She went off to camp for a month in January, with a friend of mine who’s a natural horsemanship guru around here. He did a lot of ground work with her, which has greatly helped the entire process. She stands tied forever, she’ll walk up next to the mounting block (or fence, or tree stump) and stand there, I can longe her at the walk and trot (although the canter is kind of an unbalanced disaster). So now I’ve ridden her about seven or eight times. I get on and just stand around. Then I ask her to walk (straight lines are still hard) and trot a little, and then I stand there some more. So far, she’s been really good.

Saturday I had the best ride yet. I probably sat on her for a half an hour, and we trotted quite a bit. My helper was riding my old horse, Volare, at the time, so Belle had some company in the arena. Although she still has a hard time going straight, I was very impressed with how she’s figured out how to balance under my weight.

I’d been told there’s nothing quite like raising, and then starting, and then riding, a horse you’ve bred yourself. Although there are plenty of horses in the world that need homes, and I wouldn’t recommend the breeding-your-own method to just anyone, it’s one of the more personally satisfying horse adventures I’ve had in the past decade.

It also brings home an important point for me. This year I’ve struggled a great deal in the show ring. Now it occurs to me that what I really love about horses and riding isn’t winning ribbons, but rather being a part of the process of bonding and improvement. Forget the show ring; I’m enjoying just working on my own. It’s a lesson that’s taken a decade to learn.