Something magical happened yesterday. Something that hasn’t happened in 48 days. Yes I have been counting. But before I get to that, let me catch you up on how Rio has been doing lately.

Last Saturday we had a flat lesson. Let me preface this with a little bit about myself: I may come across as an extrovert when you meet me, in fact, I play the part pretty convincingly some days. But, I am in fact an introvert at heart. When I am sick/tired etc, I no longer have the energy level to support being an extrovert. My ability to have patience also steeply declines. Patience doesn’t exactly come easy for me, it is a learned skill, so it is one of the first things to go when I am not 100%. Knowing all this about myself, you would think I would not try to ride when I am sick, much less be around other people and take a lesson.

Ya right. #Diehard equestrian right here. I obviously rode anyway.

Long story short, I was HYPER critical of my horse and my riding, and harder then necessary on Rio when things weren’t instantly perfect. The whole “take baby steps and be happy with small amount of progress” mantra that I usually try to subscribe to went right out the window. Why was his canter not perfectly balanced with a perfectly soft mouth? Why couldn’t we canter basic canter poles perfectly every time?