Where I Recruit a Friend

Guess what? Not only did I win a contest(!!), I also have a few riding pictures(!!!). It's a banner day. I got a friend to come out with me to take some pictures this morning.

We tried the saddle on again. I still like how it sits on her and I'm getting used to it not being as pretty as my other one, that I guess now I have to sell. :-(

We're in the round pen again to take advantage of the super soft footing. Izzy is about as quiet and unbothered as can be.

She's really stretching down nicely while staying forward. It's quite relaxing to ride.
I'm trying not to do too much with her. I just want a little rhythm and regularity.
Nice trot on a loose rein. I didn't want to pick up too much contact because I want her totally free to express her opinions, both about the saddle and about how her leg is feeling. She looked almost totally sound today.
Change of direction... what a pretty pony.
Happy left lead canter.
The only time I even picked up the reins. Nice, balanced right lead canter. It felt really good.
I know, there's lots of walking pictures. Two reasons: 1) We're doing a lot of walking to keep anything from getting worse. 2) She's just so pretty that I'm putting a lot of them up.

See? Pretty. I'm not too worried about my riding. Yeah, it isn't fabulous in this series, but we're focused on happy and easy instead of competitive right now.
And we're done. Isn't she a good looking horse? Feel free to say nice things about her. ;-)