Jonty EVANS!!!

 Okay. I have been remiss (as unapologetically always! LoL). 

I just had a lesson with an OLYMPIC EVENT RIDER and did not have any pictures, videos, or proof. Oh, what the heck, Abbi??? What is WRONG with you?? That's what I'd be asking if I was my friend, anyway. But here's the thing. I have a WITNESS!! Chelsea had to witness because she camera'd the entire thing. Because it was a virtual lesson, right?? 

That's right. This whole COVID thing has shut down barns, events, shows, everything! It won't even let instructors come to your BRAND NEW RING to teach lessons from 50' away. Slightly BS, if you ask me, but.. no one did. So, I bought a set of Bluetooth earphones, and Chelsea stood in the middle of the ring and video'd, and we Facetime'd a lesson. It actually worked pretty well even if there was a tiny delay (what do you expect doing live video from the UK!?). Chelsea took a lesson after me, and hers also went really well. It's always to great to see a beautiful rider work on something and make definite improvements in a session!

Andi worked on this teardrop exercise- do a couple circles at the canter, then continue down the longside, shorten around the short side, then canter half-pass across the ring back to counter canter at the point you started the exercise. There's a lot going on in this exercise, and we had a tough time counter cantering, with some very definite reaction to the right, which makes sense considering he's weaker on that side. 

I also got to discuss with Jonty (it's so weird to call someone you respect by their first name!! He yelled at me for calling him Mr. Evans, though! lmao), the difference in European vs American riding styles- and that we tend to lean much more forward during trot and canter than European riders do- and that it may actually be more correct biomechanics! Take that, DQs!