Summer Goals

So here's my plan for this summer, so far. I'll be getting three lessons a week (for the most part), and I'm hoping to do another two days riding and/or doing groundwork.

Mondays, Ellen and I will ride the entire string of horses (four or five, depending on whether Linnny is around). That will be really good for me, since we'll switch off and on horses partway through the rides, discuss what each horse needs to work on, and so on. So it's like one big huge lesson, plus I get to ride the different horses. It'll also be quite good for McKinna to have Ellen ride her a little, since Mom and I are pretty much the only ones that ride her.

Thursdays, I'll get a flat lesson. This is possibly what I'm most excited for, because as I've stated time and again, McKinna needs these hardcore.

Sunday mornings will be jumping lessons, which is always fun, and much better now it's summer. This is because we can use the outdoor arena, which has much more space, and is slightly graded, so they have to work harder on the uphills and downhills.



Other than that, I'll be trying really hard to get McKinna and Chaucer out on trails as much as possible. All of us are going camping with the horses in a couple weeks, which I'm really looking forward to. Then later this summer, I'm planning on going to the coast with a good friend of mine from equestrian team -- we'll load up our horses in her little trailer and camp for the weekend, which will be even more exciting because it absolutely reeks of independence and adulthood ;)

Goals:
1. Get a solid canter on McKinna by the end of the summer. Solid canter includes related items like a calm, relaxed trot before and after said canter.
2. Have a relaxed w/t/c on Chaucer away from home by the end of the summer. Said relaxation includes being able to hop over small fences without throwing himself over.
3. For me: ride often enough without stirrups that I can tell the difference. I'm not sure what I'm looking for -- trot-sitting also includes my horse being relaxed and swingy, so that's not just me. Jumping comfortably without stirrups is a good goal, I think.

And for a fun goal:
Ride McKinna bridleless and saddleless more often at w/t/c. I can do it easily in the arena, but A. she's not fond of trotting bareback and B. steering is a bit dull. The without stirrups bit should help both of those.


Anyone else have summer goals?