Ah-ha!...that felt...different, it felt...right....it felt....hum, how do I describe what I just felt in the saddle?

I've heard from elite pros that it is critically important to write down my ah-ha moments. But to be perfectly honest there are times when I have an ah-ha moment that are hard to explain largely in part because I felt it, but I haven't explained it yet. But as the owner of Barnby Notes, and a specialist in keeping a notebook, I have learned that the writing process forces us to put words to our feelings which then brings more clarity to that which we have felt. The end result -- the ability to reach new depths of meaning and connection in a sport that can be quite complicated and challenging, despite its rewards.

For example, just the other day I was riding and focusing extra hard on even contact in both reins. All of a sudden, when I turned the corner, I realized that my contact remained as even in both reins during a turn as it was down the long side. It dawned on me at that very moment that during turns I don't usually feel even contact. And because Contigo, my horse, felt remarkably good during that turn, I instantly knew I had hit a sweet spot in my ride because often its during turns that he doesn't feel that good.

This sudden ah-ha moment, this sudden understanding, this sudden training breakthrough is a clue that I must pay particular attention to. It is an indication about how to proceed.

I did write in my notebook about it, which you can read by signing up at Barnby Notes with our two week trial, because I wanted to remember for the next day to aim for that same feel. You can bet I did just that and my turns felt wonderful. Furthermore, I took that same feel and applied it to my half-steps, piaffe and tempi-changes with fantastic results!