The first thing I heard when I got to the barn is that Annie was lame. Lame pretty much means the horse has a sore leg or foot and it won't put the proper amount of weight on it. So anyway, my choices of horse were Chachi or Captain. Or as my instructor said, "Do you want a challenge, or no challenge?" As much as I love Captain, I chose to go with Chachi because I wanted to try a new horse. My instructor also put me in a dressage saddle, for some reason. Usually I use a general-purpose saddle, which can be used for jumping and other stuff (these are all English saddles). Dressage saddle just have longer side panels and a deeper seat to encourage riding low and balanced.
I've actually ridden Chachi once before at Pony Camp this summer, but it was only for about five minutes, so I knew he was a lot different from Annie or Captain. But even as I got on I realized just how different he really was. Chachi walks as if he is marching - that's the only way I can describe the feeling. His walk, trot, and canter are very swingy and pretty powerful, and a lot faster than what I'm used to with Annie.
The first time I trotted on Chachi I was thrown way off balance. After a while I got the hang of it, but his trot was so bouncy that it was hard to not get jostled a little. The barn owner was watching and said I looked graceful, even though I didn't feel one bit graceful. After some trotting my instructor let me canter. That was a big surprise too. I'm used to Annie's canter now, so when I felt Chachi's fast, rolling canter, I was a little freaked out. Again, once I got used to it a little it wasn't so bad, just really really fast. I often had to make circles to avoid moving that quickly. Chachi's canter also kind of hurt because I was flopping up and down a lot since I wasn't used to the fast movement of his canter. It was a little hard to sit to and find a good rhythm, but it was still really fun!!
By the end of this lesson I was pretty wiped out. It was a whole lot of fun though, and since Annie most likely won't be getting better any time soon (for all I know, she will, but you just can't tell), I asked if I could ride Chachi again next week. Hopefully I'll be able to but he might be ridden too much that day for me to ride. I'll just have to wait and see, I guess!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Lesson 9/19/11
Sorry about skipping last week's lesson. I couldn't really find the time to do it.
Anyway, so I'm just going to skip ahead to this week's lesson. It was, like, the perfect day. It was cool and breezy, I didn't have a lot of homework, and I knew we would be working on jumping - the perfect combination!!
I rode Annie, as usual. She wasn't grumpy at all, either! My instructor said it was probably because of the cooler weather and because we're working on jumping - apparently she enjoys doing that, which is good because I do too. Since I tack up faster than the lady I ride with, Sarah, my instructor let me go up in the ring to warm up, so I was all ready to go when they got up there. I like the time to be alone a little, so I can familiarize myself with Annie before the actual lesson starts.
After some trot warm ups, my instructor had me do a small jump course that had three sets of ground poles and one low jump (not the lowest, but the second hole up I think). The first time Annie swerved a lot, so my instructor told me to look way up ahead of the jump and to just basically tell Annie that we were going to go over the jump/poles. It actually worked, too! Just setting that goal in my head and keeping my body focused on that goal helped Annie to go where I wanted her to. So the third time I did the course Annie didn't swerve at all - a big accomplishment for me.
After that, we moved on to cantering. I warmed Annie up with her left lead, the easy lead, and then we set to work on getting her nearly impossible right lead canter. I feel like I tried everything - I did small circles, big circles, I tried to get her to bend... But it didn't work. Every time I told Annie to canter she took an extra step and set off in her left lead canter. It's not entirely my fault though because Annie's not good t bending to her right so it was even harder for me to get her to do that. And when I did get her in the right bend, I didn't ask for the canter soon enough. So it was a pretty frustrating thing, as it is every week. I've gotten it before though, so one of these days I will be able to do it again (I hope).
Right before the end of the lesson Sarah was learning how to post for the first time. My instructor asked me to demonstrate some things at the trot - first two-point, then a half posting half two-point (I think that was a hunt seat), and then regular posting. It felt really nice to be able to demonstrate something to someone instead of the other way around for once. And later, when my instructor was talking to Sarah about how the next thing they would be doing was diagonals, it again made realize how far I've come in riding, I guess you could say. It's just that I remember learning diagonals and being extremely frustrated with it, and now I can do it without thinking. It was just a nice reminder of where I am now, and I'm really happy that I've stuck with riding and made it this far!
You can tell it was an awesome lesson, right? :)
Just a quick shout-out to my step-mom, whose birthday is today. Happy birthday!!
Anyway, so I'm just going to skip ahead to this week's lesson. It was, like, the perfect day. It was cool and breezy, I didn't have a lot of homework, and I knew we would be working on jumping - the perfect combination!!
I rode Annie, as usual. She wasn't grumpy at all, either! My instructor said it was probably because of the cooler weather and because we're working on jumping - apparently she enjoys doing that, which is good because I do too. Since I tack up faster than the lady I ride with, Sarah, my instructor let me go up in the ring to warm up, so I was all ready to go when they got up there. I like the time to be alone a little, so I can familiarize myself with Annie before the actual lesson starts.
After some trot warm ups, my instructor had me do a small jump course that had three sets of ground poles and one low jump (not the lowest, but the second hole up I think). The first time Annie swerved a lot, so my instructor told me to look way up ahead of the jump and to just basically tell Annie that we were going to go over the jump/poles. It actually worked, too! Just setting that goal in my head and keeping my body focused on that goal helped Annie to go where I wanted her to. So the third time I did the course Annie didn't swerve at all - a big accomplishment for me.
After that, we moved on to cantering. I warmed Annie up with her left lead, the easy lead, and then we set to work on getting her nearly impossible right lead canter. I feel like I tried everything - I did small circles, big circles, I tried to get her to bend... But it didn't work. Every time I told Annie to canter she took an extra step and set off in her left lead canter. It's not entirely my fault though because Annie's not good t bending to her right so it was even harder for me to get her to do that. And when I did get her in the right bend, I didn't ask for the canter soon enough. So it was a pretty frustrating thing, as it is every week. I've gotten it before though, so one of these days I will be able to do it again (I hope).
Right before the end of the lesson Sarah was learning how to post for the first time. My instructor asked me to demonstrate some things at the trot - first two-point, then a half posting half two-point (I think that was a hunt seat), and then regular posting. It felt really nice to be able to demonstrate something to someone instead of the other way around for once. And later, when my instructor was talking to Sarah about how the next thing they would be doing was diagonals, it again made realize how far I've come in riding, I guess you could say. It's just that I remember learning diagonals and being extremely frustrated with it, and now I can do it without thinking. It was just a nice reminder of where I am now, and I'm really happy that I've stuck with riding and made it this far!
You can tell it was an awesome lesson, right? :)
Just a quick shout-out to my step-mom, whose birthday is today. Happy birthday!!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Working at a Horse Show
A couple of days ago the barn owner emailed me asking me if I could help out with a horse show on Saturday the 10th (yesterday). I would get paid 30 dollars (yay!) and it would go from 7am to middle-afternoon. I said yes, of course.
When I got to the barn I met another helper named Alfia. There were other helpers and riders around too. The barn owner had hired someone to trailer their horses to the show (it was about 30 minutes away) because there were maybe seven riders that were going to be in the show, and we needed to bring five horses with us: Dusty, Moo, Annie, Chachi, and Dixie. Annie was trailered seperately than the other horses because there wasn't enough room. We helped load the trailer with all the supplies, like water buckets, hay, grooming tools, and tack, and then we left. I rode in a van with Alfia, four riders, and someone's mom and sister.
When we got to the horse show location I saw there were two rings - a big one and a small one. I think the small one was made of all gravel while the big ring had a ring of gravel around the outside and grass in the middle. Grass was everywhere - it was heaven for the horses! We unloaded the horses and let them graze.
Basically what I did was hold horses that weren't in upcoming classes, and I was just there if anyone needed anything. I took turns holding Dixie with Alfia because she required you to walk with her - she wouldn't stop moving! So while I walked with Dixie, Alfia got to sit down, and vice versa. It was a long day - and it all consisted of standing. It was fun to watch the classes though, and some classes had almost all of the people from our barn in them! It was often chaotic too, because some riders had to share horses or switch them to start their next class. At the end of the day though, when everyone had their ribbons, I was happy I had come. I unfortunately got a horrible sunburn all over my face because I didn't bring sunscreen. It was cloudy when I left my house!
Anyway, by the time we got home I was almost falling asleep standing up. I was so tired from standing all day. But like I said before, I was glad I came, and I even made 30 dollars doing it. :)
When I got to the barn I met another helper named Alfia. There were other helpers and riders around too. The barn owner had hired someone to trailer their horses to the show (it was about 30 minutes away) because there were maybe seven riders that were going to be in the show, and we needed to bring five horses with us: Dusty, Moo, Annie, Chachi, and Dixie. Annie was trailered seperately than the other horses because there wasn't enough room. We helped load the trailer with all the supplies, like water buckets, hay, grooming tools, and tack, and then we left. I rode in a van with Alfia, four riders, and someone's mom and sister.
When we got to the horse show location I saw there were two rings - a big one and a small one. I think the small one was made of all gravel while the big ring had a ring of gravel around the outside and grass in the middle. Grass was everywhere - it was heaven for the horses! We unloaded the horses and let them graze.
Basically what I did was hold horses that weren't in upcoming classes, and I was just there if anyone needed anything. I took turns holding Dixie with Alfia because she required you to walk with her - she wouldn't stop moving! So while I walked with Dixie, Alfia got to sit down, and vice versa. It was a long day - and it all consisted of standing. It was fun to watch the classes though, and some classes had almost all of the people from our barn in them! It was often chaotic too, because some riders had to share horses or switch them to start their next class. At the end of the day though, when everyone had their ribbons, I was happy I had come. I unfortunately got a horrible sunburn all over my face because I didn't bring sunscreen. It was cloudy when I left my house!
Anyway, by the time we got home I was almost falling asleep standing up. I was so tired from standing all day. But like I said before, I was glad I came, and I even made 30 dollars doing it. :)
Lesson 9/5/11
I'm sorry I'm getting to this post so late! It's hard to do it on a school night, because when I'm not doing homework I'm trying to relax by reading or watching TV. Hopefully I'll find time to write about my next lesson sooner than the weekend, but don't be surprised if I haven't written till then.
The bad thing about blogging six days later is that I don't really remember everything. So I'll just write about the basics of what we did. I rode with a lady named Sarah, who I think is fairly new to riding. She rode Moo, and I rode Annie. Annie was being really weird though. When I was grooming her she just kind of collapsed, like she was falling asleep. And she was being extra sensitive of people going near her butt or behind her. Luckily though, once we started riding she wasn't too bad, and she wasn't as slow as she was last week either.
I unfortunately didn't get to work on jumping this week, because of Sarah. My instructor can't really give me one-on-one instruction with someone else there. So I worked on getting Annie to move faster, and I worked on getting her to canter without stopping so much. It was hard because every time we went around a corner she would try to slow down.
That's really all I remember. Sorry for any disappointment... But you can still look forward to this week's post, which I promise I will write before next Sunday. :)
The bad thing about blogging six days later is that I don't really remember everything. So I'll just write about the basics of what we did. I rode with a lady named Sarah, who I think is fairly new to riding. She rode Moo, and I rode Annie. Annie was being really weird though. When I was grooming her she just kind of collapsed, like she was falling asleep. And she was being extra sensitive of people going near her butt or behind her. Luckily though, once we started riding she wasn't too bad, and she wasn't as slow as she was last week either.
I unfortunately didn't get to work on jumping this week, because of Sarah. My instructor can't really give me one-on-one instruction with someone else there. So I worked on getting Annie to move faster, and I worked on getting her to canter without stopping so much. It was hard because every time we went around a corner she would try to slow down.
That's really all I remember. Sorry for any disappointment... But you can still look forward to this week's post, which I promise I will write before next Sunday. :)
Friday, September 2, 2011
Volunteering/Working 8/31/11
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!!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Lesson 8/29/11
Wow. What a lesson. Tonight I jumped for the first time!! I don't think camp really counts since I jumped maybe twice. So obviously I'm very excited and happy! It was so fun too, especially when I got to canter over some jumps. And I'm really glad I had this lesson tonight because tomorrow's the first day of school and it really cheered me up and got me thinking about something else.
So tonight I rode Annie, and as always she was being really annoying. She kept trying to pull her head away from me and wanted to eat stuff when I stopped. But in the end I guess I was pretty glad I rode her (haha!). We started out the lesson in the small ring since there was a lesson going on in the big ring. I walked around a little and after a while my instructor told me to pick up a trot. Who knew trotting could be this hard! It took me forever just to get her to walk faster, and even longer to get her to trot. And she did the slowest possible trot she could. I had to use my crop a lot to get her to actually move a little, but once she knew she needed to go faster she stayed pretty fast for the rest of the lesson.
After trotting some figure-eights (some were excruciatingly slow), I got trotting Annie fast enough at a steady pace that my instructor told me I could canter. I tried to get her to pick up the right lead (we were tracking right), but as usual she wouldn't do it so I eventually switched directions. I got the left lead canter but I found it really hard to get her to stay in that canter. She kept speeding up and stopping and speeding up and stopping. I got Annie to canter a little longer but at that point the other riders were moving out of the big ring so we moved over there.
Now comes the really exciting part (for me anyway). There were four jumps set up in the ring. The two farthest away were just some poles flat on the ground (one pole in one and three in the other). The two jumps closest had two tiny crossrails set up on them (the lowest the poles could go). So my instructor told me what to do, and I had to just do it. There wasn't much explanation, which I was okay with since I wanted her to just cut to the chase and let me jump (I was very eager!). So I had to trot in two-point over the set of three poles, trot over the crossrail and keep going to head over the other one. Then I just had to keep trotting over the one pole. It was a little crazy the first time but it got easier the more I did it (and I did it a lot). Also, Annie kept wanting to canter before I went over the three poles, so I had to really tighten up to stop her.
After a while of doing those jumps at a trot my instructor told me that if Annie wanted to canter I could let her canter. So after trotting over the three poles I had to trot over the crossrail and then let Annie canter. Then I was to canter over the second crossrail and over the other pole. The first time I did this I didn't hit the second crossrail straight so Annie kind of leaped over it and we swerved to the middle of the ring. The second time was so much better. I headed towards the jump straight and we cantered right over it and over the other pole. It was so much fun!!! Trotting over jumps is fun too, but the exhilarating feeling of cantering over them is even better. And I wasn't even jumping that high!
So all in all, it was a very productive lesson. I'm pretty proud of myself too, I must say. I also learned (and I told this to my instructor) a lot: I learned how important it is to have loose and relaxed ankles, to look ahead over the jumps, and that I can't give up on Annie. Relaxed ankles really help you absorb the bounce as you go over a jump and even poles. Looking ahead helped Annie know where I wanted her to go - looking down at the jump is just inviting her to slow down or stop. And not giving up on Annie means that I have to keep asking and telling her what I need her to do - whether it be going over a jump or just getting her to trot. Needless to say, I can't wait for next week's lesson. :) And I will try and blog after volunteering, so you can look for that - it will probably be up on Thursday rather than Wednesday. Wish me luck in school tomorrow!!
So tonight I rode Annie, and as always she was being really annoying. She kept trying to pull her head away from me and wanted to eat stuff when I stopped. But in the end I guess I was pretty glad I rode her (haha!). We started out the lesson in the small ring since there was a lesson going on in the big ring. I walked around a little and after a while my instructor told me to pick up a trot. Who knew trotting could be this hard! It took me forever just to get her to walk faster, and even longer to get her to trot. And she did the slowest possible trot she could. I had to use my crop a lot to get her to actually move a little, but once she knew she needed to go faster she stayed pretty fast for the rest of the lesson.
After trotting some figure-eights (some were excruciatingly slow), I got trotting Annie fast enough at a steady pace that my instructor told me I could canter. I tried to get her to pick up the right lead (we were tracking right), but as usual she wouldn't do it so I eventually switched directions. I got the left lead canter but I found it really hard to get her to stay in that canter. She kept speeding up and stopping and speeding up and stopping. I got Annie to canter a little longer but at that point the other riders were moving out of the big ring so we moved over there.
Now comes the really exciting part (for me anyway). There were four jumps set up in the ring. The two farthest away were just some poles flat on the ground (one pole in one and three in the other). The two jumps closest had two tiny crossrails set up on them (the lowest the poles could go). So my instructor told me what to do, and I had to just do it. There wasn't much explanation, which I was okay with since I wanted her to just cut to the chase and let me jump (I was very eager!). So I had to trot in two-point over the set of three poles, trot over the crossrail and keep going to head over the other one. Then I just had to keep trotting over the one pole. It was a little crazy the first time but it got easier the more I did it (and I did it a lot). Also, Annie kept wanting to canter before I went over the three poles, so I had to really tighten up to stop her.
After a while of doing those jumps at a trot my instructor told me that if Annie wanted to canter I could let her canter. So after trotting over the three poles I had to trot over the crossrail and then let Annie canter. Then I was to canter over the second crossrail and over the other pole. The first time I did this I didn't hit the second crossrail straight so Annie kind of leaped over it and we swerved to the middle of the ring. The second time was so much better. I headed towards the jump straight and we cantered right over it and over the other pole. It was so much fun!!! Trotting over jumps is fun too, but the exhilarating feeling of cantering over them is even better. And I wasn't even jumping that high!
So all in all, it was a very productive lesson. I'm pretty proud of myself too, I must say. I also learned (and I told this to my instructor) a lot: I learned how important it is to have loose and relaxed ankles, to look ahead over the jumps, and that I can't give up on Annie. Relaxed ankles really help you absorb the bounce as you go over a jump and even poles. Looking ahead helped Annie know where I wanted her to go - looking down at the jump is just inviting her to slow down or stop. And not giving up on Annie means that I have to keep asking and telling her what I need her to do - whether it be going over a jump or just getting her to trot. Needless to say, I can't wait for next week's lesson. :) And I will try and blog after volunteering, so you can look for that - it will probably be up on Thursday rather than Wednesday. Wish me luck in school tomorrow!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Volunteering/Working 8/24/11
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! :)
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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