Friday, August 21, 2009

A New Rider for Cali


Well, I've been reluctant to post anything, because although my camera came back from Europe safe and sound, along with the newlyweds, the charger for the battery remained in Ireland. Amy's family is sending it back, but I haven't been able to take any new photos. A blog is boring without photos! I don't want folks to think we aren't continuing to have new lessons and challenges, so I decided to write.
Today I rode Calico in the arena for awhile; we are working on maintaining a nice steady trot. Dave, my almost 16 year old son and Philip the 2 year old came along. Philip led little Artie around the arena. The owners were so impress with the way the two had bonded, they said they would order a mini saddle right away. That means I need to get Philip a proper helmet. Anyway, after I rode I had Dave get up on Calico. This is only the second time anyone besides me has ridden her, except with me leading from the ground. Oh my sister, Jenny, was on her once, but today, Dave rode her all around doing circles and serpentines. They did great together. Now Dave hasn't really been on a horse since he was about 11 years old. He went over to a friend's house and rode their large pony. The bridle broke and the horse trotted under a
makeshift fence and Dave was knocked off. His foot got stuck in the stirrup and he was dragged over rocks until the pony finally stepped on him and he came off. Thank God he was wearing a helmet. Poor Dave was skinned up pretty bad. He wasn't too keen on horses after that and still talks about the incident with bitterness to this day. Today he was able to have a very good experience with Cali, and it was good for her to have to be expose to a different rider. I want to be able to have a horse that anyone in the family can ride, and Calico is doing great. Good job Dave.

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