For the first hour, that young girl named Ruth would be riding again. When I arrived at the barn though, someone told me that Ruth and another girl were already up in the ring with Captain. The other girl helping was nine, and her name was Megan. I've seen her around the stable before, so I recognized her. When I got up in the ring she was helping Ruth with the girth, but Captain kept trying to bite them so Megan held Captain's head while I fixed the saddle and girth. Then the instructor came up so Ruth could get on Captain.
It was pretty much the same as last week, except this time I just stood in the middle of the ring because there wasn't really a need for me to walk beside Ruth. So after warming up and doing some trotting (I honestly can't remember if I helped her trot or not... I don't think I did though), the instructor attached Captain to a lunge line. Basically the line is connected to his bridle so that if you stand somewhere the horse will walk, trot, or canter in a circle around you (see picture). The purpose of this was to let Ruth trot without holding on to the rains. She's been trying to get good at posting, and the instructor thought this would be a good exercise because it teaches you to post with your whole body while staying balanced.
I don't really remember what Ruth did after that. It was my second day at my new high school, and I was exhausted, as Megan pointed out to me as soon as I arrived in the ring ("You look tired!"). Anyway, when it was time for the second hour, the instructor told me that I would be leading a pony ride. I can't remember the little girl's name, but she was really small and really adorable. She barely said a word, either. She got to ride Rita, the smallest pony there. So when I brought Rita up from the paddock I showed the little girl and her dad how to groom a little. I showed the dad and he helped the little girl brush a small section of Rita's back while I did the rest. I picked Rita's hooves because that's obviously not a very safe thing for a little girl to do. It was pretty fun getting Rita ready. Since she's so small, everything was even smaller. I used a special saddle that was really small and used for pony rides, and the bridle was also very tiny. It was all so cute!! Up in the ring, when the girl was in the saddle, all I had to do was lead Rita around while the instructor held her leg to make sure she didn't fall off.
Meanwhile, during this pony ride, the instructor also had to teach a lesson (Carlee and Lydeah again - I think the little girl and Lydeah were cousins or something). After a while when Lydeah started trotting, the little girl saw her posting and tried to copy. She kept flopping up and down in her seat - it was really cute. Since she wanted to post so much, we let her trot a little, for small sections at a time while the instructor made sure she stayed in the saddle. That girl was being bounced around so much up there! She even kept posting when we were done trotting. I said to the instructor later how that girl is going to be a great student when she gets older because she's so eager to learn.
That's pretty much how the whole pony ride went. We walked mostly and we let Rita trot occasionally. The only word that girl said throughout the entire ride was "Chachi" - the name of the horse Lydeah rides. We ended the pony ride when the lesson was over, and we all headed down to the barn. I think the parents were very pleased with their daughter, and they thanked me as well. We all just couldn't stop laughing when that girl kept posting!
All-in-all, I'd say it was the best volunteering/working session I've had. Unfortunately it was my last time. The instructor kept saying, "Now I need to find a Greta replacement!" and I felt really bad, but she understood my situation. It's unfortunate though because this was the week we'd finally gotten into a good routine, but of course it was also the last week I would be there. Again, I hope I can come back and volunteer at some point, most likely in the summer. And I do look forward to coming back!!
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