I have to say, I really did not want to volunteer tonight. I was really tired and my eyes were sore from trying contacts for the first time earlier, but I went anyway. And when I was done, I was really glad that I did.
When I got to the barn, I again wasn't sure what to do. It had been three weeks since I'd last come and I couldn't remember if I should start getting the horses ready or wait for the riders to get there. I ended up waiting, which I now realize I shouldn't have. But I emailed the barn owner today and she told me that I should start grooming and tacking up the horses before the riders get there, so that's what I'll do next week.
Tonight there was only one rider, a young girl named Ruth. I actually went to pony camp with her last summer, so I recognized her. We got Captain ready and we headed up to the ring (a little later than the instructor wanted, but oh well!). For this lesson all I had to do was walk beside Captain and help Ruth if she needed it, like telling her where to go if she forgot. After a long warm-up Ruth was told to trot. For this I had to attach my lead rope to Captain's bridle to help lead Captain and get him to move. And let me tell you, it was really tiring after a while from running alongside Captain. A little later the instructor's daughter set up a small obstacle course, so Ruth did that. That's pretty much all there was to this lesson. When we were done we went on a short trail ride that went alongside the riding ring, down past a pasture, and back onto the gravel driveway that leads to the barn.
When we got to the barn the next lesson's riders, Carlee and Lydeah (I think that's how she spelled it...) were already mostly tacked up. Well, Lydeah was completely ready and Carlee was almost done. Carlee was again riding Fresca and Lydeah was riding Chachi after returning from a month long break. Much like three weeks ago, I didn't really have to do anything during this lesson, except for the occasional poop clean up. I also was told to tell Carlee if she needed to look ahead or fix her feet on the stirrups. Lydeah was more independent of the two of them, so she didn't really need help at all. So they warmed up their horses with lots of circles, and then they took turns trotting around the ring to catch up to the other horse. Eventually, towards the end of the lesson, Carlee and Lydeah moved into the small ring so Lydeah could canter a little. She's just started to though, so she didn't canter for long. Both Carlee and Lydeah had family watching, so I guess they wanted to show off the canter a little. The instructor even asked me to go down to the barn to get Lydeah's grandmother so she could watch her canter.
Anyway, all in all, I'd say it was a pretty relaxing night, and I again earned a whopping five dollars!! It's better than nothing I guess. Every little bit counts towards paying for my lessons, so in the end I think it's worth it. Unfortunately, next week is my last week of volunteering, because school starts on Monday (nooo!) and I'm not sure I can juggle volunteering and homework in the same night. Maybe I'll be able to help again in October, but I've decided to not help in September. So you can at least look forward to one more blog post about it next week! :)
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