Saggy Pants

I had a great ride on my pony after the clinic on Sunday.  I worked really hard to stay soft and light.  I also continued working on making sure my position was correct and forward so that Tessa could stay correct and forward.

Then on Tuesday night I had my jump lesson.  The pony was hot and spooky and did some spin and bolts, which was not the best way to start.  So we ended up working mostly at one end of the arena.  We had some nice jumps and I focused on more forward without bucking or kicking out and not worrying about roundness.  Sheesh, that is HARD.  Coming from a dressage background it's hard to let go of that entirely.  It's good for my head to just ride.  Forward.  And jump.  Then ride.  Forward.  And jump.

We had one moment where we were using jumps in all four corners of the arena and doing a circle of jumps.  We did fine over the first two, but as we came down from the one that was pointing us toward the scary end of the arena, something spooked Tessa.  She spun around and flew sideways.  There was no way we could make the fourth jump, so I pulled her around and aimed for the next one.  I steadied her gallop into a canter and we jumped the next jump.  Then we simply continued around the course again until we had cleared all the fences.

Laura said it was perfect because we didn't even acknowledge the spook, we just kept working.  I really hope that as we get out in the world and we do more things like this, that the spook settles down a bit.  Yes, I know she's an Arab.  But I've ridden plenty of non spooky Arabs in my life so I know it's not just that.  She just needs more outings and more experiences and more miles....hopefully.

At the end of the lesson, Laura called me over and said "I know the other reason why you're getting saddle sores.  Stand up in your stirrups."

I stood up in my stirrups and looked down.  My breeches sagged and I hitched them up.

"Yep.  Right there.  Your breeches don't fit right."

Sigh.  The breeches that I own three identical pairs of.  It's not that they are too big all over, it's that they don't fit right in the waist/crotch.  Laura pointed out to me that in tailor terms, you have to look at not only if you have a long or short waist, or long or short legs, but how long the distance is from pelvis to belly button.  I'm sure there's a technical term for it, but I don't know what it is.

So I have a short waist from hip to rib cage.  Super short.  Like three fingers.  But the distance from my belly button to the bottom of my pelvis (I think that's the correct term?  Basically the bottom of your crotch.) is more than 15 fingers!  And then my upper thigh is long, so regular breeches hit me about mid calf.  Laura recommended I try on Cavallo (sp?) breeches.  I'm resigning myself to the fact that my reasonably priced breeches aren't fitting right and are rubbing me raw.  And now I get to shop for breeches, something I'm not fond of doing and not fond of spending money on.

What's your favorite breech?  Any recommendations?  Any breeches I should stay far, far away from?