We've been having a very wet spring this year. Not a ton of rain, but just rain almost everyday, keeping us off the trails. :(
But there was a brief window where we could get the horses out and actually trot on some dry trails (oh that seems so long ago...sigh :)). The trails are so beautiful this time of year at The Riding Center - May Apples are popping up (left)
And the dogwoods are bursting with blooms. Warm enough to be riding in t-shirts, and early enough in the year that spiders haven't built webs across the trails (nothing like a face full of spider web to make you say I love summer! lol)
So while we are busy riding indoors in between the rain, Sarah Sanders, the head trainer at The Riding Center, held a riding clinic, Fun with Fundamentals! She covered a lot of things that she fine tuned with Janiece Wilson in Utah, but down to basic steps and slower speed. The group was a nice mix of green horses and experienced 'been there done that' horses, arabs and QH's, and we all learned a lot. We covered rollbacks, 360's, collection, with a little jumping and a lot of laughter mixed in.
You never know when your horse might surprise you with what they need to work on. The most experienced horse in the group decided this was his day to be deathly afraid of horse eating striped trotting poles. The greenest horse in the group showed being green isn't an excuse and did BUUTEEEFULL spins. But the riders came away from the half day lesson with more tools in their toolchest and more versatile horses, and with that mix a more confident relationship with their horses. A successful day!
