Riding Crooked

'my left leg knows what it is doing, but my right leg never got the memo!'

Caitlin and I rode together last weekend (she set jumps for me and took photos, and I did the same for her after) -great system! Since riders don't usually get to see themselves jumping, pictures (and videos) are a great way to evaluate your riding position.

Back story: I have a personal trainer at the gym that does my strength training. We noticed that my left leg can single leg press a solid 15-20lbs more than my right leg. I am right handed, so assumed right foot dominant but then figured maybe since I mount on the left side each time I ride, that this was the reason why my left leg was stronger.

Maybe not.

Right leg doing whatever...

Left leg, looking on point

Easyyyyyyyyyy pony

Most of the pictures were taken on my right side since the grid we were jumping (5 jumps, one stride between each) was facing in a way that the easiest way to get pictures was on the outside, my right. Going through them, I noticed that in the few from the opposite side, my left leg position is pretty damn good- stays near the girth, heels down. The you see my right leg. WTF is going on? Leg swings back, heel up. It's something that I sometimes notice when I ride but geez I did not know I was that gimpy. At least I know that I have something to really work on. Most riders do this- you have one dominant side where you want to lean or distribute more weight...a hard habit to break because when you do force yourself to sit straight you will feel crooked.

On another note- Ruby is getting more confident about jumping in the sense that she...jumps. With the grid, I have noticed that she get more flat and more speedy with each jump. Knowing Ruby, it seems like I am lining her up to go down the grid, and she hyper focuses on the last jump (the end goal) and then sort of rushes through whatever is in the way.

Thanks to Caitlin for the guidance :) She suggested Ruby and I focus on only a few of the jumps (we dropped the last few down to poles) and focus on keeping the same rhythm. At first I tried half-halting between the jumps- which worked but sure looked ugly. What ended up helping the most was talking Ruby through the grid (lots of 'whoas' and 'easys' (like the last pic!)).

Working on the flat this week to see if I can keep her round over the jumps. Then off to Poplar Place to school with my peeps! If we survive, I will post about how that goes later...