January 4th 2020: My first official ride of the New Year! The weather was pretty ugly so I got to the barn a little late, and Shane was already in the arena with the other three horses being used for lessons that morning. I gave him lots of pats as my stirrups were being adjusted, I missed him a lot over break! Because there were so many horses in the arena, Shane and I used the bottom third of the arena to practice circles in both directions. Then, when we were done with the circles the other riders left the arena to go on a trail ride, so we had the whole arena to work with!
For the majority of the lesson, I took Shane through the various obstacles in the arena, guiding him whichever way I thought was best. It was a great way to connect with him and allow me to take control of my lesson. We did really well despite Shane fighting me a few times, like when we got close to the mounting ramp. Here's a really long video of us riding through everything!
And here's a cute picture of us at the end of our trip around! Check out my awesome U.S Equestrian riding shirt by Ariat!
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_095e732425f84b958cee2d1fce3cfc9a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_540,h_720,al_c,q_85,enc_auto/a27d24_095e732425f84b958cee2d1fce3cfc9a~mv2.jpg)
After we finished our obstacles, Mrs. Edie showed Shane and I how to do a three loop serpentine. I had seen videos of other riders doing this, but I'll admit that I was a bit confused trying it myself. Mrs. Edie helped us through it through and we managed it alright. It was pretty good for our first time but I can't wait to try it again! Right after Shane and I finished this, it started to pour rain, and it was the end of our lesson. Because of the weather, I couldn't do my usual post ride routine. Instead, I gave Shane lots of love before I got of to make sure he knew he did a great job! I'm super proud of how he did, and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!
Until next time,
Bry,
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