One Step Closer

My training regime on Winston continued in the same way but it was the only thing that was the same.  I think I instinctively knew from the first moment I sat on Prico that he was the next step.  He would be able to get me closer to my dressage dream.

I was torn.  What could I do?  I was convinced that if I told Adam and Matt how I felt they would think I was stupid and would be cross because of all the time and effort they had put in to helping me with Winnie.  I talked it through with another client who encouraged me to talk to them.

I set up a meeting with both of them and was very apprehensive about what I had to say.  I was even more shocked at their response.  Adam told me that Winnie was just a horse.  A very nice horse but still just a horse.  It was what I wanted that was important and they completely understood how I was feeling.  They said that my riding had changed so much since I had first come to them for help and they understood my desire to move on. Phew!!!!!

Adam said he would talk to Prico's owner and see if he could make things work for all of us.  He though it would be very difficult to find another Prico as a lot of schoolmasters come with hang ups.  Adam had known Prico since he was a 4 year old.  Matt rode and competed him as a 6/7 year old and when he was sold to his current owner she continued to have lessons with both of them.  Basically, they had known Prico most of his life.  They knew what he could and couldn't and would and wouldn't do!

What followeed was a tense few days of negotiations.  I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to have several lessons on Prico to make sure he was right for me.  I also continued to ride Winston and in the last lesson I had on him Adam told me he had gone the best he'd ever seen him go.  This made me feel better about giving up on him.  As though at least I'd seen it through without throwing the towel in completely when things felt pretty dire.

The eventual outcome was that I bought Prico, Winston was sold to another regular client and Prico's old Mummy was free to search for her next superstar.  So I found myself with a horse that could do all the Prix St Georges movements and I was a rider who could do a bit of leg yield and shoulder in!