Today was a day I thought I would never see.

Last night when Floss came to kiss me goodnight , she mentioned that she might like to have a shot at riding.  She said she had been thinking about giving it another go before I wrote my blog yesterday.  I was speechless.

Riding is not something Flossie does, ever and that is her choice and I have always tried to respect it.

This morning arrived and I said I was going to ride and, again, Flossie requested to ride.  We decided on Haakon as he will listen to me in the arena and rarely breaks out of walk unless asked.  I also trust him the most even if he is speedy.

I put a headcollar and rope over his bridle to make grab-ability easier for me but it became patently obvious very quickly that Floss had remembered most of what to do and I took it off as it was irritating.

Once Flossie had got the measure of Haakon and his speed, she  (I think) enjoyed pottering around the school.

I even talked her through a basic dressage test in walk which she and Haakon achieved very nicely.

Floss hasn’t ridden for years.  She did so well on Haakon and it was so lovely to watch them both together (*** sniff ***).  Haakon is not easy.  He wanted to just walk around me in little circles but she got him going beautifully and listening to her rather than watching me.

Of course, then it was BeAnne’s turn and she showed Floss, and me, just how it is done.

Surprisingly, Flossie wants to have another go tomorrow so we will use Iacs.  He loves new riders and, if Floss thought Haakon was barrel-like, then she is in for a surprise.  We might even attempt trot.

But lots of broccoli stalks to Haakon for this morning.  He was such a good boy and I trusted him to look after Floss, which he did beautifully.

A wonderful day!