Lesson in photos

I have chosen the winner for the Caption This! contest, but I'm working on getting the LOLphotos just right, so you'll have to wait just a little bit longer to find out who wins.  :)

Meanwhile, I wanted to make a quick post before putting my nose back to the grindstone of work.  My favorite photographer was out at the barn for our last jumping lesson (9/1), and I thought I'd post the pictures from it and a little bit of commentary.   Just as a sort of record of where we've been and how far we've come.

Warming up -- I like this photo because we're both paying attention to what we're doing.  I also don't look huge in this one, and my toes are forward, heels down.  I would prefer to see myself less collapsed, straighter through my right hip and left shoulder.

Also warming up.  I like this one for many of the same reasons I like the previous one.  I'd prefer to see my shoulders back a bit more.  I also realize, looking through these photos, that I look really relaxed on horseback.

Said photographer likes this one because of the sense of movement Apollo and I both have here.  I don't like the size of my butt or the chicken elbows, but I will bow to the photographer's more experienced eye.

Nice -- I like that I'm not hauling on Apollo's face here, though I'd like to see my leg a bit farther forward, my butt back a bit, and my toes not pointed out so much.  Lovely picture of Apollo though.

I think I lost my balance at some point here -- looks like I either got forward and cued Apollo to leave long, or he left long and I tried to catch up.  This is illustration of my need to sit and wait, shoulders up, until he's pushed off with his hind feet.

If we could both look like this up to the base of jumps and then I could keep my leg in this position over the jump and beyond, we'd be *golden*.   I love this shot for how relaxed we both are.  This is my favorite of them all, even though it's not actively jumping.

Photographer loves this for all of Apollo's muscles -- he does look pretty awesome here, doesn't he?  :)  I'd like to see my left leg back, toe in more, but I do like that I'm sitting up and using my body.

Mmmph.  I don't like this one as much -- I feel like I should be much softer with my hands here, on this first stride after landing.  At least my leg is in the right place.

Another nice one -- at least my position is consistent between the jumps.  I actually think THIS is the one I like best of us not jumping.

Again with the getting too far forward.  Need leg forward, butt back.  However, Apollo looks like a star here!

Okay, now I'm being soft enough with my reins, and my body's in the right place.  I can tell that the jump before this one went well by my balance and my hands.

"Come on!  Faster!  Let's go!"

This looks like it's going well, actually,  Balanced, soft hands, etc.  I think it was the jump before this one that MT and I had this exchange over:  "Okay.  Pet your horse!"  "*petpet* Good boy!  Was it that bad?"   "Well, he did save your butt."  "Oh dear.  Can I come again?"