Frosty lessoning

-5
Frost, sunny, bright, beautiful day for an 8.30 lesson....West Sussex is the most stunning place...we are very lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful countryside:

Started with the walk, the usual focus on quality, pace, footfall, draped soft neck, longer strides not faster...little exercises which included a very definite and focused turn...arrow straight up the
3/4 line,  straight then  leg yield  back to the track focusing on softness, no change in rhythm,all in long outline.
Repeated on both reins, always ensuring there is a quick and positive reaction to leg and weight aids.
Then the tricky transition into trot, maintaining the softness,energy, and forward into transitions up and down. We always struggle with this to begin with....more to do with my preparation (lack of it) and the fact that my lovely Small Brown pony is quite happy trundling along humming under his breath without a care in the world and seems quite surprised to be asked to move up a gear!!! Sooooo, activate the walk, make him aware something is going to happen, as much needs to be happening in the walk from me as in any other pace....too easy to sit and plop along ;)
Real lightbulb moment from trainer....feeling of lifting hands up into rein, therefore weight into elbows and down into seat, remembering at the moment to exaggerate the elbows by my ribs, almost welding them there until it becomes a more natural thing forme...all of a sudden there was a better connection, no pulling back in transition so pony HAS to take contact forward into an upwards and downwards transition. Woooohooooo!
Questions then asked  in trot...is he forward, is he listening to outside forward aid, is he responsive but not leaning on inside aid,can I collect with seat without additional rein, can I lift him Up and into the walk?
played with counter flexion in trot to focus on whether I am riding the outside properly...yes we are
Can we make the walk quality and active enough to do anything fromit? halt? canter, trot? Sometimes...man alive it has taken a LONG time for the penny to drop....its all about prep (not the bass...)
Canter work...right rein is really coming along nicely, self carriage consistent and good rhythm and the ability to shorten and lengthen strides, move to a stretch, back to collected, give and retake inside or outside rein..., left,  not so much
We looked at a really useful exercise for us: walk on 20m circle, traver on circle, straight, collect, one step forward and ask for transition up to canter...really thinking about the quality of that first stride and then maintaining it.
I must remember not to hold the outside rein which blocks the outside hind.... had to make a concious effort to soften outside but not give it away....all of a sudden, a much softer, rounder canter...not perfect,but definitely getting there
Lots of lovely stretchy trot to finish
We always have lots of walk breaks in between all exercises....focus on pick up to medium walk and acitivation so he is expecting another exercise, instruction or movement
Can I place his neck wherever I want? yes we can
Good pony xxxx
Always such a delight to ride...tries so very hard and we can't ask any more than that.
Big love today...onwards xxxx