Friday, October 23, 2009

NARHA Test

So in one of my last blog post I mentioned a NARHA test I was taking so that I could become a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor. Well anyway the test was last month and I passed!!! I was so nervous about it. There were two portions of the test a teaching part and a riding part. I felt confident enough about the teaching part, since I have been teaching similar lessons since March. But the riding part scared me. I never took lessons and we still learning all the basics. For the test I needed to know how to walk, trot, post trot, canter, change leads, change diagonals, transitions ect. All these moves had to be done in a specific pattern. I know that might not seem like much but for some one that just started learning to canter 3 weeks before the test it's a bit intimidating. As well as being nervous about just riding the pattern, I was riding some where I have never ridden, on a horse I didn't know, and at night. Anyway before the ride I was nervous, but as soon as I was in the arena I was calm and only thought about the pattern. It all went so well, thanks to the help of Bob the horse I was assigned and the ladies from my work there to cheer me on. Terra, my boss, spent hours with me the months before preparing me to take the test. I couldn't have done it without her. She's amazing and I am so grateful for her help. Here are some pictures from that day: