I was able to guide Mandy in loading and unloading her horse, tying him to the trailer, brushing and tacking him up. She was interacting with him incredibly well and I couldn't have been prouder!



We headed to the arena where I worked closely with Mandy and B, showing her how to lunge him on a lunge rope, without being inside the round pen. B listened perfectly and responded immediately to Mandy's requests. I was starting to relax, feeling like this was a perfect match!



I had Mandy work with B on the ground quite a bit longer than usual, partly because I was also working with Tawny and Sydney, but also because I wanted to see how they would continue to work with each other if I wasn't there to help alleviate any frustrations they might encounter.
It seemed like they were doing well, so after about 20 minutes, I felt they were both at a good place for Mandy to mount up and ride around the arena. As they rode around, I couldn't help but stand back and grin, feeling proud of myself as a trainer and a matchmaker between horse and human.
Then the frustrations came... The reins I had on the bridle for B were too short for his long neck. Mandy was asking him to move forward, while barely holding up the reins, which was causing B to be confused. He is very sensitive to the slightest pressure on his mouth, so even though she wasn't pulling back, the pressure was there, which caused B not to move forward. Since I was busy working with Tawny and Sydney, I wasn't able to easily stop and fix the problem. So my resolution was to tell Mandy to keep her hands as low as possible, keeping as much slack in the reins as possible.



This worked for a short while, but I could tell that Mandy was getting frustrated. At one point, she suggested she should just get off because B wasn't acting right. I took that as a sign that I needed to fix her reins so that she could enjoy her ride.
I took a lead rope and attached to his bit, giving her reins that worked much better. She rode around seeming much happier and more relaxed. By this time, I had worked with Tawny and Sydney for quite some time and felt that they were both ready to be on their own.
As Tawny and Mandy rode around the arena, I stood there taking it all in. How could we all have gotten so lucky? Just then, something spooked B, causing him to lurch forward. He didn't buck, didn't take off, just scooted forward. However, Sydney was about 10 feet in front of him, and spooked at him lurching forward and took off at a dead run across the arena. It's important to note here that neither horse was bucking, exploding or acting up. They were just running across the arena. Both Mandy and Tawny were doing a great job staying on and it looked like things were going to be fine as Sydney saw me standing there and veered towards me.
Just then, her saddle slipped, causing Tawny to go tumbling off. As soon as Mandy saw Tawny fall off, she decided to bail and jumped off of B, landing at my feet! Boy, that girl is quite an acrobat! She was surprised and shocked at having come off of B, but was unhurt. As I checked on Tawny, Mandy went and got B and brought him back. While Tawny caught her breath, I had Mandy get back on and ride B around a bit, keeping close to them.
In the end, it was a good experience for Mandy, though I was filled with self doubt. Am I making a mistake by placing B with a young girl? Is there anything I can be doing better to ensure this is a good match?
I am taking B to the Fall City arena tomorrow for a good, solid ride. I intend to put him through his paces and make sure he's doing well.