Rayon and Benson

Today I went for another horse riding lesson In the center near my houseI was just getting suited and booted When a tall blonde girl came over and introduced herself She said her name was LisaAnd did I mind if she came and joined my lesson Of course I didn't The more the merrierLisa told me that she had been riding her whole life But hadn't been at all in the last three years And get thisShe was a show jumper no less!All of a sudden I was afraid I would be out of my depth in the lessonBut Lisa assured me that she was unfit and out of practise After chatting for a few minutes We went around to meet Roisin the instructor She brought a horse called Benson for LisaAnd Rayon for me Usually I ride PrincessWho is what they call a confidence giverBut today Roisin assured me that I was ready for a bigger and faster horse We walked across the road And over to the outdoor arenaI mounted RayonAnd straight away I could tell she was going to be a lot faster We walked around the arena at first To get a feel for the horses And then on to a trot And holy shit!With not much coercion from me Rayon took off like a rocket!She was was so fast And she was paying precious little attention to me trying to stop herIt's funny For the past few weeks I've had trouble trying to get Princess to goNow I had the opposite problemWhen Rayon was in front She was tearing around the arenaAnd when Benson was in front Rayon literally had her nose to his behindLisa took to it like a duck to water And Benson was definitely slower than Rayon
A while in to the sessionRoisin asked if we wanted to try to canter Lisa went first on BensonAnd she was looking good Then came my turn And againRayon shot offShe galloped around that arena at top speed And only stopped when she came behind BensonOn my second canter I felt like I was bouncing a lot And I don't think Rayon liked that As at one point she dropped her head And I thought she was going to buck me offI started to slip off one side of her And had to reach for wards and grab her neck to hang onPoor RoisinShe nearly lost her life watching She said she was sure Rayon was going to buck Roisin then suggested we swap horses So Lisa could experience a faster horse And I could get my bearings again on a slower horse Benson was lovely He was in no panic to get around the area And cantering on him felt lovely But again At one point I thought he was going to buck I had a chat with Roisin afterwards And she thinks they might be trying to buck because I'm bouncing so much That it might be agitating the horse In a canter They say to 'Sit in' to the saddle And wipe the seat with your bumI gues for me There are so many things that I am trying to remember That sometimes it goes a bit pear shaped Lisa also found Rayon like a bolt of lightening So I was glad it wasn't just me I was more than ready for the lesson to be over I felt like I had no control over RayonAnd he was just sprinting as fast as she could She wasn't taking heed of my commands And heck if I could get her to stop!
We walked back to the centre Laughing about what had happened But I seriously think that Roisin was worried I was going to be bucked offAnd now that I am home and thinking about itIt was freakin'scaryEven watching Lisa canter on RayonShe struggled to control her tooI swear that horse was like a bat out of hell!But apart from the fear of being thrown offI loved it It felt amazing to be on a bigger and faster horse And to be making progressAs I always do I asked Roisin at the end of the session if I am making progress She assures me that I am I really hope I am But as she said If I enjoy it To keep doing itI mean I know I'll never be a champion horse rider Or anything like it But I would like to reach my potential What ever that may be 
I haven't told Eilish and my friends at horse therapy that I am doing extra lessons But I do have a plan I'm going to continue to ride at both centres until September Then I am going to ask Eilish if I can do two lessons with her on a Wednesday As it's such a trek from my house It would be more worthwhile for me to do two lessons instead of oneSo until then I will continue to ride with Roisin at the stables near my house It's a very different experience riding at both stables In the ones near my house We concentrate on all the little details But with Eilish it's a lot more gentle I want to say more caring and nurturing She brings us along gently So between the twoI think I am getting a good foundation in in horse riding 
So that was my Saturdsy morning Exciting no?I'm back to work tomorrow Just for two days I'll be working with the other new girl And she is lovely So I am looking forward to that I got paid for the first time last Thursday And even though the emergency taxed meAnd I only got about half of what I'm owed It was still very special to have my first legitimate pay check in yearsI can already feel the benefit of working My confidence is improving I feel more sure of myself And more capable and able Which is exactly what I hoped would happen So happy days all around!!
I'm off to make a cuppa and s ham rollSee you on the next post...