Nice ride

Maria came out for another riding session, which went very well.  We saddled up Maddie right away, which was kind of fussy.  I'd like to start getting on her case more about this.  I spent about 5 minutes working her on the ground and then Maria hopped right on for a ride that lasted at least 10 minutes.

I was able to get some separation from Maddie and alternated lunging and line driving all over the arena.  We did not push too hard down at the spooky end but went a lot further than last time.  Maria dismounted down by the spooky end and we gave her a short break while I rigged up some reins.  Maria hopped back on and we slowly introduced the outside rein to Maddie.  She did well and Maria was able to steer her to different parts of the arena.  We also had Maddie trot a medium size circle in both directions.  She looked very solid, neither fussy nor looking to run off.

After another 10 minutes of this, Maria hopped off and I put the stirrups on and got up there myself.  Finally!  Maddie was a little more fussy with Maria handling her, but Maria did a terrific job keeping her under control.  We circled in both directions and worked over most of the arena.  She bucked once and thought about it a few more times, plus nipped at Maria a few times.  The buck was easy to sit, but I was far from relaxed today,  that's for sure.  Anyway, it was a fantastic session, all in all.

Maria walked Maddie back to her pen and posed for a couple of pics.  Thanks, Maria!  Couldn't do this without you.