Jill hadn't been able to borrow a booster seat for her kid friend from the big city, so they couldn't go for a drive to the stable after their train ride to town. Dang! But, they made music and talked about ponies... Jill thought that having the kids RIDING being the ones playing the instruments was a great idea. She'd never thought of that!
*
The pony hadn't been ridden since Monday, was still out in the paddock, and Jill was arriving at the same time at the new student and the other guests! Ooooh la la, well, frisky ponies make good teachers too!
*
Jill wanted to make the point about "rider-effort." She tended to teach the leadership required for equestrian pursuits as just general try-hardness.
"So, if you've tried something and it didn't work, and you're a rider, or especially a pony trainer, what are you gonna do?" She was hoping for try harder but what the new, clever student naturally suggested was "ask for help."
Jill explained the answer she had been secretly hoping for and concluded in the end "it would be great to try harder right away, with that rider-determination, and then, if that didn't work, to ask for help." Jill actually admired the idea.
*
She was surprised how nervous of the pony the girl really was. But, but always made Jill so happy to see brave smiles by the end of the lesson.
*
Jill felt guilty that with her sore back and energy level at that point in the day, she was seated on the mounting block when things went wrong. She was pretty sure the reason the student fell off in the only area where there was something to fall into, was because the frightened pony was running to her.
The look on the rider's face was the same as the pony's. Poor Girls!
