ANOTHER PRIVATE LESSON TOMORROW 1. Sit back 2. Chin down 3. Look up 4. Heels down 5. Relax the shoulders 6. Carry the hands 7. Bring back the inside shoulder 8. Shorten the reins 9. Leg on 10. Leg on 11. Leg on 12. Leg on...
Five Finger Exercise
Well, my hands are killing me after 45 minutes of keeping Rebel in check. Sore fingers are a new one on me, and since I had a lot of writing to do today, it's an interesting kind of sports... not injury. Inconvenience? It's worth it, though, because keep him in check I did. Saturday had …
Hasta Luego…
THE REST OF THE HOLIDAY It's not like it's fading, but what with daily life, trying to drum up enough freelance so I don't have to rechain myself to someone else's desk [although that sounds like a porfession that has absolutely nothing to do with mine!], Seville is transmuting into a series of snapshots, a …
The Reins in Ireland, However…
10 JANUARY, 2008 My first private lesson of the year! I'd forgotten how hard they are. It just you, you know? The sole focus, which is, of course, the whole point, but being the cynosure of the instructor's eagle eye is as exhausting as the riding itself. Ruth is fantastic, and I did sign up …
Just Beachy
26 DECEMBER, 2007 Right before I left for Spain, I'd felt a cold coming on. It followed me. The morning was cold, colder than we'd had the last two days, cold enough to see my breath. I felt achy, and annoyed that I hadn't brought the antihistamines that had fallen off a shelf in my …
Happy Christmas!
25 DECEMBER, 2007 Another glorious day, another frugal breakfast— I didn't fancy making a run for the very low lying bushes in the middle of a trek— and one last round of coffee before someone realised it was Christmas Day. We all laughed, and exchanged the greetings of the season, and it was a wonderful …
Home Sweet Home
TUESDAY, 8 JANUARY 2008 Oh, the weather outside was frightful: rain that was threatening to turn into sleet, rain like Someone left a Celestial Tub running to overflow, rain that, as I waited for the bus out to the taxi out to the stable, completely soaked the left arm of my heavy-duty, wretchedly unflattering, bulky …
Muy Guapo!
24 DECEMBER, 2007 After a gorgeous, authentic Spanish lunch cooked by Fernando's wife Jane, we repaired to our rooms to relax before our afternoon lesson. I had chosen the holiday primarily not only for its proximity to Seville, but also due to the offer of an hour's equitation in the afternoon. After three hours on …
The Reins in Spain
STAY MAINLY IN... ER... LOS MANOS? NEVER MIND: 24 DECEMBER, 2007 Breakfast at nine, first trek at ten. I hate to eat first thing in the morning, and this morning, forget it: too nervous. We're all chatting away at table— there are eight of us, the perfect number that I'd had in mind— and I …
Back in the Saddle
ALMOST Tomorrow is the first lesson of 2008, and I can't wait to try out all the things I feel I've improved upon. Watch out, Rebel! I may just be equal to your bolshiness! Hey, Tango! Something tells me it may be harder for you to buck me off from now on! But there's still …
MANY BRAVE FOOLS 