And away we go!

ADW here...This weekend, we had our very own double-header, riding on Friday evening and Sunday morning.

On Friday, the weather was nice so I thought that we might be riding outside. Unfortunately when we got to the barn, we were told that one of the horses during the lesson before ours (which was held outdoors) got spooked and bolted, with the rider falling off. Our instructor Sheri decided that the horses may be a bit skittish and we held our lesson in the indoor arena.

We commenced our normal trots and small jumps and then Sheri suggested that we…canter. “Canter…?” I thought to myself, “I’ve never initiated the canter before, I don’t even know what to do!” If you recall, I experienced the canter while in Iceland, but I have never initiated it myself. Sheri suggested that I try to by kicking Aspen while exiting a corner. After a few attempts that just resulted in a very bumpy and fast trot, Aspen responded and away we went! I was able to initiate the canter twice and I was surprised by how smooth it was compared to a bumpy trot. Hopefully now that I have my first canter down, I can get it going again next time and improve on my balance.

Then on Sunday morning, we headed up for another lesson.  This time, Sheri was comfortable in holding our lesson in the outdoor arena and it was a big difference! It took a bit of time to adjust to riding outdoors since there were no more walls holding us in, but the extra space, the fresh air, and general surroundings made for a very enjoyable lesson. Even the horses had more energy riding outside. With warmer weather coming up, I can’t wait to take more lessons outside!