Good Ride

We had a good ride this morning. We trailered Morgunn and Gletta down to the public arena in Corrales with the objective that we were going to do some work with the horses before taking a trail ride along one of the irrigation ditches.

This was another milestone for Betty as all of our riding to date has been walking. Today she wanted to tolt again with Gletta. For those who may not know, a tolt is the Icelandic Horse's special gait - a fast walk. The arena was a good place to work on moving the horses up to a faster gait.

We all were rusty as it has been 7 months since we have ridden Morgunn and Gletta this way. Betty and Gletta got into riding form quicker than I did with Morgunn. There were some other horses around and Morgunn was full of himself. I had to do some groundwork with him to get him to settle down. Once he did, he was fine.

We rode in the arena for about 20 minutes and then we went on to the irrigation ditch trail that runs right behind the arena. We walked about a mile down the trail and back.

Betty had an interesting experience on the ride and handled it very well. While walking, Gletta stumbled and almost went down on her front knees. Betty did a super job of keeping her balance and didn't let the experience get her rattled. As a result Gletta just regained her balance and didn't spook at all.

Betty really is a good horse person and takes her learning and growth very seriously. Her hard work and determination to continually improve sets a great example for me and challenges me to do my best.

A good day. I'm sorry I forgot to take our camera.

Today is June 25 and if today is your Birthday you share your day with: Marie Cooksey (our wonderful daughter-in-law, wife to our son Wade Daniel, and mother to our beautiful granddaughter Juliet), George Michael (pop singer), Jimmy Walker (comedian - "Dy-no-mite!"), Phyliss George (Miss America 1971), Carly Simon (singer - "You're So Vain"), June Lockhart (actress - "Lost in Space"), George Orwell (author - "1984"), Danica Patrick (race car driver), Tom Glavine (pitcher - Atlanta Braves), Sarah Jessica Parker (actress - "Sex and the City"), Aretha Franklin (singer - "RESPECT"), James Lovell (astronaut - Apollo 13), Howard Cosell (commentator - Monday Night Football), and Henry II (King of England 1154 - 1189).