This was my last day in Las Vegas and I had my last riding lesson with Sharon Fiato. She was recommended to me by Marc Rae, a Parelli instructor from Mazama, WA, who winters in Las Vegas. Sharon was a great instructor. We did all our work in a round pen. I did all sorts of new things, including lunging (guiding the horse from the ground), lunging at liberty (no lead), posting, and cantering. Even more special was riding Sharon's gaited horse, at running walk and at rack. That's gibberish to non-horse people - they are gaits that are alternatives to the trot, useful for crossing terrain at a good rate but without the bounce of a trot. Certain breeds do this naturally.
I think in this shot we are at a running walk, but I can't be sure. Chip doesn't look as collected as I would have visualized based on what I see from the rider's position.
Here we are backing up no hands. Chip is a very well trained horse, making this possible. My lower legs are a bit forward on his sides and applying pressure.
This is cantering, no-hands. I hadn't cantered before these lessons, so it was great fun for me, after the first few attempts, that is. I have a long way to go. This is not trick riding, rather, I was too tight on the reins so we needed to take the pressure off the horse's mouth and get me better positioned and moving with the horse's movement.
This was my best entertainment and fun while I was in Vegas.
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