Dressage Squats

So... today in my lesson with Fleck I had an "aha" moment. We were working on getting Fleck to take longer strides without getting quicker. And I was hitting him in the back with my butt. Not horrid, but too much. I can't seem to get it on him as well as I can on Dan. Cindy suggested that I think about squatting. I wasn't sure what she meant, but I played around and I think I figured it out. Because she said "Good!". :)

So... (and maybe this is common knowledge, that all dressage riders know and I'm just clueless, but...) I thought more about squeezing with my thighs and calves and not quite sitting, but more hovering over my saddle. Kind of like sitting over the toilet at the gas station. ;) Which actually helped me keep my toe from turning out. And really helped me keep from smacking down onto the saddle. Yay!

We had a good ride today. Cindy made us run through Third Level Test 3, only we did simple changes instead of Flying Changes. Wheee!!! Fun stuff. :)