Steve Holt!, week 7

I have been with Steve Holt! for seven weeks now. We have just over 7 left before leaving for Albany. I expect that gives me roughly 40 more rides, for a total of 60 before we compete.

Those big, huge, monumental steps have been taken. He loads into a trailer like a pro. He lets me climb on and off without a care. He follows me anywhere I ask him to go, be it through running water, beneath streamers or over bridges. His curious nature has won out over his cautious side, just as I'd hoped.

This past week we did meet up with a few milestones, however:

1) We rode in Curt's arena with 3 other horses, plus 2 more tied to the rail, as the hydra bull ran. Although he'd seen the bull working the previous Saturday, this time I was on his back and he relaxed enough to walk with a dropped head while the bull and one of the horses went head to head working.

2) We traveled up to the Trail Dayze event again, and this time he was saddled and ridden in an arena with 9 other horses. A small arena, too...not some big fairgrounds arena where horses had room to move. No...we were packed like sardines and someone was trying to give a riding lesson in the middle of it all. Horses were circling and darting in and out in front and behind us, and other than him not liking when they passed us, he was cool with it all.

3) Not only did he handle himself well in the crowd, Steve Holt! handled himself well over the trail obstacles. He crossed the bridge mounted for the first time. I asked for a sidepass from his back and got it...both directions! Not pretty, but he's trying to figure it out. We backed an L. I also asked him to attempt getting through the rope gate. This was his biggest struggle because I was asking him to sidepass without a pole beneath to help guide him. But...we did it, and I was able to hang onto the rope the entire time.

4) We're working on our half pass. I aimed him straight down the center of the arena on Friday where I could watch us in that big mirror that Steve Holt! loves so well. He moves quite nicely to the right, but the left isn't quite as easy for him. It's coming along, though.

Round circles, straight lines. That's what Curt is always telling me. We need to work on our round circles. They're anything but round. Our lines are fairly straight, however. We'll be working on a lot of serpentines this week, plus more simple changes as well as getting his stop down pat. On Tuesday we're expecting a visitor...stay tuned!