Yep, I’ve ridden JR twice now. Jenny let me ride him the first time one evening after she was finished riding him. She wanted to make my first experience a good one! And it was a couple days after my birthday. Riding JR was a great gift!
Let’s set the important background: I haven’t rode a young horse since Velvet was two…eight years ago. I was understandably a little nervous. I tried to breathe and relax and almost succeeded. Jenny helped me on, and JR and I were a team. I teetered back and forth atop a back similar to a steep pitched roof. (Jenny says riding young horse bodies is like riding a snake!) We walked and that was good. I urged him to go faster. We took off in a wonderful fox trot. Only I thought the intervals between the time his front feet hit the ground took about an hour and I was certain he would fall.
We slowed down to a walk and I started breathing again. After a couple minutes, I urged him forward and we went into a fox trot again. JR is “hard wired” to fox trot. Jenny said at first when he started moving faster than a walk, he went into the flat foot walk. As he learned to go faster, he discovered the fox trot and doesn’t want to return to the flat foot walk. Jenny is starting to work on getting him slowed down to the flat foot walk.
JR is being started in a rope halter and lead rope. Sometimes he is just ridden with the lead rope and sometimes the lead rope is tied into reins. Jenny has put a snaffle in his mouth once, but is using the halter for his riding communication. We are saving his mouth until he understands his responsibilities.
So, we are fox trotting the length of the arena. I no longer thought that he was going to fall every step. I got used to his rhythm..Sort-of. We alternated walking and fox trotting for a few more times. Onlookers cheered as we looked STUNNING! Then Jenny had me ask him to back and do a forehand turn. I asked, “Am I done?” Jenny replied, “Yes.” I started breathing normally as I jumped off. Whew! The First Ride and I survived!