We went as a guided party on an hour's ride. It went well. We went up and down steep inclines that would have given me pause had I been walking. We learned to lean back going down and lean forward going up. We went through streams that looked kind of deep to me.<br><br>It was very humid out and drizzled a bit. I took my daily kit along and, as per advice from Chris, wore my baseball cap and my Land's End fall field coat with a sturdy T-shirt underneath.<br><br>I learned how to cushion my backside when the horses might kind of "run" a bit. My backside did develop a nice bruise, though. Today the bruise, a lovely purple color, resides on either side of the bottom of my tailbone. It hurts, but it was worth it.<br><br>My sister even glanced back once in a while to make sure I hadn't "fallen off," as she put it. I admit I'm clumsy, but I'm not that clumsy.<br><br>The only part that didn't go well was when I tried to dismount. When I was technically off my horse, Velcro (a retired police horse of whom I was fond immediately), the foot that was left in the stirrup wouldn't come out!<br><br>I was giving my leg the command to, well, you know, rise up so I could get my foot out, but my leg simply wasn't going up any higher without manual help. I had to continue holding the pommel with my left hand while disengaging my left foot with my right hand. Then I was fine.<br><br>I was afraid I had upset the horse, but he was calm, quiet, and unperturbed. I thanked him for a enjoyable ride (yes, I thanked him) and then we finally remembered to get our picture taken.<br><br>I saw some English saddles there. They don't have any pommels. How the devil do riders stay mounted without a pommel to hold onto?

Craig,<br>Here in England we ride with.. yes you guessed it english saddles and they do some weird stuff here e.g. putting the stirrups high with the knees forward and try to get support that way.<br>Well what I always been taught is:<br>Make your stirrups long but that you can still stand in them. Having them long makes you sit better in the saddle, more grip.<br>As with Western riding you put the weight into your heels and you bent your toes inwards. This does two things, pressing the knees against the saddle, giving more grip. Secondly bending your hells away from the horse which is far more comfortable for the horse and rider. Esspecially if you wear stirrups, you stop having the contact with your heels against their bellies. You see an awlful lot of people riding here with their heels wobbeling against the horse his/her belly. Not good. But when looking at the Royal riders even though they ride english they bent their heels away from the horse!<br>Reinhardt

Craig:<br><br>Your comment about getting out of the stirrup reminded me of my one and only time on a horse. In my case the problem was getting into the stirrup.<br><br>It was during my honeymoon in the Poconos. We went to one of the many horse farms in that area that offer rides. We arrived as a tour was about to begin so the majority of riders were already mounted. To my horror they brought out the largest, tallest horse I have ever seen. The attendant brought this brute over to me and instructed me to put my foot in the stirrup and swing myself up. This was pretty funny to me as I am only 5'6" (scottish genes) and the stirrup was level with my sternum. They had to bring us both over to the fence so I could climb up!<br><br>It was pretty fun after that. Maybe I'll try it again.<br><br><br>Chris

Craig,<br>I forgot to mention one thing.Instead of using a pommel we have something called a neck stap. Which is as you might have guessed a strap around the horse his/her neck where you can hold onto. We also lean to hold onto the main if neccesairy.<br>Reinhardt