Every Ride Counts

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine, wearing her normal uniform; maroon long sleeved polo, beige jodhpurs and her field boots. She held a short riding crop as she made her way into the indoor arena, her preferred place for her beginner class as it was free of the distractions that surrounded the outdoor arenas.

As her students arrived, she greeted them all with a smile and asked them to stand beside their mount in the centre of the arena. She knew that none of these riders were new to the saddle, but she was going to start the lesson with basic mounting - after all one of the students may not have been new to a saddle, but she was new to the English saddle.

Once all of the students had arrived she gave them all a warm smile and stepped forward as she checked the mounts and their tack, undoing and moving a couple of the saddles and then stepped over to the mounting block. "I'm going to talk you through mounting, but please bear with me. I realise that you all ride your horses outside this class and mount and dismount all the time, but we're just going to start from the beginning. Jayne, you're up first." She waited for the girl to walk the mare forward. "Ok, line your mount with her left side nice and close to the block, now you lower the stirrup on the off side of the saddle, that's the right-hand side, rub her nose and ask her to stand." The woman walked up to stand at the gelding's right so she could hold the stirrup and stop the saddle from slipping slightly. "Now, step up onto the block, tighten the girth another hole, if you can, and pull the left stirrup down. Gather the reins in the left hand and, grip a bit of mane and tuck your right hand around the other side of the pommel, not the pommel itself though. Put all of your weight into your right foot and place the ball of your left foot into the stirrup. Now shift your weight from your right foot to your left, and swing your right leg gently over your mount's hind quarters. Be sure not to kick your mount while doing so! This could cause her to move forward and unbalance you, and at the moment, Ella is standing beautifully. Slide your right foot into the stirrup, you need to try and do this without looking down as looking down knocks your balance off. Make sure the balls of your feet are centered in the stirrup and your heels are down and close to the horse's body. Put your reins in your hands to hold them, make sure that they are not twisted, and put them inside your closed fists with your thumb folded over your reins, also, the reins should flow between your ring finger and pinky. Place the excess, or bite of your reins, to the right side." She patted the mare's shoulder. "Squeeze her sides with your legs, not kicking, and loosen your hold on the reins, asking her to walk forward. In the middle of the arena, sit deep, squeeze with your legs, but close your hands on the reins and ask her to halt again. Once she's standing, as her to walk forward again and take her to the rail." She looked over at Libby. "Your turn."

Once all of the students were mounted, after Jayne was riding Ella at the rail as she had assisted the others and sent them off, she had reminded them to keep a horse length between each of them, she moved to stand in the middle down one end of the arena (between V and P). "Jayne, as you approach E, I would like you to close your hand on the inside rein to create pressure and squeeze with your inside leg to create a bend and I would like you to lead the ride on a circle around this half of the arena." She watched her riders. "The idea of riding the perfect circle is; instead of concentrating on the entire circle as a whole in your head visualize dividing the imaginary circle that’s on the ground into 4 equal parts as if you made a cross through the circle and the cross touched 4 arcs, which I am standing in the middle of. From your starting point look to the 2nd point which is ¼ of the circle. Once you get about 2 strides before the 2nd point look ahead to the 3rd point and then the same for the 4th point and continuing to your starting point. So what you are doing is concentrating on one quarter of the circle at a time and looking ahead the whole time which helps keep the rider from veering off course."

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne was bubbling with excitement as she rushed into White Oak and set about getting Ella ready for her first mounted class. Her hands shook as she tried to pull the girth, and she laughed at herself as she was suddenly all fingers and thumbs and couldn't managed to get the buckle through the hole. Drawing in a deep breath and shaking her head at herself, politely declining the help of the stablehand who was hovering around her - probably on Ms Carr's instructions - and before long she had the mare tacked up and a helmet on her head, and she led the mare out of the barn and toward the indoor arena. She returned the woman's smile and stood with the mare in the centre of the arena.

When asked to step forward, she stood up straight and led the mare up to the mounting block, expertly lining her up to the block, and going through the motions as she listened to Ms Carr's instructions. After stepping up onto the block and managing to pull the girth up two more holes, she placed her left foot into the stirrup and bounced up into the saddle.

Slipping her right foot into the other iron, she squeezed the mare forward, halted her and squeezed her forward again. She sat tall in the saddle, her ears, hips and heels in perfect line with the balls of her feet on the irons and her heels down. She felt nervous as she steered the mare toward the rail, it was slightly unnerving riding solo while the others mounted or waited to mount.

She kept her eyes focused to a spot across the are from between the mare's black ears. She shifted how she was sitting when she heard her name and carefully followed the woman's instructions, asking the mare to begin the twenty metre circle around the half of the arena they were currently riding. She listened to how Ms Carr said to ride the perfect circle, and to Jayne it make perfect sense.

[Elizabeth Toman]

Elizabeth, with the help of her ever present stablehand, got Wisp ready for her mounted class and with a helmet firmly strapped on her head, she made her way to the indoor arena. She nodded to Ms Carr, not bothering to return her smile. The girl was wearing her brand new dark purple/dark pink Saddlehugger Jodhpurs, she'd had no idea where her parents had imported them from, but they hugged her legs and waist so she really didn't care.

She waited in the centre of the arena, with the other little people and lifted her chin as she was the second to be called to mount. She went through all the motions, but she let the woman's voice wash over her as she did her own thing, and ended up in the saddle. She then squeezed the mare forward and joined the first girl, Jayne, on the rail. Ignoring the instruction to halt the mare.

She wiggled in the saddle, and glared at the girl in front of her. Why did she get to ride such a glamorous horse while she, the star gymnast, was stuck on some plodding pony. She actually recognised the girl riding in front of her, or at lest thought she did, from all the horse magazines she trolled through. But surely, it must just be a close look-a-like, because there was no way a star rider would be in the beginners class... Right?

She listened to their instructors words and she followed the line that Jayne had ridden and rode the circle, listening to the idea of dividing a circle into four and then just riding it point to point. "Like a stupid dot to dot picture." She muttered, already bored of the lesson.

[Deleted]

Ria finished grooming her black and white pony and hurried to bring out the mare's pink and black tack, excited to get to the first official class that she was attending in the new school year, even if she had been in the same class previously. It was a nice way to break up the monotony of her 'academic' classes and hanging around the barns, at the least, with the added bonus of getting to ride.

Finally finished with the tack, Ria checked over everything once again before buckling on her helmet and grabbing Moo's reins. Skipping towards the arena, the mare plodding beside her, Ria watched the other students heading to other equine classes, some with horses in tow, others without. Finally, she was standing in the middle of the arena with the rest of the class, watching Ms. Carr and the other students as they mounted.

Finally, it was her turn. Although she had taken the class before, she was glad as Ms. Carr held Moo for her and walked her through the steps again, and she followed the teacher's instructions carefully before moving Moo away. As they started actually riding, Ria concentrated on what Ms. Carr was telling them to do, steering Moo around the course as the mare plodded along contently.

[Amelia DeFoe]

The weather was still nice outside, and so Amelia had chosen to prepare Tommy for their first English lesson outside. She had always ridden Western, although a lack of equestrian classes that she wanted to pick had driven her to step outside the box a bit. After she finished grooming the gelding, she left him standing there and went to grab the English tack that she had borrowed from the school, although she had bought her own bit for the gelding's use. When she had returned, it took her some time to work out where everything went, although she finally worked it out.

Picking up the reins, strange as they felt, in one hand, with her helmet in the other, she made her way towards the arena. As they were about to enter, Amy glanced at Wolf and then at the class, of which a few people had already gathered, then steeled herself and entered the arena with both horse and dog at her side. While she hadn't taken up the barn manager's offer on using her office as a refuge yet, she had talked to the woman about how their mounted class would work with Wolf, in an effort to figure out what she would do with her shadow while she rode.

As they took a position on the far edge of the group, with Tommy between Wolf and the other horses, Amy listened to their instructions and watched each of the other students mounting up, purposely positioning herself at the end of the line to mount. However, when her turn finally came, she listened to Ms. Carr's instructions, making it into the saddle, if not gracefully, at least without kicking her mount or falling off. Before she moved the gelding off, she glanced down at the shepherd that stood by the block. Pointing to the block, she spoke, "L'air, déposer, séjour." After making sure that the dog was safely out of the way, she focused on riding and followed the teacher's instructions.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine watched as the four girls rode the twenty metre circle around her, riding it quarter to quarter. Her keen eyes picked up things that her riders needed to do to correct themselves. "Jayne, your heels are rising above the stirrup bar." She watched the girl. "Rather than forcing them down, as this just makes your legs stiff and then your aids useless, I want you to drop your weight into your heels." She continued to follow the girls with her eyes. "Elizabeth, your mare is beginning to crowd Ella, and she is falling in on her turns." She watched as the girl checked her mare. "When turning; your inside leg need to be on the girth. This leg is for the horse to bend around, a reference point if you will. Think of a skier coming down the mountain and making lots of turns, as the skier comes into a turn, he will plant his ski pole into the snow and ski round his ski pole. Think of your inside leg in the same terms. When you ride a circle, your inside leg should follow the circumference of the circle and you merely ride your horse round your inside leg. This leg will also prevent your horse falling into the circle.

"Your outside leg is just behind the girth but passive. This leg is guarding the horse's quarters in the unlikely event that your horse swings the quarters out of the circle (the back wheel skid). The reason I say the leg must be passive (behind the girth but not doing anything) is that if you use this leg every time you ride a corner or a circle, the leg will lose its effectiveness if you want to asked for lateral work out of the corner or if you need this leg to ask your horse to leave the track. Cause and effect, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

"Your inside hand is for the bend of the neck only. This hand/rein does not say turn right or turn left. It does not steer. The reins are not handle bars. It asks for bend and flexion. The rein must invite neck bend, a take and give gesture, but don't drop your hand, as this will encourage your horse to drop her inside shoulder and make the corner or circle smaller. It will also stop the mare from going forward (cause a loss of impulsion). Once you have neck bend back-off with the rein, soften it, and don't hold your horse's neck in position. If you do, she will quickly learn to hang on to that side of the bit. If she is reluctant to bend her neck, raise your hand a little and take it towards the opposite hip, but not across the wither. Don't do this too often though, as it will encourage her to tip her head.

"Your outside hand controls the amount of bend created with the inside hand, impulsion, tempo and balance." She knew that her explanation was a little over the top, but each of the riders in the arena could take advice from what she had said. A smile played on the woman's lips as she watched the other three riders also adjust how they were sitting.

"Adrianna, Moo is doing the opposite of Wisp, and being lazy." She smiled softly. "What I want you to do, is lift your reins slightly to catch her attention, and then squeeze with one leg and then the other. You could squeeze with both legs at the same time, remembering that we don't kick, but alternating your legs will make her think about what you are asking her to do." She nodded her head.

She watched Amelia carefully before she spoke up. "Amelia, your hands are facing down. When riding in a Snaffle bridle, your thumbs need to be on the top, as though you are holding a candle. They need to stay level and about four inches apart. You will know how high to hold your hands because the line from your elbow, through your lower arm, hands and reins should form a straight line to the bit."

She watched them ride the pattern once more. "Jayne, when you reach E, I want you to lead the ride along the track around the arena. Remaining at the walk, I would like you to drop your stirrups and then just to think about sitting deep. Let your legs hang down, as trying to keep the bend you would have had while your feet are in the stirrups, will only pitch your posture forward. Just keep the image into your mid about dropping her weight into your heels."

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne was concentrating on riding the twenty metre circle that she was leading her fellow class members in, knowing that if she allowed Ella to cut corners, the others would (possibly) follow her lead and do the same. She also kept a mental check of ears, elbows, hips and heels being in line. She jumped and sat even straighter, now making her back rigid and unyielding.

As she listened to Ms Carr, she jammed her heels down and then ducked her head at the woman's next words. "Sorry." She whispered as she drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, forcing herself to relax and dropped her weight into her heels, allowing them to lower naturally. She then listened carefully to the instructions their instructor gave to the other girls, she checked where her legs were as Ms Carr spoke about how to stop a horse from falling into the circle. She didn't have to worry about asking the mare to hurry as Ella's stride was long and Jayne was having to keep the mare in check to stop her from striding off. She checked how her own hands were, and was pleased that they looked alright.

AS she was given the instruction to leave the circle and continue around the outside of the arena. She felt a little nervous about having to drop her stirrups, but she was pleased that they hadn't been asked to cross them over the pommel of the saddle - she was worried that she'd loose her balance and fall off if she had to lean down. Kicking her feet free of the irons, she concentrated in dropping all of her weight into her feet as her legs hung free.

[Elizabeth Toman]

Libby smirked as Little Miss Perfect in front of her was called up on her heels, however, Libby dropped her weight into her heels as best she could so that there was no chance of the woman in the middle of the circle they were riding yelling at her for the same thing.

She glowered at Ms Carr as the woman spoke to her. She tightened her hands on the reins and pulled her elbows back a little, jabbing the mare in the mouth. She was lucky that Wisp was a forgiving horse as all she did was slow her pace, flicking her tail in irritation, but remaining at a walk.

At the riding school her tutor had taken her too, the man there had said that Libby had a natural seat, so she couldn't understand why this woman was telling her otherwise. Rather than making a fuss though, and possibly being kicked out of the arena, she tried her best to follow the woman's rather drawn out instructions. Inside leg on the girth, outside leg behind would have been fine, duh! She continued scowling as the woman spoke to the others.

When they were walking around the outside of the arena, Libby was a little hesitant to kick her feet free of the stirrups, as they were her safety locks, with her feet in them, she felt secure. However, seeing the girl in front of her, Jayne, removed her feet, Libby did the same. It felt strange, letting her legs hang long against the mare's sides. She suddenly felt herself slipping and she closed her fists around the mare's mane, pulling the patient pony in the mouth at the same time.

[Deleted]

Ria listened as Ms. Carr critiqued everyone, trying to look at herself as Ms. Carr called out the other students. Her heels were all right, since she had worked on that all last year, and she was glad to see that that was something she did now. As they turned, she tried to see how her legs moved, and while they weren't exactly where Ms. Carr wanted them to be, at least she was moving them and using them to move Moo, which worked.

Then, though, it was her turn. She frowned as she realized just how much space had fallen between her and the other pony in front of her, and she followed the teacher's instructions, her eyebrows knitted as she thought about what the teacher was asking her to do, exactly what Ms. Carr was explaining her alternating kicking would do to Moo. However, it seemed to work. After a few seconds, in which the pony processed what was being asked, she moved ahead, picking up her pace without switching to the trot.

As they left the circle, she focused on keeping Moo at a good walk, but then, another thing got added to the mix. She kicked her legs out of the stirrups and let them hang, pretending there were stones in her heels, pulling them down, rather than in her toes.

[Amelia DeFoe]

The saddle felt odd to Amy, but then, that was only to be expected. She had, after all, entered a completely different field of equestrianism, with a completely different focus. As they walked around the circle, she kept an ear on what Ms. Carr was saying, hoping that she wasn't doing things too badly, although she knew that she probably did some odd things.

When the woman's attention turned to her, she tried to adjust her hands the way Ms. Carr asked her to, pretending that she was holding a candle. It was strange to her, these reins that felt different, the entire set up, but she had signed up for the class, and she would have to do her best to learn from it, even if it felt as though she was starting over.

When Ms. Carr gave them their next set of instructions, Amy followed the younger girl in front of her on the pony, careful to keep her hands in the position Ms. Carr had told her to have them in, or at least, her best approximation of it. When it came time to drop their stirrups, Amy kicked her feet free, keeping Tommy at a walk. She almost lost her balance in the saddle, but righted herself quickly, blushing as she focused on keeping her weight even.