I might have two offers to ride horses for other people. I never thought about doing that, until I realized how out of shape I’ve become from not riding. SO… I’m going to take up the ladies on their offer. I’ll have to bring some fo my gear back from Tennessee, but hey better to be used than not.
Yay! Riding! I wish it was on my girl but at least this will keep improving my skills.
Tonight was a Horse Masters meeting tonight at the Occoneechee Steakhouse in Hillsborough, NC. The last meeting was also held there. Good food, pretty reasonable prices. One of the ladies in Horse Masters had called ahead and confirmed that the restaurant could handle a group of 20-25.
Meeting started at 7:00. Nice chatting with everyone. Everyone trickled in by about 7:15 or 7:30. There are some interesting upcoming seminars and a neat show in October. One session plan is to sponsor a workshop for getting used to unusual situations and noises — with the mounted police horse trainer. I can’t wait to get Isis here to participate in some of their activities!
I talked with some of the ladies about my riding accident with Isis and how she has tripped before. As much as you try to get over an accident like that, there is always a nagging worry in the back of your mind that she might trip again. It makes me question my riding, worry about confidence, and be very careful with her. The ladies completely understood (in fact one woman had dealt with a similar situation). One of the reasons they had started the Horse Masters group was to help each other gain enough confidence to ride more. I’ve found a great place. =)
One lady had a quilt made from old show ribbons. Really lovely. Some of the ribbons mentioned UT Equestrian Club. She not only knew some of the same people I did, but she lived on the same road as my Mom in TN! She also knew Sirdar and had shown at some of the same shows I had been to. Funny how that works.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was understaffed. It took an hour for us to get our drinks. Our food came over an hour later. I think I was actually eating by about 9:30 PM. Sigh. It was good food, but man I can’t say that I enjoyed waiting so long for my meal.
I went to my first HorseMasters’ clinic on May 24th. It was a clinic designed to teach horses and riders about schooling over fences, from using ground poles to start a horse over fences to more advanced jumps and gymkhana. It was the exact level that Isis and I could have used. I missed my girl!
Because Isis is still in Tennessee, I volunteered to help — maybe six hours in all? I got to attend all of the sessions for free so long as I helped set up jumps and move things around as needed.
The people with HorseMasters are awesome. I have never met such a supportive bunch of people who smile and don’t glaze over when I tell “horse tales.” Maybe because we patiently listen to each other and enjoy hearing stories as much as telling them?
The first morning session was for starting young horses over trotting poles and then moving up to cross rails. Trotting poles are poles placed on the ground about 9 feet apart. Trotting the horse over the poles teaches the horse to pick up his/her feet and to be aware of his/her hooves. This translates into picking up their feet over a jump later on. They also used combinations of trotting poles and low cross rails. (The poles in the cross rails are crossed so the center of the jump is lower than either end.) The latter sessions progressed the trotting poles and cross rails sitting on the lowest hole up to 18 inches and then 24 inches.
The neatest thing about watching theses sessions are seeing the horses and riders progress from rushing to careful collection. My favorite moment was when one of the ladies rode her big draft over a fence and whooping in delight.
That’s what it’s all about.
I took tons of pictures. I’ll be posting them as soon as I download them from the camera.
What a great day!
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