First Ride

Today was a momentous riding lesson. Nehemiah had his first lesson and has already far surpassed Nathan's progress. Nathan's lessons have consisted of petting the horse, sitting in my arms while I try to toss him in the saddle and then grabbing on to me with a death grip. He will pat the horse one more time and then it's on to the next customer. Not Nehemiah...His first time at the barn for an official lesson he was all over his pony. He sat right up in the saddle, walked around and around the ring and then didn't want to get off. He spent the remainder of the lesson after his turn trying to crawl under the fence for seconds. Meanwhile, Nathan watched safely from the ramp. And that, folks, is the difference between Nate and Miah in a nutshell.

John Michael has been progressing nicely in the use of his reigns. A bit more practice and he'll be able to move off the lead rope (we're talking maybe another year here). He looked great up there today and so pleased with himself...Miriam took a gander at a little jump - something she's only done a handful of times before. I thought she looked good going over this jump with her prissy little pony. This was the only jump we could get out of her, though. I suppose gravitational insecurity took over.
Philip, however, was all over the jumping thing as soon as he realized the camera was rolling. He'll do anything to get his mug on a screen. I actually got a bit of video of one of his jumps:
And JT is now an experienced jumper. He ran through a whole course but I was only able to get video of the last two jumps. His jumps are quite a bit higher than what Philip and Miriam are managing. Even on the back of a horse, his natural athleticism shines. I love to watch him ride.
Betsy and Ruth had a bit of action themselves. Ruth's pony got a bit spooked by the wind and tossed Ruth to the ground which spooked Betsy's pony who then took off at a fast trot while Betsy tried to cling for dear life. She finally succumbed and fell to the ground also where her pony did his darnedest to step around her but still knocked her a bit in the ribs. That's the part of the lessons about which I am not so crazy but both girls climbed back on their ponies and kissed and made up. That's an important life lesson I'm very glad they're learning.