Alright then.... Where did I leave off... Right. My first riding lesson!
My very first horseback riding lesson was on a big chestnut stallion by the name of Chester. He was well-groomed, fit, and every time he moved, you could see his muscles ripple under his skin. He was perfection in a horse. As a school horse, he knew his job, and he carried it out well. He was a confidence-booster, and the ideal horse to start out with-- dependable, sturdy and steady. Big, with a heart to match his size. His beautiful brown eyes stared straight into your soul, and he stretched out towards anyone with an open heart. He had a comfortable seat, and a great foundation to start off my riding.
I can't say that looking back on it, my first riding lesson was exceptionally memorable, other than that I learned how to post (which made trotting much more comfortable), as well as a grooming lesson. The first lesson I had was a private lesson with my teacher, so she could sort out my level of riding (which was zero...) and also get me to start tacking up my horse by myself in future lessons. It consisted of an hour lesson-- half an hour was dedicated to grooming and learning horse tack, and the other half was dedicated to actually riding. I loved the feeling of being so high off the ground and the whole viewpoint of being on a horse's back. For half an hour, the world took on a totally different perspective for me. No doubt it was hard work-- no, horseback riding does not mean you just sit on the horse and the horse powers through the course, but the rider actually has to work as well. By the end of my lesson when I got off my horse, I had wobbly legs, the biggest smile on Earth, and extremely high spirits.
I decided that I would not give up on this sport. Sure enough, the next week, I was right back. However, this time, I was introduced to a new horse: Teddy. Teddy was the horse. A gorgeous dark bay thoroughbred stallion by the show name of Air Time, he was even bigger than Chester. He had a sleek coat with innocent looking black almond-shaped eyes, and a compassionate air. Compared to Chester, he was much leaner, his muscles proving to be rather slim than bulky. He had a much more model-like figure, standing like a show horse all the time. Teddy's hair was silky and soft to the touch, his ears broad and always perked. He quickly stole my hear, and by the first lesson I had with him, it became evident that it would be hard to pull me off of him.
By the time I had my first lesson on Teddy, I was put into a group lesson, with a really nice girl that was one year older than me. Izzy was sweet, and really nice. She rode Chester when I rode Teddy, which was always interesting as they are like... best friends. When we would ride around the ring, they would always end up side by side, plodding alongside each other. Honestly, cutest thing ever, and the best thing about it? Our teacher didn't mind. We mostly did trotting-- trotting poles, walking, changing gait, etc. My 10 lessons flew by like a blur, and every day after riding I would fret over my remaining lessons. During the 45 minutes each week, I would be in paradise, just letting the familiar and soothing presence of Teddy wash over me. However, immediately after, I would count away in my head. ..5....4...3...2...1.... Too soon, my package of 10 riding lessons were over....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*End of Part Two*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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