Settling down, and making sure to have a life

Time management is an acquired skill. It really is something that you actually have to learn, and then practice to get better at. Balancing work and family life, maintaining equilibrium between a hectic school schedule and a personal life, and getting everything that you have to do done on time regularly without ditching all of your hobbies are all life skills that you must constantly work on and continue to master throughout a lifetime. Those take time to get a hang of, and I, for one, will never say that it's something easy to learn. After two weeks of losing my head, I'm now starting to regain at least some amount of control. Granted, I did expect resuming school after years of sitting around with barely anything to do to be crazy in the very beginning, especially with one heck of a commute five days a week. I still have much to work on regarding planning out my days and following through with the plans, as well as not overbooking myself and leaving enough wiggle room for unexpected changes. But, I'm settling into a routine, and it's getting easier as I go.

This heat needs to die, just saying.

Yesterday evening, we had another dressage lesson, because I didn't want to push Candy too hard in the high 80s temperature, especially after having jumped her the day before. First half of the lesson was all lateral and circular work, involving endless leg yields. The second half was all canter, which, despite still finding the dressage saddle highly awkward, I actually managed very well overall. Our cantering has vastly improved. It may have had a lot to do with just fiddling around and trying things out. Isn't it amazing, how the littlest things seem to have the biggest impacts? Loosening Candy's nose band by one hole, lengthening the stirrups by one hole, sitting more forward in the saddle with my "down there" touching the pommel instead of not, lifting my inside hip into a turn, rounding my shoulders and sending them back more... itty bitty moments that make up one big "that's all, folks". It's true what Karly says, that 99% of riding mishaps are rider errors. And often times, they are nothing more than small adjustments to tweak out here and there, and then things just fall into place. That, my friends, is where time and practice come in.

There is no question, that Candy is not an easy horse to ride. She's not a horse that your average rider would be happy to put up with. But, there is also no question that the difficult horses have the most to teach, and that a horse like Candy is what will make a rider a good rider. There will be off days. There will be frustrations. There will be "oh crap" moments. But in the end, there will be no regrets, and no going back.

It was only near the very end of our lesson, when Candy discovered that it was dinner time and that she was in the ring working instead of getting fed, did she start to lose patience with me. That, was completely understandable. I held out a bit longer before letting her have her way. As if I can't personally relate, that feeling when you're hangry, knowing that others nearby are eating, seeing food out, and not being able to get to it fast enough.

I waited for Candy to eat her dinner, and took my time finishing up. It was one hell of a workout, another muscle and cardio day for both Candy and me. It's incredible, how much exercise flat work can be. I was wonderfully sore afterwards, and of course, I got home later than I'd aimed for, again. Ezra was more than awesome enough to make dinner for us. I was tired enough to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Man, I tell ya, it was a good day. I'd accomplished everything that I'd wanted to, and it ended with a great riding lesson. For me, when in doubt, just go riding. There will never be a time, when I say to myself, "I really regret that ride today." No matter how busy I get, no matter what life throws at me, and no matter how little time there seems to be available to me, I will always ride, and I will always ride often, and more.