I've been unfaithful!

I have a confession to make, I’ve been cheating on Grace; and she knows about it!
The other horse’s name is Katie, and she is the cutest Quarter Pony in the world. I wish I had pictures to show you. Katie is starting her career over again as a hunter pony; she is in training with Sarah who asked me to ride her at a few shows. Katie is a hair under 14.2, I am a hair under 5’1”, it works!

I love riding Katie! She’s rather uncomplicated and just needs her rider to relax and tell her how cute she is. Last weekend I rode her in 2 walk trot classes at a local show, at a place she had never been to before. She placed 1st and 2nd in her classes! We are headed to another show next weekend. I’m really looking forward to the “Pony Buzz” I get after every ride.

I took Grace with me to the first show that I rode Katie at. I was able to spend some time with her the night we got there, but on the day of the show; I spent most of my time with Katie. At the end of the day, I finally pulled Grace out to ride her around the show grounds. She was a COW! After spending 24 hours with other horse friends, she wanted nothing to do with me. When I got on her she refused to walk, and seemed to be looking for the barrel race. I decided this wasn’t the place or the time, and since she rarely behaves that bad, and I had nothing to prove that day. I got off her put her back in the stall. I made it clear to her that she would not ruin my Pony Buzz and we would talk about this tomorrow.

The next day when I got on Grace, I had a whole new set of expectations. I have a tendency to be the amateur owner and make excuses for why Grace can’t do something. Since Grace is the only horse I ride 99.9% of the time, I have become very comfortable with her way of going. It turns out she is not an easy horse to ride. She doesn’t like to work over her back, or accept the outside rein. She has all the training and is physically capable, but when asked she first tells me that she “couldn’t possibly”. After riding Katie for 3 days in a row, I knew better. If Katie can do it, Grace can do it.

I am here to tell you that for the past week, Grace and I have had the BEST rides. The only thing that has changed is my expectations of her. I have been able to use more leg (not hand) to get her to work over her back. Yesterday, she had some of the best lope transitions that she has ever given me. I even forgot which lead is more difficult for her, because she stepped into both transitions with ease. I look forward to each ride, and am enjoying that same “buzz” I get from riding Katie.

Maybe I need to cheat on Grace more often....