I must admit that I was not looking forward to classes starting. The idea of sitting in a classroom listening to a professor lecture for at least an hour, two or three times a day, just was not something I was excited about. I was however, anxiously waiting for pony classes to start. I hardly rode all summer and I could not wait to get back in a saddle. Unfortunately, the first day of class had to be spent going over the class syllabus, and since I was riding on the team this year, the team contract. It was only a couple of days later though until I was back at the barn getting my horse ready to ride.

            Since the horses had spent the last couple of months at summer pasture it was very important for us to inspect the horses to make sure that they did not have any cuts or bumps that could affect their performance under saddle or that could worsen if rode; as is the case most years there were a few horses that needed a few more days to heal before they could be ridden. As we were grooming and getting horses ready for class we discovered a couple more who had apparently gotten a little rowdy in the pasture and scraped themselves up a bit. So it was necessary for us to sift around some horse assignments so that everyone had a horse to ride, but we eventually made it to the riding arena.

            I was so excited to finally be getting to ride again, or at least I was until I had been on the horse for ten minuets. I quickly realized just how out of shape you can get after not riding for only two months. We had barely finished our warm up and my legs were already aching, my position was slipping, and I could forget about posting without my stirrups.

            The next day was my western riding day and things did not improve. I am more accustomed to riding hunt seat, so not only was I sore from riding the day before and out of practice, but I had to get used to riding in a western saddle. By the time I dismounted at the end of class I was about ready to say forget this and go back to just riding for fun and not be on the team. I felt that I had ridden terribly in class and I was so sore I would hardly be able to walk the next day. How would I be able to get on a horse and ride?! But I gave it an attempt anyway and to my surprise not only was I able to ride, but I rode better than the two days before and  felt better when I was through than when I had started. I was still sore, but I realized that some things take a little time to get used to again. I managed to ride four days in a row, and I am slowly making improvements. It will still be another couple of weeks until I get to where I left off at the beginning of the summer, but how does the saying go: "Rome wasn't built in a day."