Well yesterday was a wonderful day. We got up early, got all of our hay unloaded and all the ponies in the pastures with new hay bales. Caught Pacino and Doolittle and brought them in, got Pacino situated in his new pasture. Doolittle will go home to Jazz's tonight when she gets out of school:)
The Young Dakota Riders were chomping at the bit to ride:) By the time we got back they were all outside patiently waiting with their saddles. We have a new addition to our group, Sammy Jo, and this was her first big ride out and she was quite excited.
Caught all the ponies, got all tacked up, and off we went. There was 9 of us in the group, quite a site headed down the trail through the trees. One couple stood at their patio window and waved as we went by.
Don made sure to give Sammy Jo plenty of instruction, but it wasn't really necessary as the other kids took over and talked her through any trouble she seemed to have. I got to giggling listening to all of them explaining to Sammy Jo how do ride, how to hold the reins, how to steer, what to do, how to sit up right. Then of course Jazzmine had to pipe in and say, "You don't worry Sammy Jo, we will help you out whenever you need it and if you have any question just ask. Because remember we are the Young Dakota Riders and work together as a team."
The kids are sure learning to work together, learning good behavior and good habits and we are very proud of them.
The ride was great, weather got a little chilly towards the end, but there were no complaints within the group.
It was a shorter ride as we didn't want Sammy Jo to get too sore:) I know how sore you can be if you are out of shape and not ready for a long ride.
Came home later in the afternoon around 3.
Now was time for the big surprise.
Took Sammy Jo out to one of our pastures, and gave her the good news. She got to meet her new Spanish Mustang, One-Eyed Jack, aka Jackson. He was a git from us to her. You see Sammy Jo has type 1 diabetes, very severe. She has to wear an insulin pump at all times and check her blood sugar at least 10 time a day. Her mother told us most groups don't want to involve Sammy Jo because she is sick and they don't want to be responsible for her or her diabetes. And all she really wants is for her daughter to have a normal life(now I don't know how normal we all are:) That is why her riding and participating with us is so important to her. This gives Sammy Jo a chance to be a normal kid without anyone judging her by her sickness.
And this is why we chose Jackson for her, but he is a whole different story within himself(stayed tuned for a later date for that:). He is a special boy who needed a special person, and Sammy Jo is that person.
Jackson is turning two this year, Sammy Jo will spend the year learning how to ride and such, and then next spring Jackson and her will start training together. Keep watching the newest Young Dakota Rider.
Like I said the ride was great, we all had a wonderful time together.
The group was Don on Ginger, Terri on Charlie, Ruth on Fox, Sondra on Cenisa, Makayla on Houdini, Jazzmine on Maggie, Sammy Jo on Ribbon, Skylar on Valentine and Trystan on Domino.
We are very proud of our kids but equally proud of the horses for taking such good care of their precious cargo.
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