Clippity-Clop

I was asked by someone I like what my joy for the day was a little while back. Well the day before I’d had my share, and as my joy is wont to be it involved my little one. She's a budding equestrian, but on the day in question she was slated to be on an unfamiliar beast, one that she knew by reputation as a not-for-the-faint pony named Cowboy. There was joy in the outcome.

Earlier in the Spring she had heard the tales of his sometimes compulsive need to gallop at his own direction, and he has thrown experienced riders. Diminutive, but strong; she's ridden bigger but nothing with Cowboy's spirit. When we got to the barn yesterday her teacher told her to go get Cowboy ready; we both did a double-take, but moved down the stalls.

As we walked past the tack room one of the young interns (stables owned and operated exclusively by females) asked us what we needed, and I repeated the instruction. She was also surprised, and double-checked the schedule. Sure enough, Cowboy was on-tap. At this point the munchkin's wheels are turning and she's brave-facing it I can tell, but once he's on his side ropes she goes through the combing and brushing rituals like everything is A-ok, picks his hooves and helmets up.

I walk away when she's under almost any kind of instruction at her request; she has performance anxiety associated to me for reasons I sort of understand...not completely, but I do have expectations. At the barn, she's under expert instruction and I walk away.

I loiter outside near the ring listening for any sounds of distress, but a half-hour passes with only benign whinnying and blowing from some very warm animals (it’s June in the jungle after all). When I went back inside to the ring and peeked around the corner I saw miss priss trotting by, posting perfectly, looking out where she should...and grinning ear-to-ear As it turns out, when he's behaving, Cowboy has a beautifully smooth gait that matches the girl's rhythm. He's solicitous of her on his back, and she is riding as well as anyone has ever seen her. Afterwards, she led him back to his stall with such confidence in her gait, glowing, that my heart went puh!

My joy lasted well beyond the two scoops of Baskin-Robbin's best creamy treat (jamocha is her current obsession) I sprung for afterwards.