On Monday, Avery was so excited to show me how she learned to jump while cantering at horse camp (~shudder of nervousness~) She caught Shoni, saddled him and headed to the arena. After warming up, she started cantering Shoni around the ring....Shoni saw something out of the corner of his eye (a golf cart, we think) and stopped in his tracks...sending Avery over his head and into the dirt. I did good...allowing her trainer, Miss H, to help her up, check her for any damage, dust her off and set her right back up on Shoni before she had much time to think about what happened. Avery cried a little, stopped for a drink of water, then was off again....cantering over jumps.
This was a big step for her. She had seen her friend fall off and that really shook her up. I think, for her, thinking about falling was much worse than falling itself. She is well protected, always wearing a helmet when she rides...and the arena is loose sand and dirt so other than being a little sore, she was fine. I gave her tylenol and put her in a tub of warm water after her lesson....she was right as rain the next day. Sometimes this happens to me in real life...I'm so afraid of falling I can't enjoy the ride. I took this simple reminder to heart...the fall is almost never as bad as you think...and to canter through life, boldy leaping over jumps you never thought you'd clear...well worth the risk. Thanks for the lesson sweet girl.
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