Parelli Ride at Blackfoot

Yesterday was the last Parelli ride of the season, held at the Blackfoot. I decided to take IndyAnna rather than Gypsy. I already know Gypsy is good on the trail, plus Indy needs more miles and more experience.

I took lots of time to walk her around and play with her at the staging area before we started off. I arrived an hour before the scheduled departure time. So she was relatively settled once I got her saddled and ready to go. This time there were LOTS more horses around for her to watch and "talk" to, so she never really completely settled down, but enough to feel OK about getting on.

There were about a dozen or so riders in the group, so it was a good test to see how Indy would do in a large group. There were a few faces I recognized, but there were also quite a few new ones I hadn't met yet. To start with we all kind of rode grouped together on the first part of the trail before we got to the fields and so Indy had a group of horses in front of her as well as behind her. I could tell she didn't quite know how to handle that and she was feeling pretty uptight. She started prancing a bit and glancing backwards and side to side to look for an exit. Luckily the riders directly behind me backed off a bit and we got to the gate fairly quickly and were soon in the fields, so she was able to relax a bit and figure out where she was most comfortable in the group.

Several horses took the lead and I held Indy back in the middle group. She wasn't sure she liked that much as she seemed to want to catch up to the lead group, but at the same time kept checking back on the group behind us! So many choices! We stopped a few times while waiting for others to catch up, which Indy also didn't like. She crow-hopped a bit and gave me a couple of her "tantrum bucks" (kind of like a rocking horse) while I was trying to keep her still, so we did some circling and disengaging and she started to settle down. It took her about an hour or so before she was comfortable just walking. I never really felt -- even with her prancing and crow-hopping -- that she would do anything dangerous or unpredictable though. She was never afraid - just impatient. She was always responsive to my cues, she just didn't agree with me all the time! After a couple more stops to wait for others, she began to realize that stopping meant she could graze! And Indy isn't one to pass up on the opportunity for food! Once she settled into the group, and got comfortable with the other horses, she was perfect. I had absolutely no issues with her at all.

We mostly walked, but did some trotting while we were in the fields as well. We stopped at Running Dog picnic area for lunch at 1:30. We were all pretty hungry by then!

The pace on the way back was significantly faster. Mostly trotting. It's amazing to me how the horses all seem to know when they're headed home! We were in the lead group on the way back and Indy continuously seemed to want to take the lead. So I let her try a couple times and she'd get to the front only to back off as soon as she was even with the lead horse. So she wanted to be out front, but really wasn't QUITE ready to be the leader. She was happy to share the lead. I was thrilled with that -- It's pretty good when you consider she's only 3! Just before we got back into the fields, a few of the lead horses picked up a canter and Indy followed. I wasn't planning on cantering exactly, however since the opportunity presented itself, I just let her go to see how well she'd do, and she did great. We only cantered a half-dozen strides or so, but it was nice and even and controlled and balanced. Wow, our first canter! Granted, it was short-lived, but it was perfect! Again, I'm so impressed with this horse!

When we were heading back through the fields, I let her wander off the main trail and explore a bit to satisfy her seemingly unquenchable curiousity. She didn't seem the least bit concerned leaving the main group. She'd check back and see where they were headed, but didn't feel the need to be right close to them. Again, another great sign of her confidence.

We got back to Waskahegan at about 4:30 (5-1/2 hours later). Indy had barely broken a sweat all day, so another clear indication she was in no way stressed during the ride. She got lots of treats and lots of love. A really successful day. And what a pleasure it is to ride with Parelli people! So much good-will, helpfulness and calm patience. I really enjoyed it.