over but not done with. or not?

today was my last beginner riding lesson. well, i didn't really plan on continuing, so my goal was purely to have as much fun as possible, and to put into practice everything that i have learnt so far. it was more of a personal test for me, since my performance has been really inconsistent throughout. 

i didn't mention the last lesson cos it was with mike and it was absolutely horrendous. it all went so well the previous 2 lessons but went totally down the drain in that lesson. 

so anyway, they gave me rocket today. T_T super thankful that i have him cos he's easy to start trotting. actually, wayyy too easy. when we were walking our rounds, he would steer, start, and stop himself without me doing much. trotting together as a group was okay too; he did everything himself and i could practise the rising (which also didn't go too well cos i kept having double beats).

the individual runs were the killer. he started trotting easily as usual, which eventually turned into a CANTER. if you don't know, you sit when the horse walks or canters, and rise when it trots. so in majority of the runs, i was kinda stuck inbetween the trot and the canter. and when that happens, i can't steer. if there were individual points for steering, i would get a big fat zero. T_T

and the lesson was over. kinda too fast for me to get into the momentum actually. the surprising thing is, he let us all into novice 1, which is the next level of riding. but as you can see, i totally owe it to rocket and even with such a star horse i can't steer to save my ass. so yeah, i totally didn't deserve that. lol.

if i were to continue, i'll probably join zhu and alice in the beginner plus course again instead of novice 1. (though i must admit cantering feels quite fun!)

ah wells. please let it rain cash. =|

bruised.

having not truly exercised for the past almost 10 years (!!), i've recently been torturing my poor body with mentally-challenging horse-riding and physically-challenging muay thai lessons. #servemeright

if you've been following me, i'm up to my fifth lesson in horse riding. 2 more to go! we got a super strict instructor last week. there were a lot of mounting and dismounting involved, which i probably failed big time. didn't help that i had a feisty horse haha. we also practised the rising trot again, with no hands this time. it was actually surprisingly easy once you got the rhythm. next week is probably gonna be nightmare, since we're gonna have to start, walk, trot, rise, steer, and stop all by ourselves. oh wells.

i'm also up to my second muay thai lesson. many people seem to be surprised that i'm taking this. i really look so gentle meh? -__- anyway, we mainly learnt the different positions last week and did padwork this week. which i actually super enjoyed. especially the kicking! it felt good to be able to unleash the strength. i doubt i'll enjoy slower sports like yoga very much now lmao.

the killer part is actually the warm up session, which gave me like, 5 days of sore painful calf muscles last week. i could hardly walk! we added half a round of jogging this week, so i'm pretty fearful what i'm gonna wake up with tomorrow lol. 

another downside is the equipment. we got 'cheated' as we were not informed that we had to buy our own skipping rope, gloves and shin guards. i already got the rope (for a freaking 15 bucks!) but still debating whether to go ahead with the rest or not. pretty reluctant to spend another 60 bucks especially now that i have no input. T_T 

but these lessons made me realize how much my body had deteriorated since the NPCC PT days. 10 years ago omg! i really really need more exercise. 'nuff said. =|

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halfway there

last weekend was my fourth riding lesson. 3 more to go!

this lesson was my favorite one so far. i got rocket, one of the recommended horses. i think he is probably more experienced and therefore more familiar with the training sessions and easier to control. like during the trotting runs, i think he steered himself. LMAO!

but most importantly, we got a new instructor! bye mike, hope i don't see you again. lols. i sound so bad but there's such an obvious difference in both instructors that i'm really hoping not to get mike again.

♥ we got an indian instructor this time, which meant he could communicate better with the individual horse handlers and give them clearer instructions. 

♥ he called us by our names, which certainly felt more encouraging than mike who called us by our horses' names! many times i didn't even know mike was calling me. tsk. 

♥ he made us do leg stretching and strengthening exercises and taught us how to stand properly before combining it with the trot. no more silly touch-the-cone stuff!

♥ i felt that he gave each of us more individual assistance which was definitely more helpful than watching others and not knowing if my mistake is the same as theirs or not.

the horse handlers were also pretty helpful with their tips this lesson. no more karthik (my handler for the past 2 lessons)! i only came across him once during the runs where he tried to say something to me but i ignored cos i couldn't understand him. LOL i'm so bad!

previously i was always eager to dismount but this time i felt sad that the lesson ended so soon. previously i was also a teeny weeny bit reluctant to go cos i don't know what weird stuff i have to do to embarrass myself again. but after this lesson, i feel eager to start next week's lesson! i had a lot of fun and i actually felt myself improve. can't wait to ride again! XD

anyway, i found out that trotting is the max we're gonna learn this course, so i assume the next 2 lessons are gonna be practising trotting and the last lesson our assessment. sheesh stress liao! please please please let me get rocket! =X

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footsteps.

do not make the same mistake as me. horse-riding, is hard. VERY hard.

but i must say, this 3rd lesson went quite alright. no big problems mounting and dismounting (trackpants are definitely easier) and weaving the horse through the cones went surprisingly well. i got the same horse instructor as last week ("oh no, not again" went through my head when i saw him -_-), but i stood beside zhu and got quite a lot of help from her instructor instead.

the biggest problem this lesson, was trotting. i definitely had trouble getting the horse to trot, even after using the whip. i blame my soft-heartedness. and then after the horse started trotting, i had trouble keeping balance. and standing. you see, you had to follow the horse's trot rhythm and stand up. i couldn't figure out when to stand since i was already bouncing up and down. -_-'''

and i think i embarrassed myself again when mike told us to bend down and touch the cones on the floor. it was like, 2 metres away and even with mike holding on my leg the other side, i still couldn't reach the cone. he kept telling me to try and i was like, try your head i'm gonna fall off liao! i was practically horizontal to the ground already, and in the midst of it, i let out a scream. FML i seriously think mike hates me. although i firmly believe none of us managed since it was honestly physically impossible. unless you're spiderman. tsk.

i wonder what we're gonna do for the next four lessons, if we're up to trotting already. i really hope not jumping, cos i will surely fall off the horse. >_<

 

lesson number two.

my second riding lesson was horrifyingly embarrassing. >.<

step 1, mount the horse. we had a short briefing where a video was shown. what the video showed - place foot on stirrup, pull yourself up, and gently sit on the saddle. what i did - struggle to reach the stirrup (i blame the restrictive material of my jeans), pull/climb/hoist/drag myself up the horse, and plopping ungraciously on the saddle, and already 滿頭大汗. THEY LIED! and i was the last to mount. T_T

oh by the way four of us each had a horse, with one main instructor mike and four indian 'assistant' instructors. so mike came around and said my stirrups were too short and i had to lengthen them. i looked at my assistant instructor, he looked back at me, before i weakly muttered, "uh help?" -_- fml.

honestly i really think my assistant instructor could be a little more helpful. like, it doesn't take a genius to see that it's my first time. nor does sniggering help. nor watching me silently while i struggle with the reins. i probably got more help from my neighbour's assistant instructor than mine. tsk.

so anyway, we were led around the area for a brief walk. for first-timer me, it was a rather interesting and exciting experience. the trot was a little more scary though. super hard to keep my balance!

step 2, steering the horse. this is total madness, and so very very difficult! after walking around in circles, in which i didn't learn anything because the horse was being led all the way, they unleashed the horses and we had to try on our own. that wasn't too embarrassing since it was so messy.

then, he lined us up, put cones in front, and we had to weave in and out. this part made me totally wanna dig a hole and stick my head in. the other three horses went straight, whilst mine crashed unceremoniously into the other lane(s) and everyone stopped to look. FML FML FML! either i didn't pull hard enough, or the horse was being uncooperative. went a few times and it happened all the time! well, at least i managed to get it back to starting point. hais.

if that's not enough, we were told to train our balance by turning 360 degrees (a few times) on the horse without our hands touching it. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE YOU TELL ME?! i don't believe the rest didn't use their hands. but mike seemed to focus on me only. and i was the last to complete this again so everyone was probably looking at me. can die of embarrassment lor. i blame my jeans again. =\

step 3, dismount. this is the easiest and the only thing i can do correctly and without being the last one. guess i was too eager to have both feet on the ground fml. and so, end of a horrible lesson two. let's hope the rest will be better. =(

my first riding lesson...

...was spent with both feet firmly planted on the ground. lol.

our supposed lesson grounds were used for their show jumping competition, so our stable management lesson was brought forward from the last lesson to the first lesson. i think it's better cos it makes more sense to learn how to put the saddle on first before learning how to ride the horse. ^^

there were four horses set aside for us, so 9 of us were divided into groups to try out. putting on the saddle was probably the easiest part of the lesson since they just stood there for us to try. by the way the saddle is like, freaking heavy. i can't imagine the poor horse having that and me on its back. i'm so gonna feel bad when i climb on top. boo.

then came the harder part - the bridle. had to do this group by group so i think this took up majority of the lesson time. it looked pretty easy when the instructor was doing it, but i was kinda 手忙腳亂 when it came to our turn. so many straps and buckles! and the bit looked so uncomfortable! we also had to tighten certain straps which i think majority of us couldn't bear to do so. lol. relishing the feeling of the horses' head over my shoulder. for some reason i like that. =)

so in this first lesson, i learnt how to put on a saddle, how to put on a bridle, that horses like carrots, and that they step on their own poop. lmao! no lah, our instructor also mentioned that horses are actually timid animals. i guess it's hard (for me) to imagine that. they look so....majestic, i suppose, since they're like the biggest animals i ever touched. (原來 the one i encounted in taiwan, is just a PONY.) their shoulders are at my eye level, so if you know how tall i am, you can imagine how big they are. i had to tiptoe to put the saddle on. can't wait to learn how to mount them next week! (and can't wait to see how zhu is gonna mount them. =P)

so excited! i'm so glad i took this up. to be honest i actually envy people who can have this this this activity after work today, or that that that activity after work tomorrow. their lives must be pretty meaningful. even though only my sunday afternoons are taken up now, i actually have things to look forward to. working on signing up another course with zhu; let's hope it all works out!

two more weeks to being jobless. this is so not me. hais.