Name It. Win It.

First, a big thank you to all who wished me quick healing! Must have worked, because I woke up yesterday feeling much better. Still a little pinch of whatever it is, but nothing like the previous day or two. Trying not to over do it, but hey, what can I say? Ponies must be ridden!

Darling had a lesson on Tuesday, and since Steve Holt! hadn't been worked on Monday, I hauled him to the arena for a bit of a warm up. He was great! Nice, soft, and supple. Big improvement over what Darling's been dealing with the past month.

We've got a new bit on the boy; a full cheek with a slow twist. Because he's been slow to respond to his loose ring snaffle, we decided it was time to find something that got his attention a bit faster should he fail to respond to the voice and seat when asking for those downward transitions. This has always been Steve Holt!'s weak point; dropping from a canter to a trot for a simple change was nearly impossible last year, and Darling is a bit lighter than me when it comes to both weight and soft touch, so a bit of help was in order. At first we didn't think he was responding, as he'd try to bully his way around the arena, but after a ride or two he began listening and this lesson was mighty pretty to watch.

Of course, the beautiful afternoon light made everything seem more poetic!

There for awhile, Darling was very frustrated with Steve Holt! and back to wishing she had a broke pony on which to learn to ride. But the past week has proven to her that struggles happen, and if you persevere and work through them, there is a reward. To get to that reward, sometimes it takes more than hard work...with Steve Holt! it took some play time. We'd set up obstacles in the arena just like I did a year ago while he was training for the makeover. Steve Holt! has an active mind that has difficulty processing circle trotting, but throw a few barrels out there, and some poles and cones, and things become a game. Darling had fun, too, pretending to be a rodeo queen in an English saddle, cantering around all the props and doing her queen wave as she passed by her imaginary fans. It lightened the load for both of them, and in the end they were both in better form when it came time to trot those circles again at her lesson.

Barb commented on how fluid her circles were and wondered if she'd been practicing? No, Darling answered...but in an odd way, she was, simply because she'd had to think about going around whatever I'd scattered about in her way. Never under estimate play time, my friends!

And speaking of play time...I spent a bit of time playing myself last night, taking the above photo and tweaking it just a little to the image you see below. Now I need a bit of help...can you give me a name? Winner receives a 5x7!