Worst Case?

Today's lesson was...interesting, and I think my 'worst case' scenario for the lovely Ms Ginger. I don't know if I mentioned the circumstances behind the last bad fall I had, but essentially someone ran their horse (at a gallop) right up Ginger's butt - she bolted and kind of dove in sideways at the same time and I met the ground hard enough to get a concussion (yes I had my helmet on) and a very sore tailbone. This isn't going to be a rant pointing fingers - I really think when you're sharing a public arena, stuff like that is bound to happen eventually (and one day it might be me inadvertently causing someone else an issue). We've spent a bit of time since getting Ginger less reactive to the other horses around her. Still, she's Ginger, and pretty sensitive and aware of her surroundings and I was in no way confident she'd keep a lid on things if the same situation presented itself. I'll admit to really enjoying my quiet little ring partly for that very reason!

Ginger gives us a dramatic reenactment of the results of other ponies getting too close to her bum

Thank goodness S got on Ginger first, because we had company today, and long story short, the same exact scenario played out again. This time, S was in the saddle and handled it very quietly and efficently. The other rider fell off after her horse ran into Ginger and there was a bit of commotion. Ginger was immediately back to being really intimidated and panicky by having another horse in the ring - even Bridget :( S wisely opted to keep Ginger in the center and watch the other horse and rider (who got back on and was oblivious - I guess we could have said something, but as S said, it's also an issue with Ginger we need to work through anyways, might as well turn it into training opportunity!) Over the next 15 minutes or so, she was able to get Ginger closer and closer to the rider cantering around, and just let her stand and chill out when she was relaxed enough. I rode Bridget around her too until she visibly relaxed. I'll call it a win. Although she's back to not being overly trusting of other riders in the ring, it was good for me to see someone work her through it quietly and safely. More tools in the belt, right? I didn't ride because Ginger was mentally just done by the time S got off, but surprisingly I didn't feel overly worried or intimidated by the inadvertent 'worst ride' flashback.

Happy girls from a couple of days ago

On the plus side, I had a decent ride on Bridget. Also, because S is the best, I get another lesson this week with Ginger to make up for the non ride I had today and to get us more confident for the clinic. She's getting paid regardless - I can't even describe how much I appreciate her and other riders in a public arena aren't her problem!  S also got a job riding the 'scary' horse from today - so she's single handedly making our local riding scene a little bit better all the time lol