friends...and little brothers

Horseback lessons are going very well.
This is Penny. She likes alfalfa nuggets, head scratches and long walks on the beach.

Hannah and Gia are having a great time together at the lessons.

What a sweet picture, two great friends...

However, here is the whole picture.

Gotta love little brothers (seriously, is he is a little creepy in this picture or what?)

First Lesson!

Gia and Hannah had their first riding lesson today! They did fantastic--both were counting down the days, then the hours, then literally the MINUTES before the lesson. I think that it lived up to their expectations, that is, they are both thrilled to go back. For gia, the biggest challenge was not so much staying on the horse, but being quiet long enough to listen to the teacher.

One of the earliest and most important lessons that I learned through my years horseback riding was that if you demand respect, most often, you will get it. Horses do sense when you are not certain-not necessarily "fear" as the adage says--just that you are not sure what you want, and you probably are not going to follow through. Most of the horses that are used for schooling are very adept at figuring out if you are really going to make them go through their paces or if they can drag you over to the soft, sweet grass and spend the hour that you paid for eating while you sputter about on their back.

However, if you demand respect, even if you don't necessarily believe it totally, they will give it--despite the fact that they weigh hundreds of pounds more than you and are so much stronger, they will listen. This is a huge ego boost for a pre-teen. That something, anything, will listen to you and do your bidding--fantastically pleasing. Its's just a little cloying to say that if the horses respect you--than naturally it follows that you will demand respect from others, including your peers--but there is a lesson there.

So, while I expect Gia to swoon at how beautiful the horses are and fall in love with them, I hope she learns a little about her own power too.

Collections

we have a few collections in our house. Mike and I like to line them up, due to our OCD.