Dressage Basics Failure

I drove back down to MS for 2 more lessons while Romeo is in half training. Oh dear...I always forget how bad I am at dressage.

I did hunters all of my life, where hands in your crotch and tipping your pelvis makes you look just as good as anyone else. I try to hard to sit on my "pockets" and keep my hands up...but then I forget about going forward and just about everything else.

Yesterday - We went back to basics. Like...I felt like an idiot basics. A whip was put under my thumbs to keep my hands on the same plane. I fought against it so much that I have welts today! Romeo is getting better though, and is really relaxing over his top line and using his butt, which he couldn't do when his hocks hurt.

Today, we still did all basics, but at least I didn't feel like I had only been riding for 3 months. I just still don't feel completely comfortable in a dressage saddle, and I know I must look horrendous, but it is so hard for me to do 239483 things at once that are mostly new! Keeping my hands out of my lap is hard, and I love to cross over the neck with my reins instead of opening my other rein. Also, I so easily forget about keeping him forward and not getting him to curl around the bit, but kind of at least be on it.

I got mom to take some video...but she had never videoed on her phone before so its the tiniest thing you ever did see. These were also taken at the beginning of the lesson before he really loosened up, but at least you can tell my hands aren't in my lap!