Pick up your reins

Uh-oh, Dada worked me today. Really. No resting on the old laurels for Matt.

Morven Park's fall show is in September, and Dada has decided I will win and there was some mention of the world championships.

We worked on three things today, my first lesson in Middleburg. It is great out there. All I have to do to win is: Hold my hands still and control Louie by wiggling my fingers, use my legs to "walk" with Louie and encourage his pace, and always, always, always keep contact with Louie by holding the reins taut. But not so taut that it in any way impedes Louie's progress. Just enough so that Louie holds his head down.

And I also have to watch where I am going and constantly shift my body to the left. that's it.

Any one of these things is a little overwhelming, trying to do all of them ... Yikes. Especially, the reins thing.

Apparently, Dada was going easy on me before, but now she is going to lay down the dressage law.

Dada thinks I can do them all by September because she said there were moments were I looked perfect. I didn't have the heart to tell her those moments were probably just luck as I was sliding from one wobbly position to the next.

Maybe, though, I will trust that Dada knows more about riding and maybe I can do this stuff. I guess we'll find out in September.