It’s been a week since the horses arrived, and they’re all JUST starting to return to normal. Tres has been a model citizen but has just been blah in his back. Today he felt almost like himself, and he made nice floaty trot and very nice passage. It’s amazing how much the travel takes out of them.

Midge is still an unrideable nutcase, but I keep hoping that eventually he will remember that, five years ago, he was broke to ride. Or I’ll get to the bottom of him. Eventually, right? Right?

Ella, fortunately, has been stellar. I had a lesson with Michael on Saturday, which was very fulfilling, mostly because he could tell we’d been doing our homework. We played the greatest hits—shoulder-fore feeling all the time, let her back swing in the trot and don’t be in a hurry, and find a more closed passage instead of an open, floaty, hind-legs-on-Neptune one. She was a superstar, though the hack to and from Michael’s place (MAYBE a mile) was quite an adventure. Hacking is not Ella’s favorite thing.

I can tell she’s still adjusting to Florida life, though, because even when I gave her Sunday off after getting an opportunity to ride with Anne Gribbons in a USEF Observation Session Monday, she didn’t have much to offer Anne. She was her nutty self in the hack over to McPhail’s (about a mile in the other direction from Michael’s), but the sessions were running almost 45 minutes late, so even though we just walked and stood around, by the time we got in there I put my leg on, and Ella said, “Who, me? Sorry, I got nothin’ for ya.”

She did make some good work, and Anne—who I’ve never cliniced with—figured Ella out in about two seconds and was all over me. SHORTEN YOUR REINS. LEG AT THE GIRTH. You know, stuff I’ve only been working on since I was, oh, 12. Whoops. But the session was very positive, and the best part of it all was getting Anne’s thoughts on what my plan for the year should be.

I still don’t exactly have an answer, but it was pretty darn great to say, “Hey there, team coach. I’m 26, this horse is 10, and we make everything for the Grand Prix. Nice ta meetcha!”

And a great way to start the week? Ella making nice, quiet, enthusiastic piaffe, and Anne exclaiming, “I love this horse!” Hoorah!

Poor Ella was pretty snookered today, so we just walk-trot-cantered around, but I kept thinking about the stuff Anne and Michael both had me work on—shoulder-fore, thinking about making her bigger without making her quicker—and even though she was tired, she made a really good effort. And not having to hack to the ring helped things a lot!

So I’ll have another lesson on her this week and keep plugging away at the other two. Boys. They’re trouble.