Last week I went to teach Sian on her stunning Welsh Section D, Floss. It’s the first time I’ve met Floss and I took a liking to her immediately (I do have a certain soft spot for Welshies!)
Sian was nine years old when I first began teaching her (it seems like such a long time ago now!) She moved to the farm with her loan pony, Tom, and we worked together to improve the trot and canter and making use of all the space in the arena.
I helped teach in a small pony club for a few years where children without ponies came for a couple of hours each Saturday morning to learn all about them; from stable care and grooming to riding and lunging. Sian joined in and rode our ponies as well as Tom and quickly became a big part of the group, showing us the expanse of knowledge she had learned in five years of riding and spending time with horses.
Unfortunately Tom grew older and eventually left us and so Sian spent more time with our ponies, particularly Basil and Peaches. They are two very different ponies; one a reliable old man with years experience, the other a young, sharp pony with barely any. But Sian took them both in her stride and altered her riding to suit each pony, using more leg on Basil and sitting quietly on Peaches, making sure to make no sudden movements.
Sian entered Basil into a few dressage competitions where she managed to win some rosettes and she even took Peaches on her showing debut in 2015. I think Peaches enjoyed showing off and strutting her stuff in the ring with Sian!
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve taught Sian as I’ve been away travelling and, wow has she grown up! Not only is she almost as tall as me now but her riding has come on tremendously. Sian has been working on getting Floss to soften and hold her shape independently on the flat as well as having lots of fun hacking, jumping and competing.
After 18 months out of the country it was great to be back out teaching and seeing how much progress Sian has made. I’m looking forward to working with her and Floss more in the coming weeks!
Sadie in the Saddle 