Awareness of the outside world. IFL SCience: This Is The First Przewalski’s Horse Born In The Steppes Of Central Kazakhstan For 200 Years, Hale, 26 August 2026 (6 days after 1 September). I think(?) Takhi foals have been born in Mongolia. Kazakstan is next door.
~~~
Goldy
Rosewood Stables
29 August 2026
First lesson for me of any type in over a month. Combination of schedules and ridiculous heat. Mostly ridiculous heat. [Group or Solo]
Step One, The Whining
I was not happy before my lesson. Not from nerves, for a change. I was not happy because riding a borrowed horse once a month is not what I want as a riding life and I do not see a way forward.
Plus, I had just spent the week livestreaming Louisville. Happy for them. Sad for me. [Watching Louisville 2026]
I got on.
Step Two, The Riding
“Your leg looks amazing. Maybe you should take a break more often.” Coach Deana.
She was not wrong. First, my leg always looks good. It’s my best riding feature. Second, I seem to do well after time off. [Back in the Saddle Seat]
Lesson was scheduled as solo, in order to give us time to finish our barn before we left. We ran early and the day ran late, so I ended up sharing with a kid.
I had already announced that I planned to do a lot of walking to ease back into this. There was even thoughts of taking an easy day and coming back the next morning once I remembered how to ride.
Ended up having one of the better lessons I’ve had in a while.
Jumped multiple jumps. Granted they were all cross rails but I rode them well. Started out trotting each time, but cantered the rest in most cases. The first jump was extreme grandma mode but then I sat up and got my act together. I rode down to all of them and saw where I was going. Most of the jumps came up as planned.
At one fence, there was the option of chipping or standing back. I asked for the bigger spot (being ready for the conservative option). Goldy said okay. I always like it when he does that. I feel like I did something right when he’s willing to jump big(ish).
At other jump, I had came around the corner with the feeling of ‘I’ll just canter down and jump over this crossrail’, which is how you expect to feel on a nice horse over a low jump, and was how jumping used to feel. I had to go back to riding hard, but once was nice.
Ended with a course of seven. And then we were out of rider. Horse was fine.
Why did the lesson go so well? I have thoughts. Tune in tomorrow.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 