Bella or Charm - close to the wall when riding. In dressage, you want to ride right on the rail. I think with Bella some of it is she knows the barn so well, she turns early. She was more than willing to go to the rail so I guess I need to keep her there. Also, Kate was always on my left so I needed to not crush her. I think she appreciated it.

We rode a bunch of circles and half-circles. Sometimes I did really well. Other times, not so much. Dada told me to never ride a straight line when trying to ride a circle. Of course, that's true. I asked her what to do if I made a mistake in the circle, and she basically said, you don't make a mistake. I may be screwed.

Dada mentioned a clinic in Pennsylvania in November. She said the vice president of the U.S. Para-equestrian team or something wanted to see her and me again. I don't remember seeing her once. But cool.