More trot more trot more trot! And if I ask her to pick up her nose and balance back, it’s an easier time through the mud, and less tripping and falling on her face.

My rogue left hand wants to pull all the time. Soften going right. Hand at her neck, don’t pull her left.

Practice turns on the forehand again. We don’t quite have the bending and softening and responsiveness.

Look at my turns! And turning left, think elbow and arm back for a nice straightforward turn.

Tracking right, think right elbow at my side, arm rotates out to help show her what I’m asking for the bend. This is something I haven’t been doing but made a big difference in the clarity of the request for Polly.

Practice bending on the ground too. She should be able to do a turn on the forehand with just rein and pressure at girth on the ground. Also can do small circles, bending nose and stepping under with the hind legs, but maintaining forward.

We worked our way close to the scary corner of the arena today. I rode in the endurance saddle for more security, and it wasn’t super painful, so I might abandon the fenders idea for now anyway. Trainer was already on board with “we survive” as the theme of her lessons this week (given significant mud in the arena and rain early in the week). “That corner of the arena makes me anxious; she’s mostly fine with it” was what we started with today. “Keep your circle whereever you need to and expand it as you can” was my instruction. No pressure. No big deal. Really proud of myself for making good steps that way today.