first fall

I've fallen off countless horses and ponies throughout the years, but yesterday was my first fall off of Lucy. I think we were both shocked about the way it went down (or, the way *I* went down). She was going around happily, though the bugs were terrible and it was late in the day. I was actually riding her for a potential leaser, so we even had an audience. I had just finished raving about her good behaviour, how she has never bucked or done anything bad under saddle, and her spooks are just little hops with no bolt.

Then all of a sudden, we were cavorting and leaping bronco-style across the ring. I sat for what felt like an eternity and then one of the bucks got my heels up and my butt in front of the saddle, and when the next buck came along, it was not looking too good. I realized it was probably going to be safer to bail at that point than try to sit it longer and get into a more precarious position, so I bailed to the right and landed relatively well. As soon as I was off, Lucy took off across the ring kicking and bucking. We think she was being harassed by one of the gigantic horse flies that have taken up residence at the barn. Seriously, these things need their own mailboxes and mini driveways because they are massive and I bet they really hurt. I think it probably got her under the belly, and frankly I can't blame her for going ballistic.

After she had presumably dislodged the fly, she came running back to us at the fence where I had been previously deposited (hehe) and stood to let me get back on. I got back in the saddle, made sure everything was in working order, and we carried on with the rest of the ride and even strung a few nice little jumps together.

Amazingly, the girl who was out looking to lease her still wanted to ride! I gave her major props for that lol. She did really well with Lucy and it looks like she will be doing a 1/4 lease. I really like her a lot and think she and Lucy will be a great team!