Youngest Boy's Big Day!

For a couple of months now we've been trying to get Youngest Boy on a horse. At first, I told him he had to be five years old to ride, but we amended that after I spoke to someone who often lets her younger children ride (as little as 18 months old!). Youngest Boy mainly wanted to know what color his horse would be. We finally settled on maybe brown (vs. Green - his favorite color - or purple) Well, today was the day!

When we pulled into the ranch, we saw two ponies (aka Miniature Horses) in a paddock. I assumed this is what he would get to ride. Nope.

After we got a look at all of the horses, our trainer put Youngest Boy in the stall with a small-ish horse named Tango. He had to learn how to groom and tack a horse. He's 3, so his interest was limited in this area. He wanted to A) Ride or B) Play with the horses (or maybe the farm dog, Dixie, or the plethora of kittens).

After brushing and combing Tango, we heard a horse neighing in the next stall. YB wanted to take a look at this one, too, so we did. Our trainer (who, by the way, was pretty young herself but could not have been any nicer or more competent) started telling us all about Aquilla. She was a blue roan and was originally a wild horse from North Dakota. And, by comparison, she was HUGE! Yep, you guessed it. THIS is the only one he wanted to ride. Come on, now. She was BLUE! And Bethany (our trainer) made the mistake of saying she looked purple sometimes, too! So, Aquilla it was.

And the boy is fearless! Fearless! He walked right into the stalls and hopped right up onto the horse (with help - because she was HUGE!). He helped to put the saddle blanket on but the saddle itself was just way too heavy - although he did try!
Did I mention she was HUGE? I was a little nervous to begin with, but when he picked this horse, I started praying hard...However, he sat in that saddle like he was born to ride. I'm afraid he'll be a star of a country and western song before I know it...

When we got home we showed the video to Oldest Boy and my mom. While we were watching, I asked Youngest Boy if he remembered what you had to put under the saddle before you could ride. Oldest Boy chimed in, "A HORSE!" {sigh} Out of the mouths of babes...