Hooray for Horses

A family in our church owns a little farm not far from our house. Their daughter, Suzanne, is taking my level 1 Spanish class this year. Her mom, Tonya, also is one of the Home School Enrichment teachers. One day early in the year, I mentioned to Tonya that Maia was starting up the inevitable requests, "I want a pony." And in chatting I said that I should bring the girls out to their farm to see the horses some time. Suzanne and her older sister, Katy, are riders and compete in equestrian events. So Tonya offered that we could have Suzanne give the girls riding lessons if we were interested. The truth is, this is something I've never considered before. I've always thought of horse lessons as out of our league. The more I thought about it though, the more it appealed to me. Especially because I am not sure an opportunity like this will present itself for our family. Also, soccer was feeling very overwhelming to me just prior to that season getting started. The horse riding lessons we've set up to be just once/month. That I can do. When we told the girls they started screaming and jumping up and down. It was so sweet. I don't think they ever thought this would be a reality either.
Yesterday (Saturday) was our first time out to the Lamb's farm. I barely got the van stopped before they had jumped out. Suzanne first showed them about brushing Angel and why it's important. Then she gave each of them a riding lesson. They all walked and trotted some. The girls were bursting with excitement. They did wonderfully. I am so happy that we have such a special chance to do this. Even more, the Lambs are a marvelous family and just spending time on the farm is a blessing.
So without further ado...here are the pictures.



#1-4 Brushing Angel with different types of brushes to get her ready to ride. #5-7 Avril gets the first turn to ride. #8 & 9 Maia's turn. #10 Maia in 2 point position (up on your toes out of the saddle~used for running, jumping, trotting, etc.) #11-13 Eowyn (definitely the most outspoken in her excitement) finally getting her turn. She even had a chance to trot, which did make my heart skip a little to see that tiny thing bouncing on a horse so much larger than herself. But she did great.