First ride

A young friend rode Monte for the first time today. I was very nervous about how he would react to someone new, but I really shouldn't have worried.  He was a perfect little gentleman, remaining calm and lovely throughout her ride.

Thinking back to when we first purchased Monte, I really had no reason to think he'd misbehave.  When Emily began riding him she was very timid and had limited skills but he took care of her none-the-less.  As her skills improved, he became more challenging, which in turn helped her become an even better rider.  So it seems that he is capable of understanding when he needs to be more of a babysitter and when he can be the more wild pony.  :)

The other thing I had to remind myself about was that most of his wild moments occur when he is in pain or terribly frightened.  In fact, I can't really remember a bucking incident that we didn't later trace back to him being in some sort of pain (usually related to poor saddle fit).

I'll have to make sure I tell our young friend all of this....I really would be pleased if they decided to keep him and love on him as much as we have.  I'm convinced that she would be a wonderful owner for our wonder pony.  :)