We flew into the dusty driveway of Morning Star Farms. My mom's eyes were huge, and she looked like she could have ripped a piece of leather between her teeth. She gripped the steering wheel as if she was holding on for dear life. My mom hopped out thinking her student was waiting for her. Mom taught young horseback riders on Mondays, the same day as my lesson. She immediately hopped out of the car and scrambled towards the tack room to see if her student was there. But of course the little four year old couldn't even put his own helmet on his head, let alone nag his mom to get him there on time.
Running to the back of the truck, I pulled down the tailgate with a bang! I jumped up on the edge and started to tie up my boots and zip my tight chaps up my legs. My dented helmet was set on my head, and I went over to the board to see who I was going to ride in my lesson. Kona, that's who I was riding in the lesson.
Suddenly, Hailey Kramer pulled up in her car, grabbed her whip and hurried over. I moaned inside my head. Hailey is my good friend, but last week Vicky, the owner of the barn asked her to come early and ride, just like me. I come early because my mom's first lesson of the day starts at 3:30, and my lesson starts at 4:30, so I get to get out one of the little, young ponies that never get ridden and ride them. But, I always ride Kona, or Promise before the lesson, but if Kona is in the lesson then I have to ride Promise. But now there were two of us! Just as I was thinking this over in my head, as if make the problem worse, my friend Gretchen pulled in hoping to ride also!
I sunk back and talked with my mom, considering I ride early every week it was only fair to let my friends ride. The only free horses Vicky could think of were Promise, and Jet, two young ponies with spunky attitudes. Promise was hurt not that long ago so she needs someone to get her back in shape. Promise is a bit of a hassle because she gets really wild sometimes. The deal with Jet is that he's just young so he needs someone to teach him how to behave.
Now as my mom always says, "When you're riding a horse, you're always either training them, or un-training them." I could tell right there and then, either one of those girls might not be training Jet if they ride him, because only the really good riders ride him. I'm not even the right rider for him and I've been riding longer then both of those girls. Besides, Jet is really young and he doesn't know much, but it's very important that the people who ride him really know what they are doing.
"I want to ride Jet! But we could switch horses half way through, if you want?" cried Hailey.
"Okay, I'll go get Promise," Gretchen suggested. "Olivia, do you want to come with me?" she asked.
"No I'd rather just stay here," I replied sulking. Gretchen shrugged her shoulders and started walking down to where the mares were. Hailey went to go get Jet from his paddock and turn him out in the round pen, though she put the bareback pad on and the bridle before she even got out there. Vicky had told her to ride him in the round pen.
When Gretchen was done tacking up I went to go watch her ride in the arena. As I was watching I glanced over at the round pen and saw Hailey struggling to mount Jet, so I went to go help her get on. That little pony was throwing his black head to the sky, then jerking it back down. His short main, flopping up and down. Once Hailey was on, she walked and trotted him around as I gave her some instructions. Soon after my mom told us it was time for our lesson with Anne. I told Gretchen, and we all walked into the hitching rail together. I was happy my friends got to ride, but a little disappointed that I didn't get to ride with them.
I got Kona from her spot and walked her to the mounting block.
She was all jittery and hyper. I hope she got round penned because it didn't seem like it!
We walked out to the arena and started warming up. Kona was flipping out every time we went around to where the trees were, but Anne said she was just trying to pretend to be scared and that she was doing this the last time someone rode her. I pushed her forward around the turn and tried to bend her to the inside, without her popping her shoulder. When a horse pops there shoulder, they are bending to the outside and popping there inside shoulder, so that they swerve to the inside and there is nothing you can do unless you bend them to the inside again. Though she is a tough pony, just like her mother, eventually she stopped resisting my aids, and we went around the corner with ease.
Soon it was cantering time. We got ready for a group canter, but
it seemed like my legs were slipping forward and it was hard to pull them back, and balance my upper body. I asked Kona to canter, and of course she did considering how much energy she had. Though I didn't know this until I started riding her,
Kona and her mother are gaited! Gaited horses have more then the four gaits that horses have. Regular horses gaits are walk, trot, canter, and gallop. But gaited horses have more then those four gaits. They have some extra gaits that are kind of between the normal gaits. For example, the Icelandic horses have a gait called the tolt, and one called the flugeio or the "flying pace". I could tell as soon as I cantered Kona for the first time (which is definitely not today), because it is like half trot, half canter. It is very weird to sit, and it's hard to tell when she is breaking, so I always have a few breaks to trot.
It must be around 5:00 now because it's getting dark and cold, I thought. I suppose that's because it’s winter. Just as I was thinking this, Anne briskly walked over and turned on the huge lights on the ceiling of the arena. This made it easier to see inside the arena, but it kind of made a glare to look outside the arena.
"Okay, guys line up at the brown jump there," Anne exclaimed to us, as she put up some jumps. We lined up and I was about third, perfect, not last, not first, but right smack in the middle! Hailey jumped the two crossbars very nicely, just as Anne told her to. Then Isabella went. My turn was next.
"Okay Olivia, go ahead," Anne called to me. I asked Kona for trot, quietly with my legs. I trotted up to the jump, and Kona leaped over it. She landed in a canter, and I let her continue the breeze flowing in my face, stinging my cheeks. We cantered up to the jump, as I thought "full speed ahead" but suddenly, she slammed on the breaks about a pony’s length away from the crossbar. I felt my balance waver and I knew my confidence was fading away, as I plummeted to the ground in what seemed like slow motion. I remembered that landing on a jump, could break your ribs, so I put my hands out to save my poor bones! Though, my hands landed on the splintering jump, and I did a belly flop straight in the dirt. I felt the pain hit my hip and the scratchy rocks stick in my belly. I also new what was coming when my eyes started watering. Kona backed up and ran around the arena, her reins dragging on the ground, as she started spinning around in the middle of the arena. S.O.S! My horse is running around like crazy and I just got dumped! I suddenly realized that I should get up, so that my pony doesn't step on me. Tears streamed from my eyes and I watched Kona spin around, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, Kona slowed down, and somehow Anne got to her and grabbed the reins.
"Olivia, are you okay?" Anne was asking me.
"I guess," I mumbled, still crying.
"What hurts?" Anne exclaimed kneeling next to me.
"My hip," I answered.
"Okay. Oh, my gosh! Look at your stomach! You poor thing," Anne giggled still holding Kona. I looked down at my stomach and saw that I was caked with dirt. I laughed and slowly got off my knees.
"You feel okay getting back on?" Anne questioned me.
"Sure, ya," I replied. We walked over to the mounting block, and I slowly got on. I sat up and walked around.
"Okay, just trot around that jump over there. When you feel ready go ahead and jump this jump again okay."
"Okay," I muttered. When I felt ready, I trotted towards the jump, trying to be calm. When I got there Kona stopped again. This time I was I little more prepared and I sat up and tried to make her go over it, but she wouldn't move. Instead, she backed up! Anne asked me to try again, after many approaches. I trotted up and tried to keep my leg on her, but this time came up and abruptly stopped and I slid off her neck. I landed in a heap, and Kona's whole bridle fell off, as she ran around. S.O.S! My horse, dumped me again, and she is running around without a bridle on!
"Are you okay?" Anne said as she put Kona's bridle back on.
"Ya," I replied as I was laughing and crying at the same time. Anne helped me get back on. This time she lowered the jump so that it was half a jump. Then she asked me to try again. Kona still wouldn't do it, so she lay-ed them down as a group of poles. Finally after a few tries, I got Kona to hop the poles. As soon as she did, I patted her.
"Now turn her around and make her do it again!" Anne called. I stopped Kona and turned around to do it again. She stopped, but I made her get over them. I did this exercise a bunch of times, until our lesson was over.
"I don't know why she has such a problem with these jumps, it's that one jump that she just doesn't like," Anne was telling me.
"It is strange," I stated.
That night we put away our horses and drove home. On the way back I told my mom the whole story, and I told her how the second time I fell off it just seemed silly! My mom was very reassuring that night. She told me that everyone falls off, and she was just reading in a magazine about how the more you ride, the more you are likely to fall off; and it's true. I mean, everybody falls, and that's how you learn to get better. I still ride Konehead, and I love her to, and she is getting much better, and I ride her on the flat a lot. I haven't jumped her since then, but she is getting schooled by a friend of mine, Hope, who is a very good rider.
