I cantered half a circle during my riding lesson today! In one way it's very exciting because I am getting back to it; in another it's discouraging because I have been at this point twice before and then lost ground because of piddling little injuries - not enough to keep me from riding, just enough to keep from riding correctly.

I love riding: the satisfaction when I get something right, the really wonderful kind of tired I feel after a lesson, but mostly just being with the horse. The one I ride most often is Oscar, a brown and white paint with a black mane and tail. He was abused when he was younger (someone used a wire bit on him which chopped a semicircle out of the side of his tongue) and took a lot of work when he first came to the stable but now he is a sweetheart. The only thing he has a real problem with is having his girth tightened - he still tries to bite and kick when he thinks that's about to happen. You just have to keep an eye on him, and once the girth thing is over, he's fine again.

The story is that I am going to learn to jump. We'll see :-)) I'd rather learn dressage but I may not live that long.