Cantering

Riding lessons are going very well! On the third lesson, Bryan and Cameron both learned to Canter. Apparently this is harder than it looks on television or the movies. This week, at the 4th lesson, they tried again and looked much more comfortable. Cameron went first on Friday.

(Turn sound down, because the wind is blowing loudly across the camera microphone.)



Brenna hasn't cantered yet. She is still walking, trotting, learning turns, basic control over the horse. She's riding a new horse, Sally, who really wanted to trot, not walk. On another video Brenna is telling her "Whoa, walk!" - learning to keep control. She says to the instructor, "She wants to be the boss." The instructor calls back, "No, you're the boss." So Brenna leans down, taps her finger on the horse's neck and says, "You hear? I'm the boss!" Unfortunately, the wind noise on the microphone drowned out the last line. So I'm showing you this video of her doing the turns and practicing basic control. She looks like a little horsewoman just doing her thing.



I took some video of Bryan also, who looks real comfortable riding on Partner.

Riding Lessons

Maybe two years ago, Papa promised Cameron that if she saved up $200 then he would buy her a horse. Now that she has the money, I'm a bit worried he might keep his promise! Whether he buys or leases one, the girls need to learn to handle themselves around a horse so we started riding lessons today.

Brenna, Cameron & Bryan all had a half-hour private lesson today. We met Stephanie, our instructor, in the tack room. When she asked who would go first, Brenna gave Cameron a quick glance to see if her hand was up, and when she realized Cameron hadn't raised hers Brenna shot her hand up -boom! (I thought that was so cute that she checked Cameron first.)

Both girls started with Charwin, a 24 yr old female Arabian. Brenna learned to curry comb and body brush the horse, then lift up the front hooves to pick out the dirt (with a little help). She chose a saddle blanket and carried the saddle herself from the tack room. Stephanie put the lead-on and bridle, carefully showing Brenna how to do it and together they led Charwin to the covered riding ring.

Brenna spent about ten minutes or more walking, learning to turn and guide. Throughout all of this she looked like a natural with no hesitation at all.

When her turn was over, she led Charwin back to her stall to remove the bridle, saddle, blanket, and brush the horse again. Look at this happy face!

Then it was Cameron's turn. She did all of the same, although she was a bit hesitant to lift the horse's leg to pick the hoof by herself. But past that she really enjoyed herself and seemed very comfortable while riding.

After Cameron's turn to walk, guide, and trot, she brought Charwin back and brushed her. For Bryan's lesson he had a larger horse named Partner. Bryan learned to pick the horse hooves, put the blanket and saddle in the proper place on the horse and fix all the straps. He didn't put the bit and bridle on during this lesson, but looked very natural walking Partner around the ring. By the end of the 90 minutes, we were all dusty, hot, and sweaty.

But I know all three of them are looking forward to next week's lesson!