Now I'm Really in Trouble!!!!

So, my experienced friend and I went to try the paint gelding again last night.

He was a very good boy, despite being taunted by a herd of yearlings (on the other side of a fence) and practically being devoured by mosquitoes!

The owner/trainer rode him, then my friend rode him and finally I got on. I had a really good ride, wak, trot, canter without any problems. The canter was the key for me - my friend and I agreed ahead of time that if I was too nervous to canter or if his canter was too wild, then we would know for sure that he wasn't the right horse. I was able to get a nice smooth rocking-horse canter from this guy! It wasn't a slow western lope, but it was a nice calm canter. I was pretty excited. I've been having confidence problems while cantering and as a result haven't cantered much while riding since last summer.

So, the owner offered me a two week off-property trial just to make sure he was a good fit. Apparently he rarely lets people do that, so that is encouraging. I think he can tell that I'm really looking for a steady horse and if he lets me take him for 2 weeks I'll probably end up buying him - as long as he is steady on the trails.

After running it by the hubby, we agreed that a 2 week no-risk trial was a great situation for us. I'm going to call the trainer today and work out a time to have him brought over to my current barn. The trainer is away for the weekend, but maybe he will have time on Monday!

I had a girl at my barn try out my current gelding - she is a fearless junior rider. After 15 minutes she had Jackson bending and putting his head down. He could have done well in a HUS class with the way she had him going! She was even able to canter him on a loose rein, which no one else has been able to do! Sooo - best case scenario is that she convinces her parents to buy him, worst case scenario she leases him for a year and covers my expenses. I could try and re-sell him next year, with a year of good solid riding under his belt... Here's hoping that works out!!

All of the above combined with the fact that the weather here has been gorgeous, has me in a pretty good mood for the weekend coming up! :-)