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Authors: Bonnie Bryant
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knew exactly what breeching was.
T UESDAY WASN ’ T AN official Pony Club day, but since almost all the kids in Horse Wise also took riding class on Tuesday afternoons, Max sometimes used the class time as if it were a meeting. Sometimes it seemed that the main difference was that on Tuesdays he’d start the class by saying “Riders, come to order!” On Saturdays, it was “Horse Wise, come to order!”
Max had arranged it so that after the formal riding class, May and Lisa would do their demonstration and explanation.
While they were tacking up for class, Lisa asked May if she was nervous.
“I don’t think so,” May said. “We really workedvery hard on this and I’m pretty sure we can do it. Besides, I know that if I goof up on something, you’ll be able to help me.” May gave a final tug to her horse’s girth, checked the stirrup length, and prepared to mount.
Lisa watched the younger girl as she did these things, admiring the way she did them. When Lisa had been May’s age, she’d never ridden a horse at all. And now there was May, just about half as old as Lisa was and very good at everything she did with horses. Lisa wondered briefly who was actually the Big Sis and who was the Little Sis in this project. Smiling to herself with the thought, she turned her attention to Barq’s girth and the length of the stirrups on his saddle. She wouldn’t want her saddle to slip off in the middle of class—especially in front of her Little Sis!
Class was, as usual, quite wonderful, though, as usual, Max made them work very hard. Max was working on gait changes, and at first Lisa thought he was doing it primarily for the newer riders. Changing gaits was something a rider learned in the second or third class. She found, however, that he was being a lot tougher on the more experienced riders than he was on the newer riders.
“You don’t have to tell the whole world you want your horse to slow down, just tell your horse,” he toldthem all. Then he explained that a well-trained rider could give all kinds of instructions to his or her horse without making any of it obvious. A small amount of pressure on the reins was as informative to the horse as a big yank, and much less painful. Sitting into the saddle was just as effective as—and much more proper than—a rider straightening his or her legs as if digging heels into the sand.
They tried it again and again. Max had them walk, trot, and then stop. Finally, when he wasn’t frowning so much—meaning he thought they were doing pretty well—he let them trot for a while and then canter. Lisa wasn’t sure if she liked cantering or trotting better. Barq had a wonderful smooth canter, but his trot was so brisk that sometimes it felt as if he moved more quickly trotting than cantering.
By the end of class, Lisa thought she’d learned a lot and it seemed a little odd because it was all about a subject she already thought she knew a lot about! That was one of the things she liked best about horseback riding. There was
always
something to learn.
She’d been concentrating so hard on everything Max said that she was almost surprised when he excused her and May from class early so they could get ready for their demonstration.
Their
demonstration? Lisa asked silently. It was really
May’s
demonstration.Lisa was just there to hold Nickel so he wouldn’t bolt the way he had when Veronica had left the gate open.
Lisa untacked their horses while May brought the harness to the indoor ring where they were doing the demonstration. Then the two girls pulled the pony cart into the ring and brought Nickel in together. Lisa perched on the fence that surrounded the ring so she could hold Nickel’s lead rope while May set all the equipment out just the way she wanted it.
“I like it when all the leathers are kind of laid out the way they will be when the harness is on Nickel. That way, I can point to all the parts for the other riders and explain what I’m going to
T UESDAY WASN ’ T AN official Pony Club day, but since almost all the kids in Horse Wise also took riding class on Tuesday afternoons, Max sometimes used the class time as if it were a meeting. Sometimes it seemed that the main difference was that on Tuesdays he’d start the class by saying “Riders, come to order!” On Saturdays, it was “Horse Wise, come to order!”
Max had arranged it so that after the formal riding class, May and Lisa would do their demonstration and explanation.
While they were tacking up for class, Lisa asked May if she was nervous.
“I don’t think so,” May said. “We really workedvery hard on this and I’m pretty sure we can do it. Besides, I know that if I goof up on something, you’ll be able to help me.” May gave a final tug to her horse’s girth, checked the stirrup length, and prepared to mount.
Lisa watched the younger girl as she did these things, admiring the way she did them. When Lisa had been May’s age, she’d never ridden a horse at all. And now there was May, just about half as old as Lisa was and very good at everything she did with horses. Lisa wondered briefly who was actually the Big Sis and who was the Little Sis in this project. Smiling to herself with the thought, she turned her attention to Barq’s girth and the length of the stirrups on his saddle. She wouldn’t want her saddle to slip off in the middle of class—especially in front of her Little Sis!
Class was, as usual, quite wonderful, though, as usual, Max made them work very hard. Max was working on gait changes, and at first Lisa thought he was doing it primarily for the newer riders. Changing gaits was something a rider learned in the second or third class. She found, however, that he was being a lot tougher on the more experienced riders than he was on the newer riders.
“You don’t have to tell the whole world you want your horse to slow down, just tell your horse,” he toldthem all. Then he explained that a well-trained rider could give all kinds of instructions to his or her horse without making any of it obvious. A small amount of pressure on the reins was as informative to the horse as a big yank, and much less painful. Sitting into the saddle was just as effective as—and much more proper than—a rider straightening his or her legs as if digging heels into the sand.
They tried it again and again. Max had them walk, trot, and then stop. Finally, when he wasn’t frowning so much—meaning he thought they were doing pretty well—he let them trot for a while and then canter. Lisa wasn’t sure if she liked cantering or trotting better. Barq had a wonderful smooth canter, but his trot was so brisk that sometimes it felt as if he moved more quickly trotting than cantering.
By the end of class, Lisa thought she’d learned a lot and it seemed a little odd because it was all about a subject she already thought she knew a lot about! That was one of the things she liked best about horseback riding. There was
always
something to learn.
She’d been concentrating so hard on everything Max said that she was almost surprised when he excused her and May from class early so they could get ready for their demonstration.
Their
demonstration? Lisa asked silently. It was really
May’s
demonstration.Lisa was just there to hold Nickel so he wouldn’t bolt the way he had when Veronica had left the gate open.
Lisa untacked their horses while May brought the harness to the indoor ring where they were doing the demonstration. Then the two girls pulled the pony cart into the ring and brought Nickel in together. Lisa perched on the fence that surrounded the ring so she could hold Nickel’s lead rope while May set all the equipment out just the way she wanted it.
“I like it when all the leathers are kind of laid out the way they will be when the harness is on Nickel. That way, I can point to all the parts for the other riders and explain what I’m going to
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