Steering On My Own!

Well, Monday was the day...the day I learned that a horse can walk faster than the shutter speed on my camera. Seriously, though, Monday was the day I captured my big boy steering his own horse, after taking dozens and dozens of really bad pictures. A year ago, he was sitting on his horse with an army of volunteers to keep him safe -- one person to lead the horse, two to walk on either side of him/the horse to catch him if he lost his balance or fell off, one therapist to give directions for exercises throughout the session, and one parent (me!) to cheer from the sidelines. While there are still grown-ups on standby, even today, we have whittled that number down because only one volunteer is needed to walk alongside...sometimes. Monday, R got 30 minutes to steer the horse through a series of obstacle courses with no one walking alongside as his body guard and no one leading the horse in the front. What a big boy he is!

(Above) R riding solo!

(Above) Check out R turning Gola...good job R for remembering to pull the reins toward your pockets, not your chest! Gola is much happier that way.

Gola is the Islandic Pony he was riding. She was a little fiesty on Monday, as ponies tend to be, but R handled it with charm (for the most part). It is hard to believe that Gola is technically only a pony because I still think that my big 5 year old looks so small atop her. Notice that R is still only riding on a riding blanket without a saddle, so he is essentially riding bareback!