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| Mason, the obnoxious alpaca. |
The animals on this property include about sixty horses, several dogs, a small herd of goats, one obnoxious alpaca, two mini-horses, and a few cows. This morning Emily went on a long hike with Robert, and the rest of us including two new guests, Dale and Josh (who replaced Donna and Megan who left yesterday) got into the arena with wranglers Nancy and Lee for "team penning" in which mediocre riders (with the exception of Kim and Bonnie who are experienced horse-women) try and corner a few cows into a pen... just to see if they can. The teams were Kim, Bonnie, and me, against Nancy, Dale, and Josh. The other team went first and the cows pretty much scattered and ran rings around them, although they did finally manage to coerce a few into the pen. When it was our turn, due mostly I'm sure to Kim and Bonnie's confident riding and me being on a horse that knew what it was doing to a far greater extent than I did, we managed to pen the cows pretty easily. Fortunately for the other team, this was more of an exhibition, not a competition, and there was no wagering.
After lunch, I took another riding lesson with Nancy and while the idea of riding like the wind is a great idea, I think I've determined that it's probably going to remain just that and no more.
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This photo, taken by Nancy during my lesson, makes me look far more proficient on horseback
than the reality of the situation. |
