Cold schmold

Today was the best ride in ages. It was also the first time in a long time I have actually ridden two weeks in a row. It felt so good even though it had snowed this morning and was cold.

I was usually alone, with no helping hands, which always feels cool. It's a short video, but look at me! No wobbling, well not a lot, and I am sitting pretty straight.

Dada had a necklace thing for Louie to wear that I could hold onto if I needed. It was a little far from my hands, though, so she ran a strip of leather through holes in it and in the saddle, so I had a nice square loop to hold for extra security.

I needed it.

Dada says that I use my arms to balance in my wheelchair life, but I really need to use my back and butt. We worked hard on me sitting up straight. She even threatened me with a whip ... which she said she would weave in front of my arms and behind my back to force me to sit straight.

I tried. My balance is not good. Twice I really needed Louie's necklace to keep from falling. The necklace made me much more confident, though.

I think I was getting back in some rhythm for riding circles. A few of them were actually circular. I just hope I can improve. My big fear is that when I do something right, it is kind of luck and I may not be able to do it again despite all the practice in the world.

But it felt so good to ride sitting up straight. And even though it was cold, I looked darn good.

Plus, my friend Lynne donated some money to Spirit. We may use some of it to enter a dressage competition this summer in Leesburg. There was one in a few weeks, but we couldn't get all the paperwork in in time.