First Canadian riding experience ;-)

I rode for the first time in over 6 months today!!!! It was brilliant because I was amongst horsey people and felt totally normal!!! I feel like I've made lots of friends already - human and horse) and now I really can't wait for Oxbow to arrive!

I arrived and as it's half term there were quite a few people around, so Josée, the YO introduced me to everyone. We then went and got her QH x Paint mare in from the field. She wasn't as huge as I remember (must have been standing in a dip when I saw her the first time  ) but she was quite a bit wider than Oxbow with a big bum. 

She's just 4 years old, been nicely broken in (Western) but Josée insisted I rode in an English saddle. So she produced something which looked rather archaic and uncomfortable (and turned out to be both  ) and she jumped on her mare first and then let me get on board. 
We had a bit of a laugh because she couldn't get her leg high enough to put her foot in the stirrup to mount so I gave her a leg up. Then when it was my turn to mount, I thought I'd have the same problem but I got on from the ground, no leg-ups or mounting block required and there were lots of "ooos" and "aaaahs" and people commenting on how supple I was. Haha, if only they knew  
By this time there was quite a gathering in the indoor school. Everyone wanted to watch the English girl ride, well... English  

The mare is trained Western but I got some nice trot work out of her and a tiny bit of lateral work. I asked Josée if she'd done any shoulder - in and she hadn't so I gave it a go on the mare, who didn't understand what I wanted to start with but soon got the right idea. 

Then a chap called Claud, who has four horses on livery (one for him, one for his wife and one each for his daughters), who had been watching all the time I was riding and asking lots and lots of questions, asked if I'd like to ride his horse. 
It was really sweet of him to offer and he really needed have - after all I am a complete stranger! Anyway, he got his horse - a lovely sorrel colour - called Texas (and yes, Rochelle I did think of you ) and he spent about 10 minutes explaining the different parts of the saddle/girth/bridle and then I hopped on board. 
Texas is a small reining horse and at just 4 years old, he really knows his stuff and was very responsive to my leg and politely refrained from complaining when I got the canter aids wrong (he just struck off on the wrong leg). He's a QH and has a very very comfortable canter. 
Claud is an English teacher so he asked if we might speak in English, which we did and he explained to me that he has tried to bring his girls up in a bilingual home and he speaks to them in English which is really commendable since English isn't his mother tongue. 

I have added a couple of photos. The quality is really bad as I found out afterwards that a certain little person must have got hold of my camera and changed all the settings so the photos are 2m pixels and not 12.5m  

Oh and don't have a go at me about the lack of hat - I forgot mine (yes, slap on the wrist for me  ) and the YO told me that no one wears one here so I was not to worry about it. I hasten to add that I have never ridden Oxbow without wearing my hat and don't intend to either.

My "English" ride:




Texas:



One of the boarders - I find leopard appaloosas so striking:




After we'd finished riding and had sorted the horses out we all went upstairs to the Club House and had a hot chocolate (apparently this is mandatory. The YO puts the kettle on and has the drinks ready for her boarders when they come upstairs). I was really grateful for this, because despite wearing two t shirts, a thick wooly jumper, my lovely warm Musto jacket and two pairs of socks, I was freezing. Both my feet went totally numb and it was really hard to walk and I took my boots off and wrapped my feet in my coat to get them warm again   
(It was -13°C with a wind chill factor of about -18°C by the way    ).
I put the heating on the car full blast and had a boiling cup of tea when I got home and it still took me ages to "thaw" out so I hope I won't get sick. I've never been so cold before, but it was worth every second  

The boarders today plus the YO are keen to learn about English riding and I have promised Claud that once Oxbow is here and settled I'll give him a lesson!