Horsing Around

Three and a half years ago, Kim and I first learned of Bonnie’s dream to take horseback riding lessons. Bonnie’s teacher had handed us Bonnie’s journal so that we could see an example of Bonnie’s every day writing, and I happened to turn to a recent entry in which Bonnie described her precious dream of learning to ride a horse someday, a dream so special, she wrote, that dare not even ask us because she was so sure we’d say “No.”

Since we live in suburban Seattle, getting out to where horses live has never seemed particularly simple. But we kept her dream in mind the following summer when we took a driving vacation to Yellowstone National Park. When we spent a couple days in Cody, Wyoming, Kim and I visited the town visitor center and discovered that there were a number of ranches that provided guided rides. First, we took in the nightly rodeo in Cody, and the following day we surprised Bonnie and all drove to Absaroka Mountain Lodge to take a two-hour horseback trail ride in the mountains in a group of about a dozen riders and horses. It was a thrill for all of us, especially Bonnie, but alas, just two days later, she popped the question: “When will I get to ride a horse again?”

And that opportunity finally arrived nearly two years later when Bonnie’s friend, Rebecca, wanted to alternate lessons on Sundays at a place called Gold Creek Equestrian Center in Woodenville, about 30-40 minutes north, where they teach English riding style and can take enthusiasts ranging from total beginner through advanced equestrian competitor. So with some details worked out, we told Bonnie of the arrangement and she was simply overcome with joy and excitement. And after two lessons, she says, “I love it!”

The first part of each lesson involves grooming the horse (Faye for her first two lessons), cleaning her hooves and brushing her down, and then saddling her up and putting on her riding helmet. Once everything is set, she leads her horse down to the covered and open air riding arena with her instructor, Mary. The remainder of her hour lesson would be spent on horseback!

Bonnie choosing her helmet

 

 

 

Grooming involves cleaning Faye’s hooves…

 

 

 

… and brushing her down.

 

 

 

 

The saddle is mounted and secured.

And finally Bonnie leads Faye to the riding arena.

 

 

 

Mary instructs and guides Bonnie using a ‘lunge line’

 

 

 

Riding requires a lot of endurance!

 

 

Done for the day, Mary and Bonnie lead Faye back to the stables.

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After the lesson, Bonnie brushed Faye down, removed her harness, saddle, and blanket, attached her warm stall jacket, and secured her in her stall where fresh hay awaited her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted on 26 March 2007 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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