Second Thoughts...

It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall. ~Mexican Proverb

And how true that statement.

I returned to Southern Cross Guest Ranch (www.southcross) the following week, thinking I will try to do more with my potential candidates - groom them, tack them up, move them out a little more, attempt to go over something small. Jess had already jumped them over a tiny vertical rail the other day so I wasn't all that hesitant about trying, although I had been warned that neither horse had been jumped "maybe 2-3 times before this." Eh, what the hell! Give it a shot!

Besides not being able to put the bridle on Cards (she wasn't on cross ties, she kept backing up...), grooming and tacking proved to be uneventful. Richard decided Valentine was a "prettier horse," I think because of her very muscular conformation.

I got on Cards first - she was my first choice after all.

Walk, trot, canter - it was all beautiful. Smooth gaits, canter like a rocking horse...I'd forgotten how good it can feel when you actually sit the canter (Sorry, Biscuit). So, I thought, let's try the little vertical rail - literally a foot above the ground.

Yeah, not quite.

Cards refused the rail, which wasn't a huge problem. The problem was her gut instinct, visceral reaction to whatever she didn't like about that whole situation - she went into a bucking frenzy. 1, 2, 3 bucks, and I was off her back and on the ground. Thanks to the 5 layers of clothing I was wearing that day (it was 30 degrees), I landed with a hefty "poof!" and got up unscathed.

Watch Jeri be bucked off!

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=OLjZaHNy5DM&feature=related

Valentine had issues at the beginning. She was spooking at something in the round pen outside (blue tarp? scary monsters?) and it took me a while to get her to even walk the other end of the ring. I must have been rather aggressive (I thought I was just being assertive) as I was warned that "she gets worse if you get in her mouth and kick her." Meh, not quite for me. I need a horse that I can kick and yank and can take it all! Valentine did go over the rail very smoothly and willingly, which gave her a big fat + on my list.

But in the end, I left Southern Cross with second thoughts. Maybe this isn't quite it. Do I need to keep looking for "the One?"