As I had suspected, I got Fleur this week too. I did ask what else was on the menu (no Murphy, presumably since two other groups jumped today), and I did consider whether I might dare to try Martino again or perhaps Winston. But ... no. I’ll have a chat with my instructor about them, though, to see if she thinks any of them might suit me, at least for non-canter work. Somehow, I do need more options. With Gamir and Sammy almost never being used for our lessons, and Nelson’s weight limit having been lowered, that means I am pretty much down to just Murphy and Fleur. And for winter, that’s no good, since Fleur will become increasingly lively.
Today was better than last week, since we didn’t do any cantering, but I was timid in my riding and the results weren’t too impressive. It wasn’t just all an issue with my nerves, though. Partly, I wasn’t getting a good grip on how to counter her putting her head up. I tend to shorten the reins a bit much and try to pack her together, instead of riding her forward and getting her to come down that way, so she ends up becoming too passive. Eventually, however, I got myself to ride her on longer reins and to ride her more forward, and the last three walk to trot transitions came out fairly well. Her lateral work also improved throughout the lesson, just a lot more slowly than if I had been riding effectively all along.
Towards the end of the class, a disturbance in the form of a very vocal stallion outside was introduced. Someone had decided to take their stallion to the riding school for some socializing training, and all the girls were very interested when we walked outside. Handsome fellow, certainly.