"So, when you are you gonna jog a horse?" he'd asked Roomie. Was that before or after they made the date for the Faith Hill and Tim McGraw concert? The night they hung around listening to the Lyle Lovett concert DVD, he'd said "Women are a complete mystery. But, sometimes you want to turn every page" He said he wasn't really even let off the farm til he was 19, lol.
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Jill was impressed to learn her riding instructor was into yoga. "its the yoga breathing for me" she'd enthused. In class the teacher had her time her exhalations within the downwards transition to trot. Genius. totally revolutionsary for horse and rider.
Jill said the lesson was great, because even though it was spritzy, "We rode outside. we jumped the castle and the skinny canadian flag planks and the triple and the in and out and the gate and brush box and the oxer coop and whatever else, many times!)!
In these exercizes Jill got to see how rio her mount would get stronger and stronger, as the courses got longer. Jill had been joking around in the barn after class "I am fine to wait til NEXT summer to do any cross country, believe me." Apparently, her arms ached while she explained how fun the lesson was. Jill had also been complaining that it took her three or four weeks of being back at that barn to get a good out of their teacher during a riding lesson. The others scoffed and laughed along, saying it took them three or four YEARS.
The teacher had prepared her, "Well, this horse just basically goes 450m a minute. Of course he will adjust his stride according the obstacle. As long as you don't mess with him too much." Jill must have had a nervous or frightened look on her face because the coach added, "Don't be terrified. He will take care of you."
What a blast. The lessons she taught that day were a bit scary also. Unfortunately, the kid who took two tumbles in the two weeks Jill was off, took another one while JIll was teaching. But, she wasn't hurt and she seemed to understand that the littliest pony in the barn is just one of those easily startled personalities. He doesn't mean her any harm... They practiced "going with his motion" for a while before she dismounted officially.
It stuck in Jill's mind how the whites of the pony's eyes showed as the rain came teeming down on the arena ceiling. It was loud and scary and he was far away from the instructor standing in the middle of the ring... it was just enough comfort to the pony for Jill to maintain eye contact with him, chatting away.
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