A couple months ago, the stable owner emailed me asking if I would like to help with lessons on Wednesday. I couldn't do it because I was still in school. She asked me again a couple of weeks ago, and I finally said I would do it, but only for the month of August, at least for now. I'd like to try and do it again when school starts, but I want to figure out my schedule first before I agree to do it. So anyway, the deal was I would come for two different lessons (so about two hours - 5:30 to 7:30). The first hour would be volunteer work, but I would get paid for the second hour (only five dollars though). Yesterday was my first day of working there. I came fifteen minutes early, as I was told to do, but I ended up waiting in the barn for the riders up in the ring to come down.
Once they were down, we went right back up again. For this lesson there were two riders: a young boy named Jack and an older boy named Matt (who I later learned was 18). Matt was the rider I would be working with. He would be riding Chachi, and Jack would be riding Lionel. We were allowed to choose whoever we wanted to work with, but the other volunteer (named Ada) and I just agreed to stay with who we were already with.
Since Jack is not yet off the lead rope, Ada had to lead Lionel around. Matt is off the lead rope, so all he needed was a sidewalker - basically I had to walk beside him and tell him where to go and stuff. It was very awkward for me at first. Matt obviously had some communication problems, and he often refused to talk. It took a while for the lesson instructor to convince him to get on Chachi, and it took even longer for her to get him to actually tell Chachi to move. And once we were moving, I wasn't sure what to say at all. I would occasionally tell him where to go and what to do, but I wasn't sure how to speak to him. He was 18, so I didn't want to treat him like he was 4, but it was hard to tell when he never answered me. I got more comfortable as the lesson went on, and by the end I wasn't feeling as awkward. It's difficult to talk to someone who won't respond. I felt really satisfied at the end of the lesson though. I was happy I had said yes to coming on Wednesdays. I'm hoping after a while I'll get more comfortable talking to the riders.
The second lesson was a complete turn-around from the first. It was only one girl named Karlee (I think that's how she spelled it). She was pretty old, maybe 10 or 11, so she knew how to do almost everything. After putting Chachi in his stall, I was supposed to help her get her horse, Fresca, groomed and tacked up. I occasionally had to help her with something, but she was pretty independent. Once up in the ring I helped her tighten her girth, but after that the lesson instructor told me I wouldn't really be needed to do anything in this lesson. Karlee didn't need a sidewalker or anything, so I could just sit and watch. I helped only when I was needed, which wasn't very often.
The lesson instructor also explained to me that the next time I would be here there would be different kids. There would be two girls in the first lesson instead of Matt and Jack, and there would be three independent girls in the second. For the first hour I would be doing what I did in the first lesson, sidewalking or leading, and I would be used as "crowd control" for the second hour (her words, not mine). All I would have to do was keep an eye on the other girls if the instructor was helping one individually, and things like that. I'm okay with that though, because I think it means it will be a relatively laid back lesson (hopefully).
After the lesson was over, we headed back down to the barn, where I stood around while Karlee put away her stuff. I helped her take Fresca back to her paddock and then we were done. Before I left the barn owner came down from her house and explained some more things to me. So from now on when I come on Wednesdays I get to take the horses out and start grooming and tacking them up for the riders. She also said something about where I could find what saddles to use, but I got a little confused, so I'll have to ask her for clarification. When we were done talking I went to the barn to retrieve my envelope of five dollars and went home. I got home at around 8, so you can see why I might not be able to do this on a school night. I can't wait for next Wednesday though. As I've mentioned before, I won't be here next week so I'll be working/volunteering the week after. Hopefully it will go smoother than this week's lessons did!
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