Boot Camp: Ride #5 (5 miles, muddy hills)

It seems to silly to be so excited over a 5 mile ride at pleasure pace.  But I am ridiculously happy!  My daughter joined us this evening for a pleasure ride, our first ride since she got her with another horse, her first time out back in the steep muddy hills, her first time separating from her companion horses, and first time having a horse leave her on trail to go the opposite direction (at least since she has lived here, and that is her sticky issue).  I wish you could see my BIG SMILING FACE.  She was great.  She has yet to spook at anything.  She crossed a flowing creek by traversing the edge, she balanced nicely and went down hills very sensibly, none of the silly rushing of most young horses, she went over a very big log for a little horse to step over, again, calmly.  I told my daughter that we would separate on a fork in the trail.  The right fork heads to her house, the left leads to mine.  I put Journey in front (cheating just a little this first time), cued her up into a trot and pointed her for home.  It took a moment for it to soak in that the other horse was no longer with us.  She "thought" about it.  I could tell because she called out and tipped her nose back a little.  I said "aaaaa" (sorry, how do you spell a sound?), anyway, that was the end of it and ears tipped forward home we went.  She is making astounding progress in her new environment.  She gave me no grief leaving the place either with our other two horses screaming their heads off.  Hoping to progress to a ride at one of the parks next weekend if it will just quit pouring the rain. ~E.G.