Who Can Ride My Horse?

Thank you to hellomylivia's post for the inspiration!

Two very different ponies...

Bridget:

Bridget sounds very much like Frankie. Technically, I think anyone with half decent skills could get on and stay there safely for a ride. I'd trust her with just about anyone. In fact, we trust her weekly with tiny children leaning to vault :) She's as kind as they come.

That being said...she's also a very cheeky pony. My list of people actually invited to ride Bridget is tiny. Riding Bridget properly is currently very, very challenging. EC has said in the past she's one of the tougher horses in the barn, which sounds weird, but in my experience is true. She wants to be behind the leg, she's very intelligent, she is naturally very supple (read: wiggly, if you let her be), and she really didn't come pre installed with any sense of rhythm. Also, she's not got the most honest of work ethics, so is always looking for a way out. See this post at A Enter Spooking for a great window into the juggling we currently got sucked into with B.  We're working on it, and making progress, but from experience I've learned this is not the time to allow any inconsistency. That person who thinks 'good enough' and lets her cruise around how she chooses really does us no favors. B is not overly open to the rules changing, and if someone inadvertently gives Bridget boundaries that she decides are the one true way...well we're in for a very long winter :) I think with time and further training I'll expand the list, but for now it only includes Favorite Working Student and trainer EC. The vaulting thing works and is actually beneficial to me, because EC is the person lunging her and she makes Bridget work very much like she needs to carry herself under saddle.

Ginger:

Ginger is just as intelligent as B, but she's also very reactive and very spooky, plus she's 6" taller and much more athletic. She also has a very good work ethic. She wants you to like her, she wants to be good, she's always thinking, always trying to anticipate what her rider wants. She's very easily scared or intimidated. She'd love to just have one fair and quiet person to rule her world and tell her what to do all day.

You'd think we'd be super picky about who rides Ginger, but actually, no, not really. They need to have an independent seat, be able to be clear and quiet, but mostly they just need to be confident and sure of themselves. So, along with the working students and EC, there are a few teenagers taking lessons on her. The teenagers are brave, they're big enough and experienced enough to handle a 'moment', and they also tend to be endlessly patient with her. Ginger is thriving. The more riders she meets, it seems the more confident she gets in herself and the less reliant she is on her favorite people to tell her what to do.

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