RachelB
Well-Known Member
Wow! I've just had a lesson with Boss's sister on their new mechanical horse Lancelot, and I thought you might like to hear how he behaved
Good news was that he didn't buck me off or anything naughty
Bad news is that I now am very aware of all my positional faults, so I have no excuse not to sort them out!
We started off without him moving, just moving me around and getting me to be aware of my body. I actually sit really nice and straight (I was shocked to see myself side-on in the mirror, I thought I slouched!) but everything hips downwards is a bit out of alignment. Tam had me rocking forwards onto the front of my pelvis (12 o'clock position), then back to the back of my pelvis (6 o'clock), then side to side (3 and 9 o'clock). It was really hard to move the right bits and keep the rest still, and especially hard for me not to collapse my ribcage when rocking side to side. All these years I have been told to "strengthen" the inside of my body when turning, and now I can see exactly what was meant by that - I sort of had to push my ribcage out until it was straight between my hip and shoulder, and this put more weight into my hip and foot (but remembering to keep the shoulders level). I also found it very difficult to put more weight into my left stirrup; my "strengthening" that side seems to stop at my hip.
Once I had got the hang of it "stood still", Tam set Lancelot off into "walk" (it's basically just a rocking motion, but he has a lot of lateral swing if you can get him moving). Once she had me sitting straight and not doing the classic arching of the lower back, I was set to "rocking round the clock" again
She had me doing this in "walk" and "trot", and then I had a go at "cantering" on each "leg" (practising rocking my pelvis in the canter movement, something I tend to block when riding). We did a few flying changes too
After a quick breather (it's really quite hard work, it uses muscles you never knew you had!) we were back into trot and doing the rocking/weight shifting thing standing in the stirrups. This was the hardest part for me, as I have poor natural balance anyway so shifting my weight right and left without sliding off was difficult!
It was interesting because I could feel and see exactly what I was doing wrong because Lancelot didn't react to what I did, and obviously didn't compensate for any wonkiness etc. in my position. I also know exactly how strong I am on the right side of my body and weak but flexible down the left side - to the extent that even my right wrist is tight and my left is wibbly!
It was really quite an invaluable lesson - Tam is so clever with her methods of teaching that using the simulator really fits in with her style of teaching. Not every instructor could teach well with one. I think I learnt a lot about what my weaknesses are and what to feel for when riding, and I actually think Tam learnt a lot about me too which should prove really useful in "normal" lessons as we will both know what to work on!
I wish I had time to have a lesson on a horse too but I have to dash off out in a sec. That suits Tam though because I will be booking another Lancelot lesson for a couple of weeks' time and I'll then have a lesson on one of her horses too
So really I very highly recommend Lancelot
As I said, not all instructors would be able to use a simulator to its full advantage, but Tam is really intelligent with her teaching. So I think you should all come down and have a lesson!
Good news was that he didn't buck me off or anything naughty
We started off without him moving, just moving me around and getting me to be aware of my body. I actually sit really nice and straight (I was shocked to see myself side-on in the mirror, I thought I slouched!) but everything hips downwards is a bit out of alignment. Tam had me rocking forwards onto the front of my pelvis (12 o'clock position), then back to the back of my pelvis (6 o'clock), then side to side (3 and 9 o'clock). It was really hard to move the right bits and keep the rest still, and especially hard for me not to collapse my ribcage when rocking side to side. All these years I have been told to "strengthen" the inside of my body when turning, and now I can see exactly what was meant by that - I sort of had to push my ribcage out until it was straight between my hip and shoulder, and this put more weight into my hip and foot (but remembering to keep the shoulders level). I also found it very difficult to put more weight into my left stirrup; my "strengthening" that side seems to stop at my hip.
Once I had got the hang of it "stood still", Tam set Lancelot off into "walk" (it's basically just a rocking motion, but he has a lot of lateral swing if you can get him moving). Once she had me sitting straight and not doing the classic arching of the lower back, I was set to "rocking round the clock" again
After a quick breather (it's really quite hard work, it uses muscles you never knew you had!) we were back into trot and doing the rocking/weight shifting thing standing in the stirrups. This was the hardest part for me, as I have poor natural balance anyway so shifting my weight right and left without sliding off was difficult!
It was interesting because I could feel and see exactly what I was doing wrong because Lancelot didn't react to what I did, and obviously didn't compensate for any wonkiness etc. in my position. I also know exactly how strong I am on the right side of my body and weak but flexible down the left side - to the extent that even my right wrist is tight and my left is wibbly!
It was really quite an invaluable lesson - Tam is so clever with her methods of teaching that using the simulator really fits in with her style of teaching. Not every instructor could teach well with one. I think I learnt a lot about what my weaknesses are and what to feel for when riding, and I actually think Tam learnt a lot about me too which should prove really useful in "normal" lessons as we will both know what to work on!
I wish I had time to have a lesson on a horse too but I have to dash off out in a sec. That suits Tam though because I will be booking another Lancelot lesson for a couple of weeks' time and I'll then have a lesson on one of her horses too
So really I very highly recommend Lancelot
