:-)

Maxwell and I had our first lesson together Saturday. It was great! I learned a lot, and know of some trouble spots that I can now work on. We got our right lead fairly easily thanks to the trainer's help. It was a great feeling to have that "aha" moment more than once during the lesson! I know I got my money's worth when I woke up with sore abs the next morning. Finally, someone holding me up to the standard of actually using myself to ride! It's been too many years of focusing on the horse and not myself that I've forgotten how much focusing on yourself can HELP your horse. Maxwell held out for an hour lesson! Lateral work was a nice way to begin. Max didn't get it at first, and I kept getting a bit confused, but by the end of the flatwork session we were making some progress! Popped over some cavaletti and a couple of X's. We were both beyond pooped. I wasn't as happy with the jump portion of our lesson, probably because both of us were so tired. Middle of the afternoon when it's 95 degrees....we're out of shape! Time to change that! It looks like we'll have another lesson this week. As for today, I'm so excited to hop on my horse and ride for the first time since the lesson! Yippee!

And now...Maxwell being a dork with his buddy Commander