50....

Fifty is also one of the WL schoolies (I expect most if not all the horses I ride preparing for Atlanta will be). My lesson on 50 was in a semi-private lesson with Deanna riding Smudge (Deanna owns Joker's brother Bob). Fifty is a bit of a rough ride when he trots, a lot like driving a car with no shocks down the rumble strips.He is also a bit of a grumpy guy.  Fifty was not a horse I would call fun to ride, and not one I am in a hurry to get on again, but he taught me A LOT.

Lessons from 50:

1) Take 5 minutes before you get on a new horse to ask someone what the horse's buttons and quirks are. I didn't do this and paid for it for 1/2 my lesson. Fifty as I mentioned is kind of a grump old man, he doesn't actually seem to enjoy being a horse. And when you ask for the trot he pins his ears back and drops his head to avoid the bit. Now in my learning about horses these are two bad signs that on another horse would be warning signs that you were about to be launched off the horse. So I spent quite some time tense waiting to see if I was in trouble. Only after about 30 minutes of him doing this every time I asked for the trot did I learn, nope, that is just 50. I could have saved myself a lot of stress and worry had I bothered to learn this before I mounted.

2) I have a long way to improve my seat, but sometimes it can be the horse too. I have heard people talk about horses that are hard to sit the trot on, I had just never experienced it. Fifty is one of those horses. I was grateful to have all my major organs after the ride and now really get that statement.