# A New Rider's Musings.



## Oiseau (Mar 3, 2012)

*March 17, 2012*

(I know, I know, I missed a week! And I'm fairly late on this one. Shh, I'm in the middle of exams).

Well, since it had been raining half the week, I was expecting a pretty miserable, canter-less lesson in an impossibly muddy arena. Instead, though, when I got to the barn and bridled Daisy (after first tacking up Tangles, but my instructor deciding on Daisy instead), after letting her munch on some grass outside the arena while waiting for the previous (miserable-looking!) lesson to end, Dustin came up and asked if I wanted to trail ride, instead  I'd been on a trail ride there once before (choosing not to count my tenth birthday party here), but it was short and not very exciting; we didn't get out of walk. Dustin saddled up Ticket, and off we went!

The trail ride was actually really, really great, and time flew like crazy :shock: For the most part, we were just chatting away, enjoying the scenery and the horses' clear enthusiasm. I was behind him, so needless to say whenever Ticket went into a trot, Daisy followed with zero prompting from me. Actually, I was the one caught off-guard :lol: We _were_ walking for the most part, but at one point we cantered up a hill (a whole new experience for me, and all I could do was hold on and laugh with the sheer fun of it!) and did some trotting...which for whatever reason feels much more relaxed and natural on a trail ride. Or maybe it was just Daisy's trot being so much more comfortable than Ticket's insane flinging me out of the saddle :-o Whatever the case, it was a fantastic, relaxing ride - Dustin and I just chatting about horses and motorbikes and the country, the horses just enjoying the fresh air, and me losing all sense of direction (a skill I possess little of at the best of times). At one point, we got a view of the arenas from on high, and boy was I glad I didn't have to traverse the lakes that had accumulated there!

I think I may have found a few favourite riding activity.


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## digggin (Mar 15, 2012)

I hope you continue your journal. Those first riding lessons were great memories for me. I enjoy your sense of humor and writings. Keep us informed and good luck!


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