Debbie and Lefty's Excellent Riding Adventure

Call it a confluence of all good that goes along with horseback riding:  young horse, somewhat inexperienced rider, lovely fall afternoon, three miles of country road, a thrilled Mom Love, total enjoyment from start to finish.

That's my summation of yesterday's ride with my daughter-in-law.  The stars lined up, for sure as Lefty earned his "safe horse" stripes and Debbie honed her basic riding skills and built confidence enough to want to do it again.

I couldn't be happier.  Last week when Roxane and I went for Lefty's first real road ride, I was ecstatic with how well he behaved.  

This week, I'll have to find a better word to descibe the ultimate satisfaction of yesterday's ride along South Center Valley and Forest Siding roads. 

It's been a long wait and much worry for me, owning young but nice horses and waiting for the day when these horses were at the point of just saddling up and heading off for a ride.

We hit that day yesterday, so it's good times ahead for Lily and Lefty and for anyone who cares to ride them. 

I also discovered that Debbie possesses riding instincts not always found among adults with little experience.  

A few hints about keeping contact with Lefty's mouth, using leg aids, consistently making him move forward, especially with distractions like mailboxes, little girls learning to ride bikes and or deer suddenly darting off from roadside apple trees----Debbie listened and reacted appropriately throughout the trip.

And, at the end, just to make sure that Lefty knew she was in charge, she rode him on past our driveway as Lily and I turned in.   She was thrilled that Lefty responded to her wishes. 

It was a great riding adventure, and I'm looking forward to many, many more with my daughter-in-law and our adorable Arabian, Lefty Love aka Ravenwood Mocha Dot.