Re: [RC] Was Question about fear; Now Spooking - Dyane Smith
Doesn't get better than that.
Clearly Zayante never threw himself off a cliff during any of his
spooks. Barbara, what do you attribute that to? Were his spooks
sideways jumps or spins or... I always felt my older horse would never
kill himself and if I stayed on, he wouldn't kill me either. Do you think
Zayante's spooks were play and under his control?
Subject: Re: [RC] Was Question about
fear; Now Spooking
Well, yes, I rode Zayante on the Tevis Cup Ride three
times. It was "interesting" - I came off just once, when a dog with the
photographers on top of Cougar Rock startled him. He is a very strong
and energetic horse so fatigue didn't take the spooks out of him.
That said, one of the greatest riding joys of my life was
when I rode him from Francisco's to the finish, alone, on the Tevis. (As
Maryanne would say, I wasn't alone, I was with Zay.) A gorgeous moonlit
night, a beautiful strong white horse, and a buckle awaiting at the end.
I was riding the Pegasus of my dreams.
Subject: [RC] Was Question about fear;
Now Spooking
Isn't Zayante a famous spooker with some age on him? I notice
they mostly ride him in the desert. Keeping Barbara's comments about
not wanting to spook 12' sideways and 100' down (that would be a deal
breaker for me, too), I wonder if anyone has ridden Zayante on narrow,
twisty, high mountain trails with mountain lions and bear to spook at?
