What a Ride!

I had quite a ride today. DH help me saddle up with the actual saddle, instead of the bareback roller I usually use. That let me ride a lot longer and more securely.

The weather was gorgeous, the sun was shining and it was warm and comfortable out. So we headed into the woods. DH and I discussed my riding plans before we left so he knew exactly what route I would be taking. I followed the riding path all the way up to the road at the other side of the woods. Then I followed the road from a while and turned back a gravel road back through the woods.

It went really well. We saw a neat yellow bird before we crossed the railroad tracks. Further up in the woods, we saw a deer as well. I had open my jacket because I was too warm with it closed.

On the way back, I jogged for a while. She was doing really well in. It was an open area with heath on the one side and lots of dunes. It was very inviting for setting the speed up.

With everything going so well, I decided to set the speed up another notch. I used my right leg and put her into a canter. DH thinks that the trainer cantered her, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't. In any case, I was thinking that this was the first time she'd been cantered under saddle. I haven't written at a canter for probably five or six years. Not since the last time I rode in a riding school and a horse bucked when I put it into a canter and I fell off. The accident messed up my left ankle pretty badly. So you can tell I must've been feeling pretty confident about Ria to try it.

Her right canter is pretty good. I didn't canter more than maybe four or five meters. After we stopped, my left hip popped out and I struggled to keep from screaming in pain. Ria stayed calm and I told her to walk and she walked slowly towards home. After walk for a little while, my hip felt better. So we jogged again for another stretch. It really well, but we walked again for the while. Then came another tempting stretch.

This time I used my left foot to put her into a left canter. This was much more uneven. I could barely stay seated. She wasn't happy about it either, and I ended up having to stop her pretty hard by pulling the rein really hard in on the left. Then she stopped very easily and we were able to walk the rest of the way home. She stayed pretty eager to jog, but I managed to keep her tempo down. She was very eager to get home at that point.

I usually don't see anyone when I'm out riding. Today I passed both a man on a Norwegian fjord horse and three girls on Icelandic horses. We was a bit confused, but she stayed pretty calm.

When we got to the train track, the lights went on and the barrier came down. We stayed a good bit back from the tracks. She didn't react to the train at all , but she was very impatient to get home.

When we got home DH was working with the tractor. He was moving things and cleaning up after the removal of the playhouse yesterday. He called and told me to ride further down the road so he could move the tractor away before she came in.

Ria was very warm, so we had to walk her for a while. DH got a wool blanket to cover her because she was so hot. Then he took over the walking, so I could have a little bit of a rest.

All in all, I was gone for about two hours.