I did tell you that Kayla and Julia received horse lessons for Christmas, right? Yes, they received them from Dawna & Frank. On Saturday, while I was there in Ohio, we took the girls for their first (ever) horse riding lessons. The girl who gave the lessons was someone Dawna knows. She is young (18) and these are one of her first students. But, she did an excellent job. I think the lessons were great for her, too.
When we frist got to the stables / arena, Crystal (giving the lessons) hadn't arrived yet. So, we were invited inside the stables to see the horses. There were quite a few on each side of the stables. The first one to the right, however, was a very large (18 hands) Percheron. He really was a beautiful horse, but he was very large. I think he added to some simple fears that Julia and Kayla had. When Crystal arrived and started the girls by getting them closer to Rocky and Reggie, the girls were a bit stand-offish. They stood far away from the horses trying not to touch them as they brushed their hair.
Crystal taught them how to prepare the horses and get used to them. 
They brushed the horses, cleaned out their hooves, and blanketed, bridled, and saddled them. It was time to do some simple riding. We went over to the arena. Kayla was always the eager one, so she took to the horses a bit easier than Julia. But, Julia seemed to perfect the riding a bit better. She looked like a professional on the horse. Julia was very at ease. She took the reigns and (for the most part) told the horse where to go. She did well. Kayla was eager to try anything and did. She did less manuevering of the horse, but eagerly took to the horse and even trotted and did a small gallop. She was the first to want to manuever the horses through the cones. She is small, but really got close to Reggie (her horse). Julia and Rocky bonded, too.
They brushed the horses, cleaned out their hooves, and blanketed, bridled, and saddled them. It was time to do some simple riding. We went over to the arena. Kayla was always the eager one, so she took to the horses a bit easier than Julia. But, Julia seemed to perfect the riding a bit better. She looked like a professional on the horse. Julia was very at ease. She took the reigns and (for the most part) told the horse where to go. She did well. Kayla was eager to try anything and did. She did less manuevering of the horse, but eagerly took to the horse and even trotted and did a small gallop. She was the first to want to manuever the horses through the cones. She is small, but really got close to Reggie (her horse). Julia and Rocky bonded, too. After they finished, they were sad to leave. It was really neat seeing how much fun they had. I think this will be a Christmas present to remember!
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