Today was Kirsi’s first horseback riding lesson and it was fabulous! We went to find out more about it on Monday and there was a spot open for her age on Wednesdays from 2:30 to 3:30 so we took it. It was awesome! Kirsi was so excited to go to her lesson – she even agreed to go down early for a nap. 🙂
The “Poney Club” is about 5 minutes from our house, just up the road towards the hills. Ms. Tole is Kirsi’s teacher and she’s amazing. She’s so patient and she knows how much to do with the little ones without overwhelming them. First off, Kirsi took care of her pony, Chilindrina. She brushed her all over, even her tail and mane, and then she cleaned out her hooves. Then she helped get all the tack out – the saddle, blankets and reins.
Once she got the horse taken care of, she was ready to ride. Ms. Tole and Kirsi led Chilindrina down to the riding ring.
Then Kirsi got to ride…all by herself! They worked on balance – leaning forward to touch the pony’s neck, leaning back to touch her rump and leaning sideways to touch her tummy. Then she got Kirsi to hold on to the reins with only one hand by pointing to something. They also played a little game – “Start and Stop”. Kirsi had to stop the pony when she heard one beep and to get the pony going when she heard two beeps. Then they went for a walk around the area, just to see what there was to see. Kirsi was on the pony by herself but Tole was beside her the whole time. Kirsi kept looking around everywhere, fascinated by all the new things.
While they were still in the riding ring, Kirsi saw the jumping things and told Tole that she wanted to jump with her pony! Tole laughed and said that Kirsi needed to get used to the horses first. 🙂 Kirsi is just a little ambitious, eh?
Once the ride was done, Kirsi helped put the gear away and then gave Chilindrina a little prize – a couple sugar cubes.
It was a fantastic experience for our little girl. She loved it so much and looked like such a big girl riding all by herself and cleaning the horse. Our little girl is growing up!
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