Riding Lessons!

Bailey has had a horse obsession for quite awhile now. After going down to ride my mom's horses last spring break, I decided to put her in riding lessons over the summer, so she would be ready for our next trip to California. She LOVED it SO much! Monday was her favorite day of the week, because that's the day she would get to ride. Diane Huskenson was her teacher, and she was wonderful! She taught Bailey so much in such a short amount of time. I couldn't believe the difference from the beginning of summer until the end. She learned everything from caring for the horse, and getting it ready, to beginning jumping. Bailey is so sad that summer is over! She is going to miss her furry friends so much. We are going to try to arrange as many lessons as we can for Saturdays while the weather holds out. She will be doing lessons again next summer for sure.

This is Cupcake. Her and Bailey became great friends this summer! 

Getting the horse ready to ride was one of her favorite things to do.

She learned how to saddle and bridal the horse by herself.

They would always start the lessons with exercises on the lunge line. Bailey loved doing these! It helped her to become way more comfortable and confident on the horse.

She learned how to do an emergency dismount. It was scary at first, but after awhile she thought it was fun.

Bailey took Cupcake in the canal.  

Cupcake loves playing in the water, so Bailey ended up pretty wet :)!

She got more and more comfortable on the horse with each lesson. It was so fun to watch her! 

She was so excited when she cantered by herself!

On the first day we were there, Bailey said there is no way she would ever jump.  It was just a few lessons later that she was trying it. Pretty soon she loved it, and got better and better each week.

This is one of my favorite pictures. This is the highest she jumped (2'3"). She looks like a pro, but in reality, she almost went right over the head on this landing! She was clear up on Cupcake's neck. If that would have happened at the beginning of summer, she would have been terrified, but by the end, she just laughed and tried it again.

Jumping!