And that image, I think, basically sums up what I did during my months off horseback riding lessons.... Unfortunately due to my busy school schedule, I was unable to ride every week, and I would have a cooling off period every time my package of 10 lessons ended.
Then, one magical day, I would be right back at the stables, excitement boiling over, and itching to get back on a horse. And get back on a horse I did. I'd eagerly clamber back onto the saddle, ready for a another lesson. Reflecting on it now, I don't even really clearly remember the past lessons. I'm sure I enjoyed every single one of them thoroughly (although the amount of enjoyment I got from doing sitting trot is slightly debatable...) it's just that all of them kind of... mush together. I don't remember precisely down what on each day. In my mind, it's become organized into packages. The package of 10 I did in the summer with Izzy, the package of 10 I did with Julia, and the package of 10 I'm riding right now with Joe. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I did cantering, sitting trot, poles, jumps, grids, and all that.
The one lesson I can remember clear as day is the day I fell of my horse. Three times. Well, the last time was more of an accidental dismount more than a fall so... I praise the stars that I had been riding Charm that day, rather than Teddy. Charm is a very sweet old mare that is much much much smaller than Teddy, and much slower than Teddy at that... Teddy has a real gas pedal when it comes to when he actually gets going, while Charm.... Not so much. I ended up not having enough pace with her, got a refusal from a fence, and fell off. Only to get back on, and fall off. Again. Welp. That's embarrassing. Thanks to my slightly scary enthusiastic riding teacher though, I managed to get back on, and by the end of the lesson, I had gotten the jumping course done. It was a necessary lesson though. Thanks to that lesson, I got the whole 'putting your heel down is a good thing in riding' lesson through my head..
Looking back at my riding lessons just a few months before, I note that I actually did get better. Slowly, without me really noticing it, I got to be better rider. I could jump higher, getting a smoother gallop, trot for longer, and my overall look on the horse got better. And with each lesson, each second, each tick tock of the clock, I fell more in love with horses. Yep, I know. Digging my own grave.
As I said before, horseback riding is a magical sport that allows you to form bonds that you would never have thought you could make, and opens you to a world that you would never have thought you could get to experience. Thrilling, exciting and exhausting all at once, it's a sport like no other. Honestly, what other sport can get you working with such empathetic creatures as horses? In fact to me, it was like a new style of life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*End of Part Three*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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