Cantering on my horse for the first time (intentionally)

Yesterday during my session with my trainer, I cantered on Panama for the first time — intentionally, that is. (He has picked up a canter without my permission a few times when he's goosed about something. The first couple of times I fell off, so I've been a little nervous about it ever since.)

It went okay, for my first time. We cantered twice — the first time for a really short stretch. The second time Panama kind of lost his head — he picked up the wrong lead, went into too fast a canter, and wouldn't slow to a trot when I asked him to. We made several laps around the back part of the pasture before he finally responded to my requests to slow down.

The good news is that I didn't fall off. I felt rather precarious — especially because it was so bouncy, which my trainer said was because he picked up the wrong lead — but I stayed balanced and stayed in my seat. My biggest problem was feeling like I was being rocked too far forward, which Leslie said was because I was putting my weight into my toes, instead of keeping my heels down as I should have been.

In any case, I am really excited to have finally progressed to this point. Even if it wasn't the most graceful first canter on Panama, I've verified that I can canter on him without falling off (even when he's running pell-mell!). From here it can only get better!