We were able to go to the ranch last weekend. We finally had time for a riding lesson for Josiah. We put him on my dad's miniature horse, Baker Man. It's a short drop should anything go wrong. Josiah put on his "too big" chaps and his cowboy hat (which later almost got him bucked off when it flew off and landed on Baker Man's bum), and headed to the coral with Papa.
Dad showing him how to rein, stop and start.
After the incident with the cowboy hat flying off and startling both the horse and Josiah, I had a little talk with him about not shouting even when you're scared. So he took care of that problem by filling his cheeks with air so he wouldn't scream every time things got a little dicey. All I can say is, it may have looked funny, but it worked! Yeah, another victory for teaching him to control himself!
I love how serious he looks here as he's talking to Hailey about his experience. One time he looked at me and said (oh so seriously), "Yep, it's a good day for a ride". It cracked me up, since we never even went out of the corral, LOL.
I was experimenting with the camera and trying my hand at a foreground shot. I thought it was kind of cute.
I took this picture so you could see the difference between the size of a miniature horse and a regular horse.
Hailey got to sit on Lightening all by herself with Papa near her. She thought she was hot stuff, let me tell you ;)
Hailey got a turn being led on Baker Man by Papa. I love this picture because I also got Josiah rubbing his sore bum just after he got off. He rode for about 2 hours. Not bad for a first-timer. Dad and I rode for cows the day before. I only rode 3 hours and I thought I was going to die that last hour. I used to ride all day long bareback and it never bothered me. Oh the joys of getting old.
I took this picture of Hailey in the barn, just fiddlin' around. I thought she looked so darlin'. Here is a short video of Josiah riding Baker Man and Hailey sitting on Lightning. You can tell how much fun they're having. There is a lot of wind noise, so I apologize ahead of time.
Blessings,
Jackie
7 comments:
Great pictures and story, Jackie! Your children are darling, and your camera skills are improving.
How wonderful! You have an adorable family.
Cute. What a blessing to have an opportunity like that!
What great pictures! I really loved watching the video and seeing/hearing how much love and patience their Papa has for them. What a blessing he must be to them.
I absolutely love the outfit! He looks like such a cowboy!
That looks like so much fun! My daughter would love it, but I could see my son being hesitant. Well, maybe not on the small horse, but on the bigger one he'd probably pass.
Aww that brings back some good memories of your Dad giving Batman and I pointers when we were riding.
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