Last Lesson

I didn't realize that in all the hullabaloo, I forgot to write about Wednesday night's lesson which was a doozy, let me tell you.

First of all, it was my last lesson.  On my end, it went freakin' fabulous.  I rode Coal again and we were doing all these lovely canter patterns over poles (like our own little jump course, minus the actual jumps).  I was even cantering through the little chutes my instructor set up without being irrationally claustrophobic about it, and we were cantering 90 degree turns like nobody's business.

Unfortunately, H had a not so great lesson.  She was riding Ash who is the most unbalanced horse on the planet.  For a reminder about how downhill he's built, check out this post of mine - although the picture doesn't nearly show it.  H has told me before that in order to ride him, she needs to physically lean back in order to not be tipped forward because of his conformation.  Anyway, he has no idea what to do with his legs so when he'd come in awkwardly to a pole, he would do a kangaroo hop over it - all four legs off the ground.  

So when she was doing the pole pattern, he cantered over one, bunny hopped over it awkwardly, but then bucked out of nowhere because a horse in another paddock scared him.  This threw H onto his neck, and she would have been alright if he didn't decide to slam on the breaks.  Unfortunately, she flew over his neck (from about 6 feet in the air since he is a very tall horse) and landed on a pole.

So then she couldn't walk.  And because it was the end of the lesson, we all promptly (and rapidly) got off our horses.  I had to go drive her down to my car with the gator (which the kids jokingly called the "barn ambulance"), and she had to go to the hospital afterwards.  Luckily, she was just bruised.

All this on top of the fact that it was my last lesson and no one told my instructor.  So my instructor is crying because I'm leaving, H is sitting in my car immobilized waiting for me to drive her home, I had to untack mine and her horse, and meanwhile there are also a bunch of kids at the barn who wanted to say goodbye to me.  While all this is going on, D gave me a lovely gift with a picture she drew of me and Walker.  It was very sweet of her.  She is such a lovely kid.

My camera didn't take a very good picture unfortunately

Needless to say, my last lesson at the barn will forever be etched in my mind!