23 FEBRUARY, 2008 It was our turn to canter, and I put my whip in my outside hand, as I have been doing in my private lessons, and Fiona said to put it in my inside hand, which I know, but Rebel seems to get the message best when it's delivered to his off hind, …
I am a Big Dork
BUT I'M OKAY WITH THAT I joined the British Horse Society, Gold Membership, as Gold membership holders get free insurance. 'Free' being £58 a year, but that sounded like good value to me. Personal injury and liability, woo hoo. No, I'm pleased with myself for doing the sensible thing, and when I received a packet …
Every Little Helps
THURSDAY, 21 FEBRUARY I was running a little late for my private lesson— ran into some lads I used to work with, in the road by the taxi rank, and got talking. And then the taximan took completely the wrong way, after having asked me which way I'd like to go, and then utterly disregarding …
Gone to Kildare
It's a Saturday, a few weeks ago, and I've been collected from the bus stop in Cabinteely. As we do, of a Saturday, on the way to the yard, we discuss the horses and ponies, and Lainie wonders who she'll get today. Jenny is a current favourite, and all the kids are always talking about …
Working the Transition
The frequency of my lessons has also affected my blogging. They seem less like discrete hours, and more of a gestalt. I have less time— oh, okay, I take less time— to think about them in the interim. But given what I've written below, I think I'll get back into the swing in cyberspace. It's …
Three Times a Rider
IT'S OFFICIAL The Thursday private lesson has become embedded into my routine. I know I won't be able to make every week; there's a big job I've got on that's going to interfere, maybe in two weeks time. But it's in there, the third lesson, just as I wished. Something's changed, though, and it's interesting …
Learning Curve
WITH RESPECT TO CHIEF BRODY, RIP I'm going to need a longer whip. Rebel and I are an item. There's no getting around it. He's got things to teach me, but they're not, what with retrospect and all, the gentle lessons of Delilah and Argo. The mists of time obscure the rough rides I had …
Speaking of the Big Picture
It's so easy to get thrown off, particularly after having been thrown off. Last Saturday, we were in the outdoor, the sand sucking at the horses hooves, and Rebel knew, before I did— in fact instantaneously— that I was spacey. Oh, I'd been out for a few hours the night before, and I was going …
The Undeniable Nowness of Blogging
WITH ALL DUE APOLOGIES, ETC My lessonmates are still asking me about my holiday in Seville, and it occurs to me that, well, the writing's okay, but it lacks that feeling of being there. Unlike many of my other posts, even the 'historical' ones. I'm pretty sure I know why that's the case. Ach, they're …
I Thought the Wing Was on the Bird
SPRINGTIME COMES EARLY TO IRELAND The crocuses are blooming in Fairview Park. Marks and Spencer's daffodils are in. As I walked down the long, long road to my bus, the afternoon light was warm: the sun is coming back, and even though it's cold by Dublin standards, it's almost here. Spring is almost here. It …
MANY BRAVE FOOLS 