Yesterday was Ashlyn's very first horsemanship lesson.
It's at a place about 20 minutes from our house, which is GREAT.
(You can check out their website >HERE!<)
Her instructor is Christina (Chris) Semerad.
For the first 10 minutes, Ashlyn had a private lesson going on. And then a couple of boys showed up to join the class. So she got a little bit of a recap of the beginning of the lesson (which is a good thing, especially if you know Ashlyn!).
Chris starts with the basics....
Staying alert around the horse.
When the horse moves, you move.
If your foot gets stepped on/stuck, DON'T try to pull it out!....instead, push the horse or "pinch" the back of the leg so they pick up their hoof!
Hand on the butt! --when walking behind the horse (This phrase is used OFTEN!)
And so much more, I could list them all and be here all day!
She is VERY thorough, and demonstrates and has the kids demonstrate what they've learned, and praises and/or corrects them where/when necessary.
Another thing I liked was that she taught them using a smaller Pinto, named Pepper, so as to not intimidate them so much like the full size horses.
The kids each took a turn to lead Pepper around for a minute.
They learned to groom the hair and the hooves.
Then to the riding area....
Ashlyn was SO patient and waited, since she went last.
She got on Pepper and got all situated and listened to Chris' instructions.
And off she went, walking Pepper around the corral, turning her around when told, halting, "kissing" to get going. The kids even got to trot in small spurts and halt to a walk again.
In one of Ashlyn's videos, you can hear Chris saying she heard giggling....it WAS Ashlyn's giggling!
She did FANTASTIC, and she cannot WAIT to go back next week for her first private lesson. I have a feeling she's going to want to keep riding for a LONG time!
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