Gia - session 562 - lesson with Suzin

 Gia and I had a lesson with Suzin today.  We started with free walk, then walk to trot transitions.  Suzin was insistent that I keep Gia together during the transitions, and that she not come up against my hand.  It only took a few tries and repetitions before Gia was surging into the trot with a lot more push from behind!  

We played a little with turn-on-the-haunches, and with lengthenings, and with shoulder-in for straightness.  During the walk to trot transitions, Gia felt like she might canter a few times, so we went back and worked on walk to canter transitions with the same parameters as the walk to trot transitions.  She also had me hold my hands a bit higher, at times, to help keep her poll up.  It was obviously harder, especially to the right, but Gia was eager to try.  She did throw in a few bucks, some wrong leads, and apparently even a baby capriole!  I was able to get several really nice canters in each direction though, and I even felt a couple of steps of canter pirouette!  Of course I wasn't asking for either of those difficult moves, and technically it was a disobedience of her to offer them, but it's very exciting to know Gia is talented enough to offer them.  One day we will ask for them for real!