Who Knew?

I am thrilled to report I survived my first riding lesson since I was eight years old.


I showed up on Monday, 4/11, with new black breeches and cool new riding boots. I felt every bit the rider. Tracking down Kelly, my instructor, was pretty easy as she was talking with people (adults, thank goodness!) who had the lesson before mine. 


DH insisted I bring a carrot for Buckley, the pot belly pig who is the stable's mascot. He (the pig, not the husband) appreciated the morning feast and promptly fell asleep, snout in the ground. Wish I could drop off to sleep that fast.


Kelly escorted me into the barn where there was a very handsome brown horse eating oats. Introductions ensued. "Karen, this is Jessy. He is a 22-year old Arabian who has been a lesson horse for 2 years now. He is very sweet and gentle." Me: "Hi, Jessy. You certainly are a magnificent creature. And you are going to be nice to me, right?" Jessy: No response (after all, he was eating his breakfast). Me: "Ah, you're a man of few words. I understand. I'm married to one like that."


Next stop was the tack room. Kelly started pulling out all manner of equipment. My heart was racing. I don't remember all this stuff (or what to do with it), but when I was 8, I showed up on Saturday mornings and the horse was ready to ride. Anyway, I groomed Jessy, including cleaning his feet. Interesting note: Jessy had no shoes. Kelly explained that Arabians have very good feet, so many of them don't need shoes. Makes the picking much easier too. I liked grooming him; a good bonding experience.  


Then time to put on the saddle pad. Well, that was pretty easy. The saddle was next. Who knew a saddle had so many parts (see picture above)? Not me, I rode English as a kid; the English saddle isn't nearly as complicated as a Western. My head was swimming trying to recall what was what. We finally got Jessy groomed and saddled up and went off to the arena.


I managed to mount Jessy without making a total fool of myself. Kelly stood in the center of the arena and in a very reassuring, calm voice, called out instructions to me. I seemed to understand what she was telling me to do. Jessy was very responsive. It's true that once you've been on a horse, you don't forget the feeling. The minute I swung my right leg over the saddle, it came back to me - feeling the horse breathing, the slope of the back, the warmth of his mane, the excitement of feeling like you're on top of the world. Toward the end of the lesson, Kelly suggested that we (Jessy and I) do some trotting. I didn't recall how to post, but her instruction - "Up on one, down on two" - was perfect; in no time I was posting up a storm. 


Just as we were getting ready to leave the arena, I saw the precursor (it's called an "aura) to a migraine and cursed the migraine devils for sending me one at this moment. We managed to get back to the barn and Jessy pastured again. Despite this unexpected end, the lesson was so much fun, I can hardly wait until next Monday for another lesson.


I am so very blessed to have a DH who is letting me live out my childhood fantasies. He will never know - because I will never be able to adequately communicate to him - how much this means to me. 


Onward into horse land. I've come up with an expression for my renewed interest in riding: "Go by horse or go home!"