Vin (who has managed to tug off one of his shoes as a sign of protest) has a new friend.<\/p>\n
Due to one of those peculiar coincidences that occur, from time to time, on public transport, I met K.<\/p>\n
K is a very experienced American equestrian-type, who is studying for a DPhil at Oxford and is keen to get 16 hands between her legs on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
Last weekend I arranged to meet K at the yard. I walked her around the cross-country, the show jumping, the outdoor arena, the indoor arena and the lunging pen, introduced her to a bunch of people and then took her to meet The Great Carrot Eater.<\/p>\n
I tacked Vin up, we wombled over to the indoor arena, sat on and worked-in for about 20 minutes. He was mostly good with occasional squally showers of tantrum.<\/p>\n
Then I asked K if she wanted a go (which was a bit of a stupid question given that she was in boots and jodhpurs and almost champing at the bit to crack on).<\/p>\n
I love watching someone else ride Vin – but not too often! It’s a learning experience to see how *this* evasion manifests itself, or what *that* looks like when he does something else.<\/p>\n
And he has quite a few evasion tricks up his little orange sleeves.<\/p>\n
K got his measure straight away.<\/p>\n
She worked with his head, showing tremendous patience and understanding right from the start.<\/p>\n
After 25 minutes K had him going brilliantly. She has the softest hands I think I’ve ever seen. She has tremendously fast reactions and her initial instinct is to give away not take back.<\/p>\n
Sammi looked in, saw what K was achieving and gave an appreciative semi-silent whistle.<\/p>\n
Vin was looking excellent.<\/p>\n
Later, with Vin showered off and everything put away K and I were sitting in the tack room having a cuppa when I asked when the last time she rode was.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, she said.<\/p>\n
Now that was just spiteful. To be able to take two years off and come straight on to a not-straightforward-ride like Vin, work with his head and have him going like a Dressage Star?<\/p>\n
Spiteful I calls it.<\/p>\n
K has said she’d like to ride twice a week. I’m not sure Vin thinks it’s a good idea but I’m more than happy with the arrangement!<\/p>\n
The excellent news is that K loves Vin to bits, she won’t stop gushing about him.<\/p>\n
Funny how these things work out, eh?<\/p>\n
Of course, having K on the scene to help keep Vin ticking over means I can look for an Eventer with just a bit more impulsion.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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