1st Riding Lesson

So, anyone who has met Maya for more than a minute knows she LOVES horses. She's been asking to learn how to really ride a horse for a couple of years. When I first called around I was told she needed to be at least 5 years old. So we waited. When she got close to 5 I called around again and because the places you can learn to ride in our area are not abundant, I was told she needed to be at least 6 years old. The place that had told me 5 had moved way far out of town-farther than I was willing to drive. So we waited. I started calling around again two weeks ago. At first I was told that the instructor really thought 7 years old was a good age to start, but that we could come watch a lesson and Maya could give it a try and then she would see if she thought Maya could start lessons. These pictures are from that lesson. She did so well that she was able to start lessons!!!!! Maya is beyond thrilled. I have already seen such a boost in her confidence and level of responsibility in only two weeks. She is the littlest one out there and today (which of course I don't have pictures of) she was on the biggest horse. In today's lesson Maya controlled her horse the whole lesson. She told him where to go for an entire hour. She is awesome! I think she's found her "thing".

Maya has something for horses that I really can't explain. When we watch a race she always picks the winner. Today was no different. She picked number 8 "Mine That Bird" to win. A long shot to say the least. The odds were 50 to 1-and she was right! Now too bad we didn't have any money riding on that race. I love that she really knows herself and trusts her intuition in so many areas. She is always right about so many random things that I can only attribute it to God watching over her as she asks Him to.