Lilly's progress

Since Princess Lil is a bit of a mouthful, the horse in question now goes by the stable name of Lilly. Her competition name will remain Princess Lil, of course.

So I have now progressed to riding Lilly. I still start our sessions with some lounging, both walk and trot. Loose, and with side reins. No canter yet. I do this to make sure that I can make her move her feet, while I stand still. It's one of the principles of horse training.

I also use voice commands while lounging. This means that when I am riding I can use the same voice commands to ask for upward transitions. Click to trot. Kiss to canter.

I have just started to establish her walk and her trot. She is an amazing mixture of the horses I have ridden in the past. She is the same size as Princess, but she has the power of a much bigger horse. She has the forgiveness of Crownie, the placidity of Gally, and the eagerness of Princess.

It feels like there is heaps of power in her hind quarters, and I can't wait to see how she jumps. I am hoping she has power to jump, but not so much power that she catapults me out of the saddle.