Six years of hopes and dreams and learning so much and realizing for the umpteenth time that I am in over my head and finding trainers to help me out: Mark Rashid, Jenny Eilers and Kathleen Lindley. Jenny did such a great job starting India and gave her a solid foundation. Kathleen is helping me by showing me that I can ride my green horse and giving me the tools to handle the missteps and stumbles that will appear. I rode India yesterday for over an hour and it was cold, windy, horse trailers coming and going and disgorging horses and dogs running around, men popping out of pickups parked nearby and except for a small spook when that man appeared by magic out of his truck, India handled it all very well. We spent the time learning to stay on the rail, but also tracking purposefully among the jumps in the ring and how to handle the occasional balk. we walked, trotted, and cantered both directions and I had fun! Sure, I had some trepidation because the last year I didn't know what to do, but now I feel so much better.
India feels better. Identifying that she needed chiropractic and getting that done was the start of this success story. Last year, when on the right lead I always felt like she was angled sharply in, almost barrel racing, although Elaine would tell me that she didn't look that way. It was still very disconcerting. Yesterday her right lead canters felt good. She was solidly under me and I loved it.
This morning I learned to ground drive India in the round pen. Kathleen had her working student, Alice, ground drive India all over the farm in the mornings and Kathleen rode her in the afternoons. Now that I know how to do this, if we get into a sticky situation where I feel uncomfortable dealing with it from the saddle, I can approach it on the ground and we can work through it.
Speaking of from the saddle, India now has her very own new one: a Pessoa Elite. Sara Dill, a professional saddle fitter, brought two saddles that she thought would fit my mutton withered, short coupled mare. I tried the Toulouse first and it was comfortable and I liked it, but I sat in the Pessoa and liked it so much better. I went late that afternoon to The Tack Shop in Camden and bought the Pessoa, as well as leathers, stirrups, and a new halter for Asia. The Tack Shop has wonderful sales help and they also took off the Pessoa plate on the cantle and put one with my name on it. The saddle is sitting in an armchair just across from me and is the best perfume.
ETA: There is now a picture! I am amazed at how light this saddle is compared to my Stubben, or the Keiffer (that Jann gave me for when my lovely Horse Crazy Niece with her impossibly long legs comes to visit). Stay tuned for progress reports of my work with India, including our success with trailer loading and unloading both in Camden and then once home, but it is getting late and tomorrow morning starts the work week afresh and I need to get a good night's sleep.
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