Today was filled with great riding lessons. One of my favorites was a group lesson with Rebecca on Dewey, the OTTB I trained for the 2015 Equine Comeback Challenge, and Kathy on her haflinger named Tao. Tao has really taken the young thoroughbreds under his wing and had been riding with them a lot in recent weeks. He tells them there is no reason to worry or to go fast, that we can have just as good a time moseying around the arena. He's so good at this job that I may steal him away from Kathy to be my pony horse.
Dewey is still here at Bit of Honey Training. I've had him since December, we performed an exhibition ride in the Equine Comeback Challenge at the National Western Complex in Denver in March, and he has since been recovering from some injuries incurred while in turnout. He's somewhat gangly and accident prone, as many youngsters are. His injuries were not serious or career limiting, he just will have a scar on his left front foot where he was cut, and he may have a subtle scar on his face where he was kicked. Because of these injuries he was laid up on stall rest for a couple months, and he was stunningly well behaved. I know very few barely four year olds who could go through that kind of limited play time, and still remain the sweet affectionate and laid back creature that Dewey is. I have ridden him several times since he has healed from his injuries and he is sound in mind and body. However, because of competitions on the recent weekends I hadn't ridden him for about three weeks. I wasn't concerned, though, because Rebecca is a very competent rider and Dewey is a mellow and fun ride.
Rebecca also hadn't ridden for quite some time, since her lease ended on a mare she had been riding about a year ago. She wanted to return to the saddle, and since she is 5'11" I thought Dewey would be a good fit, since he is growing like crazy and is currently at 16.1 hands. He also has just the right temperament for Rebecca, quiet and steady, but forward and willing to do anything he is asked. We did the group lesson today with Kathy and Tao. We practiced weight shifts and steering over courses of poles, and spent some time letting Rebecca and Dewey get to know each other.
Rebecca had a huge smile glued on her face throughout the ride. I couldn't help but wonder if she is falling in love with him, and I thought to myself, "Summer lovin, had me a blast..." He was also an excellent mirror of Rebecca, sighing when she took a deep breath, turning precisely as she rotated her torso. Because Rebecca is so lanky she and Dewey fit together nicely, his long limbs match hers really well. Dewey is still for sale, so we'll see if anything comes of this phenomenal lesson together!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri74rjpAzy0
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