Back to the Monday Night Ride

Rick's daughter joined me, Frank, Chris and Kim in our ride in the ring. I rode Brawney as usual. I felt I had good control over the horse. He tried to out muscle me but I gave him the commands, I followed Rick's queues, and I got him under control. There were some moments, no matter how much command I give him nor how firm, he's still bigger and stronger than I am. But I did get him doing most of what I wanted when I wanted him to. I feel more confident. I'm less afraid to make demands of the horse, and I don't hurt all the time. We never went past a trot but I felt the lesson was a strong one.

Only problem is, Frank misses so many lessons that I think he's slowing the rest of us down. He can't keep his horse at a trot which means anyone behind him has to slow down or stop. It's a pain. Right now, we're still riding close together like we're on a trail. I took the lead for a little while but had some trouble getting Brawney to trot straight once he realized there were horses behind him.

Frank is gone the next couple of weeks so we'll see what happens.