Stefan is anxious to learn to ride, so Pat has been giving him lessons every day on JDancer. He's doing really well. Pat says that he has better balance than any of the rest of us . . . Pat calls 'em like she sees 'em. I'm not going to feel insulted since he is forty years younger than I am, and I haven't ridden "seriously" for thirty-five years!
The other day, Shawn changed my whole attitude toward Chester. He said that Chester was the most reliable equine of the whole bunch. I thought about that and realized he was exactly right. So, the other day when Pat put Stefan on Chester with a saddle on . . . when they were done, I asked Pat if I could ride Chester.
I got up on him, and Pat gave me the reins. Then she joked around with me because I said I was not interested in ever riding a mule! But, although Chester can be a rapscallion and try to get his own way, Shawn is exactly right, and Chester is the most reliable of all of them. I may end up riding him more often!
Yesterday, Pat and John both had a lead rope on Chaco, and Stefan rode him. Chaco did great! He got a little uppity a couple times, and Stefan got ready for an emergency dismount, but never needed to use it. At the end of their time together, Chaco looked so calm and relaxed with Stefan on his back. A few more times like that, and maybe I'll get back on Chaco!
Pat had to go to Navajo City today, so Stefan and I hiked up to the Indian ruin at the top of the cliff above the school. Then, after coming back down and refilling our water bottles, we hiked over to see some of the petroglyphs and pictographs. Stefan liked them a lot, but liked the Indian ruin the best.
Stefan has been learning to "swing up" on a horse. That's when you grab their mane, and just jump right up onto their backs with no help. Stefan is doing pretty good. He's gotten up on JDancer a few times, and got up on Chaco that way, also. Chaco is smaller and easier to get up on. In my youth, I was an expert at swinging on, and could get up on almost any size horse. Now, all these years later, I'm going to try getting up on Sparky, who is small. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm not very hopeful, but I'll give it a try!
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