Riding with Elaine

For the past few weeks I've had the super good fortune to learn to ride with my friend Elaine. We connected at the Bank Bar over our shared love for horses and she offered to teach me the basics. Elaine and her husband Frank live just a few miles away from us and have five equines - two quarterhorses and three mules - that she trains and rides. She performs with the Bozeman Saddle-ites, an all-female drill team, with her horse Blueberry. We saw them perform in August at the Wilsall Rodeo - amazing!

Once a week I go over to her place and we catch the horses - primarily Blueberry because she's excellently trained and calm but also Snoopy - and head over to Elaine's indoor riding arena (more amazing-ness!). We groom and saddle them and then practice. We start with groundwork exercises - that's getting the horses to move their feet while you're standing next to them using the lead rope connected to the halter. Then we do some basic riding drills - and I mean basic because I'm a total rookie. Elaine is a great coach and patient teacher. She wants me to have strong foundations so we really focus on the basics.

After we finish - which is always unwillingly but when our toes are totally frozen (riding in Montana in December is not for the faint of heart) - we take them back to the pen and muck the stalls and pens.

Elaine says that having me come by to ride gives her a good opportunity to get out and ride - it turns out, riding in an arena by yourself can be pretty boring. (It's funny how it seems like all the romantic ideas of having horses - and an arena! - lose their luster when reality sets in.)

I am so fortunate to have met Elaine and Frank!