Wizard Ride 134; Paris Ride 10: Brick House

Thursday, 4/8/10

She’s a brick house
She’s the one, the only one,
who’s built like a amazon

Paris is not the tallest horse I’ve ever ridden, but she is definitely the strongest! What started as a twenty-minute jaunt turned into almost an hour of fairly intense work. Paris’ owner has been putting a lot of time and excellent riding into the mare and it shows in her appearance, rideability, and fitness. I felt a stronger and rounder horse than she was even during our last ride. After our warmup, I asked Paris for leg yields at the walk in both directions, as well as the suggestion of a shoulder-in. She performed beautifully. We picked up our trot work and did some bending exercises and worked on tempo. Once Paris hits approximately the 20-minute mark of a ride, she kicks into her next gear. It’s an amazing feeling- she’s the kind of horse who could perform at an elite level due to her talent and build. In the past, I have not worked much with Paris’ next gear, mostly because I did not trust my riding as I was still rusty. Now that I’ve gotten a little more saddle time into my life, I accepted the challenge and we took our work up a notch. I could feel Paris pushing through my outside rein whenever I stopped riding every step. We worked on large circles and serpentines, spiraling in and out until I felt like I was in more control of her. To test my control, I asked for a bigger trot on the straightaway. WOW can that mare trot! She is smooth and powerful at the same time. By the end of our ride, I was exhausted and I actually got Paris to break a sweat :^)

Due to the brilliant lighting and the warm weather, I decided to try riding Wizard in the dressage court in the far corner of the farm. It offered my mother the opportunity to get some very nice pictures. The arena is far smaller than the indoor or the main outdoor arena, so I focused on riding in arcs and we did a lot of changes of direction. When we got to the corner of the arena closest to the pathway to the barn, Wizard drifted so we worked on keeping a bend and staying on my leg instead of pushing through it. Every other time I’ve ridden Wizard in this arena, he was anxious or distracted so it was wonderful that he was attentive and responsive, even if he was gawking a little into the woods.

I went home, happy with both rides, sunburnt, and exhausted.