No more "bit-guilt", "moments for Brilliance!," and more....

Monday night was hands down the best lesson, and the best ride Pippi and I have ever had. No fuss, no pulling, just forward and quick responses. When I tacked her up Pippi was fine with the bit. Never threw her head, never acted pissy, just ready to go.
We have had an issue with her walking the moment I mounted, and that is a BIG NO NO in my book. Horse stands still until rider says go. I want to get situated while at a stand still, not fumbling while horse walks willy-nilly. I found that tightening the girth even tighter fixed that. I bet the saddle shifted and annoyed her, and so she shifted to compensate and started walking. I also mount quicker; gather reins while on the ground, step up on mounting block, and mount right away. If I linger on the block, Pippi gets a bit restless, so this is my compromise.
After mounting fine, we walked a few circles and worked on our bends. Awesomeness!! Did you know that the riders upper body should not be straining at all? AT ALL!! Wowser! I flexed fingers, and Pippi responded by bending. To either side!! The improvement was so marked that I decided then and there, no more Bit Guilt! Quite frankly, my Trainer is right and since it doesn't bother Pippi why does it bother me?

We did our usual work, lots of bending, lots of direction changes and serpentines. And then it happened: Trainer said we "had moments of brilliance," and "it is better than I have ever seen you guys." Woo-freakin'-Hoo!!! Yep. Moments of brilliance. I'll take it. She also stated that i had been right, Pippi's trot can be just at beautiful as I had described it. Way to go Pipster!!

She then asked me to do some sitting trot................

Did I tell you just how marvelous we were? We were really doing great there, so I just don't know if it is strictly necessary to ruin this great post with a description of what came next. We had "moments of brilliance" okay? So, let's just end with that!