Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A big surprise to us

Now that we live in the country there are of course LOTS of horse barns and riding lessons around.  When we asked the kids what they wanted to do for extracurricular activities Kyra wanted to do horseback riding.
Well I contacted a gentleman about lesson and he told me a price.  As Michael and I were discussing it we found a Groupon for the first lesson dirt cheap!  (Love Groupon!!)  We told Kyle that he needed to go to the barn with us and watch Kyra's lesson.  Well he decided if he was going to be there, he was going to ride.  Smart kid.  One problem.  This is the child who REFUSES to be around horses.   Little did we know when we bought TWO Groupons what would happen.



Meet "Ritz".  His daddy "He puttin on the Ritz" was the 1996 World Grand Champion.  He is a Tennessee Walking Horse.  Kyra was going to Ride him because she was more experienced than Kyle.  She has ridden a few times with the Girl Scouts.




Kyle's horse was "Dandy".   We didn't learn much about him except he was extremely docile.  A perfect match for Kyle.  We thought it was most appropriate as their teacher Donnie told Kyle he would be just dandy on "Dandy"!  Still the nerves were there for Kyle.



I love this picture.  Both of the kids were put to work just as soon as we arrived at the barn.  They had to brush the horse before riding.  Then they had to lead their horses to the ring to have their lesson.  Their teacher got them to do more work than me!!   I liked him immediately!  Ha! Ha!



By the time we made it to the ring, Kyle was establishing a relationship with "Dandy".  Kyle was very good at being patient while he waited for Kyra to mount "Ritz".  The dog in the picture is one of about six that were hanging around.  They came up to us when we arrived.  They did not bark, jump up, or do anything but sit down next to you and wait to be petted!  I am not a dog lover per se but I would have taken one of these dogs home.  They kept Michael and I entertained along with the kids while the lessons were going on.  They were like Rodeo Clowns!


Another favorite picture.  You can't see their faces but someone is terrified in this picture!  Can you guess which one?



It wasn't Kyle!!  We were surprised to find out that Kyle did really well with "Dandy".  He was nervous but did really well and Michael and I were cracking up at the things he said while riding.





Although Kyra was REALLY nervous on "Ritz", she stuck to it and we were proud of her.  She did eventually move to "Dandy" and felt more comfortable.  She said "Ritz" was like Kyle- Had a mind of his own and she couldn't control him!  LOL!  Kyle agreed and formed an immediate bond with "Ritz"!





Poor Kyle though...  He managed to get the horse that needed to go to the bathroom... So here is picture #1 (As Donnie told us to name it!)

Kyle was doing so well he moved up to "Ritz" while Kyra went to "Dandy".   This would be picture #2 (Again, as Donnie told us to name it!)  Donnie told Kyle he could come work at the barn.   He said there was lots to "pick up" around there!  


Throughout their lesson Donnie took pictures of the kids and this is where he "posed" them at the end of the lesson.  








This is something we will do again.   The kids had a great time and Michael and I got the best show!



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3 comments:

Jeannie Marie said...

What a surprising ending! I never would have believed it. The photos are great!! I love your blog!

Jeannie Marie said...

loks like its all horse sense!

Jeannie Marie said...

The second post was Dad! Haha! Now I'm spamming!