Sharptail with Kyle

Took off with Kyle and my 2 mares for a great day on the trail! The weather was absolutely perfect and the trail was all ours. We got started and Sharptail's tough climbing was tough for Rain right away. Rain isn't in great shape right now, so Sharptail was challenging. Kyle and I switched horses for a bit so I could feel Rain and see what she needed. I think she was seeking a way to stop and Kyle wasn't sure how to handle it. This was the very first time I've let anyone ride Z on the trail. Once in a while, I'll let someone mount her to understand a feel or to lead them around. But never have I let someone ride her on their own like this. Still, Kyle has a great seat and I thought he'd be ok.

And at first, he was. We walked and trotted along and he was find with my mare. He wanted to canter, so we talked about how to transition her up and back down. He was ready to give it a try. Well, Z wouldn't stop for him. And they cantered off. And Kyle had to just hang on and ride it out. Shoot!

I stayed slow with Rain, hoping that Z would realize she'd left us. She eventually stopped and Kyle hopped off. They probably went about 1/2 mile! He was a little shaken, but handled it quite well. We laughed it off and I apologized profusely. I never expected Z to do that. He definitely gained a new appreciation for my endurance horse.

We went about 10 miles in total and it was (all-in-all) a fantastic ride. We sang, we moved out, we talked about life. I love riding with my kids.

Afterwards, we stopped for ice cream. It doesn't get better! :-)

I met Kris at home after for a session with Rio. The family wanted to play some tennis, so I was feeling pressure to hurry the session along. However, it worked out perfectly! It was windy, but I really was hoping to get Kris to hop on her horse. I taught her yo-yo from the ground, sideways and when she seemed ready, she hopped on bareback for some time to play with transitions. Rio was awesome. He was sensitive and yet relaxed. She was able to work on transition down and up with only her seat. We started with her just riding him as I asked him to play circle game with me and it evolved into her leading the game and adding transitions. Nice to see them develop!