It felt really good to ride in my English saddle today. I don't think I've been in one since my last lesson at school. Stella usually gets really wild out in the open, so I've been using Larry's old Western saddle. We went riding a while back, before Christmas, because we got tired of working on the roof. It was very fun.
The day before yesterday was the first time I'd worked in the pasture for a long time. I worked Stella on the longe line for a long time because I thought she might be very silly when I got on her. She was actually very good for me. She was also good for me yesterday. We didn't ride very long yesterday because it was late by the time I actually got on Stella. Today was the greatest, though.
Larry brought Mindy over so that we could ride. Mindy and I rode Chester in the pasture, which was a lot of fun. I love riding him. He's one of the best, calmest horses I've been lucky enough to ride. He's also Mac's younger brother, so I feel especially close to him. I see him do little things that Mac used to do, and it makes me both very happy (because a little part of Mac is still alive) and very sad (because Mac himself is not here). It's amazing that he's a two-year-old stallion. Mindy and I swear that we'll be able to take him to AQHA World one day :)
After we worked Chester, we worked Tatiana. I worked Tatiana on the longe line and Mindy rode her. I figured that I would "save my hip" for Stella, as Mindy wanted us to jump today.
The four of us (Larry, Mindy, my sister, and me) went to Subway for lunch. We ate on the porch with Abby, and then we had oranges. Mindy told me that two guys in line at Subway were checking me out before I walked in. That made me laugh. Maybe they had some sort of equestrian fetish. Hehehe.
I helped my sister get on Sissy after we ate. Now she's allowed to ride with her walking boot on, so she rode around a little with one stirrup. I'm glad she's riding again. After I walked around with her a bit, I brought Stella out and schooled her on the flat a little bit. She was very, very calm. We did plenty of trotting and cantering around before Larry got off the roof and came to help us jump. I led Stella over the jump the first time. I decided that I wouldn't ride the crossrail on her back unless I was sure she would agree to go over it. I'm at the point where I just can't fight anymore. It hurts too much. She was very agreeable about it, and she actually seemed really excited. I got back on her, walked over the jump once, and then trotted her over a few times. She got really excited about the whole thing, and I think she was really enjoying herself. One time, we approached at a trot, but Stella wanted to canter. I asked her to canter it because cantering is easier on both of us. She jumped it beautifully, or at least it felt beautiful. She didn't want to stop after the jump and let out a few small bucks, I guess because she was just so excited. I almost fell off, shouted something rather inappropriate, and then started laughing. She bucked a few more times after the jump, but I forced her to lift her head and quit being so silly. It really hurt my hip, even though I prepared before my ride by taking a pain pill. Mindy jumped Stella a few times. Mindy also wrapped her scarf around Stella's neck, which I took a picture of. Stella liked the scarf, even though she was a little scared of it at first.
I cleaned a lot of stalls and fed the horses tonight, so I also feel very productive :)
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