You said, "Riding Spirit is like going somewhere with one of your spontaneous
childhood friends who finds something fascinating to experience every
step of the way."
What a great description...! One of the things to remember when he gets into a faster trot and it seems a bit rough..look where his head is....if it is straight up in the air, likely his back is inverted and his rear end is no longer engaged...I call it "falling apart"..slow him down about 10-20%, get him to collect a bit, then extend him back out..he will eventually learn to relax at the faster trot, and then the real fun begins!
Fellow knows where on our regular rides he gets to "open up" for some speed work..it is the long flat section at about 90 miles on the Tevis trail. The footing is good, the trail is flat and wide, and you can see way ahead of you. He loves that section and really flies! Hopefully we will make it there on the Tevis ride one year and he will be very happy..I likely will not be able to see for the tears, but if I only hang on, we will be fine..
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
