Sue – How Amazing You are with Nichole Copple!
We had a group lesson 1/11/08 and I got to watch 12 year old Nichole ride Sue. In the recent blog, I mentioned how Sue had gone to the Ozarks to be rode by Nichole. Sue was getting very heavy and I knew that being with Nichole would give Sue much more confidence and muscle to replace fat.
I knew Sue’s confidence would improve, but until you see it in person, you just don’t know.
I did note (upon Sue’s return) that her eyes were even brighter. Maybe it was her body posture…brave instead of trying to be invisible. She started coming right up to me and demanding things…like “do you have food for me”.
But to watch her being calm in an arena with cantering careening horses all around…and a carrot stick being used by another rider. My GOODNESS! This was her first time in an arena in many months. Remember Sue can be claustrophobic in an arena. She hates arenas unless she knows every horse.
At one point all but one of us were resting down at the end of the arena. We had a big gelding being rode on the wall. He wasn’t wanting to canter. Horse and rider were clattering around the arena…fast. To get him to lift his front end and feet, one, two and then three PVC poles were laid out (about 3′ apart) right behind where we were standing. Three times he refused to lift his feet and exploded and tripped over each pole. Crashing horse feet into PVC poles make an outstanding racket. Sue and Nichole were standing about 5′ away from the poles and Sue was facing away from the poles.
Sue didn’t flinch the gelding zoomed behind her and came around the corner. She didn’t flinch when he clattered over every pole….behind her.Three month earlier, Sue would have left the country if something like that happened!
Now that was amazing…miracle!
At one other point while JR and Sue were resting together, Nichole swung her entire arm up and waved it around like she was going to rope something. Then she brought her arm down at a high rate of speed and pretended to spank Sue’s behind with a pretend string. I tell you what, Sue would have been in the next country 3 months ago!
Nichole was relaxed. Sue didn’t flinch. Nichole kept doing it and I just had my mouth dropped open to the arena dirt. My mouth was still filled with arena dirt where it dropped to the ground after the clatter of the PVC poles…and the mouth filled up again. In astonishment.
I knew Nichole would be good for Sue. I just wasn’t prepared for the magnitude.
At the end of the lesson, we were all standing around and I thanked Nichole…I sniffled. I decided to send Sue home with Nichole again. She deserves this much happiness and the return of her real self..not having to be scared all the time.
Sue is back in Fair Play with Nichole. My eyes have a suspicious wetness to think about it even today.