November riding weekend brings 4H to Sprucelands.

Behold the start of something good!

Take a group of 13 horse crazy girls, mix them together for a horseback riding weekend, and the results are wonderfully energizing. Their shared spirit inspires me. Their enthusiasm for learning intertwined with their love of horses is a riding instructor's delight.

Last weekend brought a bunch of us together for a riding weekend that benefited everyone in one way or another. We worked on equitation, balance, and confidence. Saturday morning each girl had an individualized lunge lesson on either Toby or Honey. In the afternoon some had an equitation lesson while others chose to do a jump lesson. Then Sunday, we did trail rides that took us into the woods where we walked and listened to the crackling leaves beneath our feet.

This was one of those perfect weather weekends too. Everything was just right (except for the Buffalo Bills who lost to the Dallas Cowboys). In fact, it was the kind of weekend were I could easily say, "This is a weekend where you are with me in my heaven." The entire experience was an unexpected and totally awesome gift.

Toby and Kalayne...the perfect match.

The chemistry among these girls is special. With Maya and Kalayne in the mix, there is always laughter and good-natured fun. If they aren't filming themselves on foot over jumps in the round ring, then they are making technicolor videos of their jump lessons on horseback. Often the video results are hysterical.

Everyone pitched in at the barn. While I was teaching one group, the other group was cleaning stalls, grooming horses, and helping with tacking up for the next class. I have to say we were a well oiled machine. I was totally impressed with how the girls took initiative to do what needed to be done.

Ava and Maddie are cooling Poco as I snap photos.

One happy piece of news about this weekend is that it looks like it is the start of a 4H group at Sprucelands. I am in the process of doing paperwork for Cornell Cooperative Extension out of Warsaw. Then as long as I have a minimum of 5 who want to participate, we will officially have a Sprucelands 4H riding group. After all these years when I've wanted to do 4H, I finally have a bunch that are actually interested.  Who knows where it will take us.

Another upside to this weekend was watching riders and horses build confidence. As they worked together, I was impressed with how much straighter our riders became. Learning to free up their lower back meant horses freed up theirs and made for much more overall relaxed riding. Then too, horses like Twiggy, Sunrise and Patti were in their own heaven as they jumped till their hearts content.

Good horses and good talk makes for genuine fun.

I hope others will want to join us as we continue the fun through the winter. Won't be long and we'll be riding in the snow. That's another kind of experience that every rider should have at some point. To canter in ring #1 when there's a foot of snow underfoot is mindboggling and stimulating. Just ask Tsz and Rosalie.

For now, I'll sign off, leaving you girls from the weekend with all kinds of fond memories. Anybody sore? And I'll encourage anyone out there who wants to participate in our 4H group to be in touch. We would love to have you join the learning fun!