Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

"Practice doesn't make perfect.  Perfect practice makes perfect."

I don't have anyone to attribute this quote to because it's attributed to everyone.  However, I would like to point out that if this is the case, Licorice and I will never, ever be perfect.  We had one of 'those' days yesterday.

Basically, we just bombed around the arena all tensed up and hyped out for 45 minutes.  At one point I called out to my trainer (who was giving another lesson) that I was looking forward to my lesson on Wednesday because my ride was not going well.  She laughed and said that it did look like we were having a hard time keeping it together.

So, I wrote yesterday off as having a good aerobic workout.  At the end, we were both sweaty.  I know some people will say I should have gone back to the walk, but our walk work is even worse than our trot work.  And there were a few non-embarrassing moments in our workout.  Probably five minutes in total, but I'll take it.  Some days are just like that and I refuse to feel bad about it.

I'm trying out a cheapy Wintec western saddle this week.  I would like to use it for trail rides and for when I feel like blowing off dressage and doing something different.  If I don't end up using it, it's cheap enough that I won't feel bad.  If I use it a lot, I may consider purchasing a Western saddle.

I tried a Western saddle my trainers have at the barn on Licorice.  He looked adorable and it fit him okay from what I could tell.  But it was about three sizes too big for me and felt like riding a cement slab.  Ugh.

Tonight is lesson night and I'm looking forward to doing something besides bouncing around trying desperately to establish some sort of rhythm and bend.

Mom, what IS this thing?