Summer Riding
I just got back from vacation. A week of sun and sand at the Outer Banks. It was great but I seriously went into horse withdrawal. It was really strange to have all that free time and not spend it in the saddle. Needless to say, I went right to the barn as soon as possible yesterday.
Rio was great yesterday. She came right to me in the field and was relaxed and listening the whole time. I have been working on directions--moving off of my leg and steering at faster paces.
I feel like I need a specific goal in order to make sure I am working on things that will improve our riding. Rio was different today--a little more bent out of shape about being taken out of the field and away from her buddies. She settled down and listened but I still felt like I didn't have a specific goal in mind.
I haven't written about some of our rides prior to our vacation. Brenda and I participated in a horse show sponsored by the Franklin County 4-H advisors. It was held at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in June. We entered several classes. We figured out that FOR SURE neither of our horses are Western Pleasure candidates! They both behaved very well but we were definetely out of our league in some of the classes. I ended up with a couple of ribbons. We didn't do as well in trail class as I would have hoped. The lope portion really created problems....did I say we needed to work on steering??? No doubt!
We also took a trip over to the Knox County Horse Park to goof around on the Cowboy course and ride the trails. It was a windy day but nice overall. We rode the trails and were doing fine until we came upon a slight incline. Rio was in the lead and decided that a bear would eat her if she went further, so she proceeded to whirl around and try and go back. I kept keeping her toward the trail and even got off and walked her down the trail to try and ensure her that there weren't any monsters laying in wait. After much persuasion, we eventually got the horses down the trail. The key is patience and a willingness to let your trail partner work through the issues.
We went through the obstacles on the Cowboy course with relatively good results. The horses were a bit spooky--especially at the very DEEP and muddy water crossing.
We eventually met up with some other riders and rode some trails for awhile before heading for home, barely missing a BIG thunderstorm. Rio was a pain as she tried to eat everything in her way. It didn't help that we were in a big field and that everything was at mouth level for her. It would be like us going through a big field of chocolate lollipops and not being able to eat (or taste) them. I didn't let her eat as that is one of my rules when she is under saddle but boy, did I feel bad for her.
Next week we are on to one of the Cowboy Challenges-not sure if it will be Wayne County of Knox County, or even if we will bring the horses. Sometimes it is just more fun to watch others suffer through--I mean have all the fun!