In-Hand Showmanship?

I am super lucky to have a fabulous trainer. When Gryfon had not 1, but 2 abscesses blow out of both front hooves, I knew it would be a groundwork day for my lesson tonight. CG set up a very creative course using cones, rails, fake flowers and a huge barrel. She had me walk him through different patterns practicing my non-existent in-hand showmanship skills. Now, I have never done anything like that, so it was a steep learning curve for me. Boy, let me tell you what, I had the time of my life! It was so fun and so much of the things she showed me translates to working better under saddle, for both of us! CG gave me plenty of homework to do and I plan to have a lot of fun with Gryfon this week. 

I've got some great ideas for setting up my own course that can be used in-hand or under saddle. I see a trip to Home Depot in my future! 

One thing that we worked on was leading from both sides of the horse! Talk about round pegs and square holes! It felt so awkward to be on the right side. We worked on executing a square halt and backing straight and in a circle. We also did a little bit of side-passing and trot work too. 

It was a great lesson and I think both Gryfon and I had fun. Just the right amount of work coming out of the Holidays, sickness and abscesses! I didn't get any pictures but will be sure to get some next week. In the meantime, here is a picture of Gryfon after he rolled in the mud yesterday. It took a lot of grooming to get him ready for our lesson today!