my first riding lesson...

...was spent with both feet firmly planted on the ground. lol.

our supposed lesson grounds were used for their show jumping competition, so our stable management lesson was brought forward from the last lesson to the first lesson. i think it's better cos it makes more sense to learn how to put the saddle on first before learning how to ride the horse. ^^

there were four horses set aside for us, so 9 of us were divided into groups to try out. putting on the saddle was probably the easiest part of the lesson since they just stood there for us to try. by the way the saddle is like, freaking heavy. i can't imagine the poor horse having that and me on its back. i'm so gonna feel bad when i climb on top. boo.

then came the harder part - the bridle. had to do this group by group so i think this took up majority of the lesson time. it looked pretty easy when the instructor was doing it, but i was kinda 手忙腳亂 when it came to our turn. so many straps and buckles! and the bit looked so uncomfortable! we also had to tighten certain straps which i think majority of us couldn't bear to do so. lol. relishing the feeling of the horses' head over my shoulder. for some reason i like that. =)

so in this first lesson, i learnt how to put on a saddle, how to put on a bridle, that horses like carrots, and that they step on their own poop. lmao! no lah, our instructor also mentioned that horses are actually timid animals. i guess it's hard (for me) to imagine that. they look so....majestic, i suppose, since they're like the biggest animals i ever touched. (原來 the one i encounted in taiwan, is just a PONY.) their shoulders are at my eye level, so if you know how tall i am, you can imagine how big they are. i had to tiptoe to put the saddle on. can't wait to learn how to mount them next week! (and can't wait to see how zhu is gonna mount them. =P)

so excited! i'm so glad i took this up. to be honest i actually envy people who can have this this this activity after work today, or that that that activity after work tomorrow. their lives must be pretty meaningful. even though only my sunday afternoons are taken up now, i actually have things to look forward to. working on signing up another course with zhu; let's hope it all works out!

two more weeks to being jobless. this is so not me. hais.