I trotted Quisel for the first time today in at least a week. He was under doctor's orders to walk for a week and I think it paid off! He was really wild and jumped up in the air every time another horse passed him, but luckily we both survived the ride and he trotted soundly. I also flatted Lord's Boy. He was really fresh and Alois helped me work him on the flat. The biggest critique Alois has of my riding position is that I need to sit further back in the saddle. I was somewhat confused the first few times he said this and I thought he simply wanted me to lift my shoulders and hold my upper body at a wider angle to the saddle. However, what he actually wants is for me to physically sit further away from the pommel and closer to the back of the saddle. I find this technique difficult but I'm working hard to master it. It is very connected position where the rider's legs feel somewhat far forward, the reins are slightly long and high but holding a firm contact, and the foot is virtually flat and pushing rhythmically against the horse's sides to maintain the forward motion. Alois and Simone had to leave after lunch, so Christoffer set the course for me to jump Lucy in the afternoon. She jumped great! The course was about meter 1.30 and I tried riding her without spurs to encourage minimal bucking. Lucy LOVES bucking and I'm not quite as fond of it. She was definitely less bratty without the spurs and she's a very forward horse, so I think I will eventually forego the spurs to keep her happy.
Once we finished at the barn, Lena, Christoffer, Lottie, and I had to walk home in the cold. Christoffer and Lena took advantage of this time to squeeze in a little last PDA before Christoffer went back to his apartment, so Lottie and I decided to play all the way home. We skipped, hopped, used invisible jump ropes, swung around on lamp posts, did jumping jacks, sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and more! I love my little German sister. My American sister definitely has some competition! After skipping into the house, we had a quick dinner (Lottie is really easy to feed because she will eat bread with Nutella for almost every meal), and then watched Gute Seiten Schlechte Seiten, the soap opera show I love so much. The last but certainly not least exciting entertainment of the night occurred when Felix the cat was playing with a canvas bag just before we all headed off to bed. While pulling on the handle, Felix somehow managed to flip the bag onto his own head. It stuck there and the poor cat when into a panic, screeching and running around trying to escape from his own personal bag blindfold. In his panicked state, Felix ran so fast that he went flying straight into the wall! Lena said he plays with this bag a lot, but I don't think he will go near it for quite a while... if ever. I wish we had it on video because poor Felix's traumatic experience was definitely America's Funniest Home Videos-worthy! Maybe we would also get extra kudos for sending a German video... That sounds very exotic!
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