Catch Up

I must confess I have been riding and not writing. To be sure, it was not too many times, but still...I have ridden and did not write about it. Let me now divulge the details. It all started weeks ago when I put in a request for information about lessons at Rose Mount Farm in Spotsylvania. Ms. Garnett called me and we set up a lesson. That first Monday morning I drove out to the immaculate show facility that is Rose Mount and drooled all over their barn. Not really, but I am sure I at least walked around with my mouth gaped open like an idiot. I had only seen facilities like those in magazines before. Jealousy is not even an option. There is only awe. Anyway, the horse I rode that day was wonderful. He is a pretty bay, similar in size to Henry, although more muscled and rounder. He is afraid of pigeons and the arena doorway. I was nervous of course but not for long. After I mounted and began to warm up I realized that I am still a good enough rider not to make a complete fool of myself, and that this horse was no school horse so he was going to do what I asked. Fortunately for me he did not require too much leg at the trot and was actually more forward but not too speedy. The canter was very smooth although he did need a bit of work to stay balanced and in control. It all fell apart, of course, at the jumping. I was supposed to quietly trot up to the fence and canter off on landing. Unlike The Lady Holly, this horse seemed to have an off button that came into effect three strides before the fence. It was like the end of the ride on those mechanical horseys outside of the grocery store. I squeezed his sides in vain but was able to at least keep him going over the jump and even managed to keep trotting after the jump. It took three more tries before I was able to convince the old boy to canter after the jump. Score one for me.

I have had another lesson since that one and it went much the same although I did a better job of squeezing. I guess those personal training appointments are paying off after all. Yay! Sadly I have not ridden either of my horses much in the past month. The last time I rode them was sometime after the first lesson I believe. I have been working on walking in straight lines with them since reading an article by Jim Wofford in Practical Horseman over the winter. Henry loves it and snaps to attention when we start this exercise. After walking in straight lines for a while to warm up he is much more relaxed and responsive at the trot. He seems more willing to use his back as well. I did not expect that reaction from him at all. Holly is another story. She first ignores me and then becomes irritated when I do not quit trying to tell her where to walk. She seems to feel that since they are her feet I have no right to tell her where to put them. This could take some time. And since she gets irritated before we even begin to trot you can guess what it's like when/if we trot. Can we say rocket ship? Sigh. More patience, more patience, more patience... On a positive note, I just realized that today is one year anniversary of when I started blogging. Hooray!! I am making a promise to myself today that I will ride and blog more regularly in the next 12 months than I did in the last. Cheers!