Bonding with Aries before my lesson.

In case you missed it, last week I began the story of my experience as an Arabian Nights Performer for a Day. This week, the saga continues.

Melody, Michael, and Csaba give me advice.

Aries is no exception. Although you’d think he’d be used to it by now, he still likes to turn his head and “watch” performers land on his back. Part of it, Michael thinks, is that Aries seems to feel things more sensitively on his back than other draught horses, and for this reason he wears an extra-thick pad when he’s performing. Because the pad cushions him so much, he can no longer acutely feel what the performers are doing, so now he likes to turn his head and check out the action, as if to make sure that whoever’s on his back knows what they’re doing. This turning movement causes unexpected variations in Aries’ gait, meaning more performers have become unbalanced on – or even fallen off of – Aries than any other horse currently in show. So basically, they put me on the hardest horse in the herd.

Blogger Overboard!

Once Michael had demonstrated how to fasten Aries’ tack and pad, he let me give it a try. Next, we headed back out in the arena where we put on my “tack:” the mechanic. The mechanic is a harness that is attached to a pulley system from the ceiling. It ensured that when I fell off the horse (and I did, many times), I didn’t just hit the arena floor. Instead, I swung from the ceiling like a piñata. This is the part where I thank Michael for being my “muscle,” providing counterweight, and making sure I never actually hit the dirt.

I only look proud of myself here because Aries is barely moving.

Michael and Melody decided to teach me a few basic skills that everyone who does the Gypsy act needs to know. The first of these was to stand up on my knees. Next, I was supposed kneel on one knee, with my other leg extended far behind me (and then switch midair). Then I was supposed to do an upward-facing dog off Aries’ back, raising one leg. Finally, I was going to stand all the way up, and hold the reins in one hand.

Standing up!

Not surprisingly, years of yoga meant that all of these things were well within my comfort zone – while Aries was standing still. However, it wouldn’t be a very exciting show if everyone did these moves while the horses just stood around, so I practiced doing them at a walk, a trot, and finally a canter. I did manage to accomplish each move at each gait – but not without difficulty. The walk, clearly, was the easiest, but I felt like the canter was easier than the trot. I bounced so much during Aries’ trot that I was only able to stay on his back maybe half the time. That mechanic is worth my weight in gold.

Ta-da!

I’m not a big fan of cliches, like “a picture speaks a thousand words,” but in this case, there’s no point in trying to describe how I did when I can just show you. Click the thumbnails for larger images of my spectacular acrobatic performance.

Csaba just looks embarrassed for me here.

A big thanks to Csaba (our Performance Director and the star of the show) and his wife Trisha(our Stage Manager and Photographer) who took time out of their fourth wedding anniversary to participate in and document my experience. Please note Trisha’s skill in capturing my “crazy eyes” and rictus grin – that was pretty much the only facial expression I could muster after an hour of flopping off Aries like a particularly ungainly sack of flour.

My only other horse experience, circa 1997. I lasted less than 5 minutes before someone else literally took the reins!

When it came to the attention of Arabian’s Nights management that their new blogger had never really ridden a horse on her own before, steps were taken to remedy that. While touring the barn with Mark, he announced that, in order to gain a better understanding of horses and riding, I’d be doing the performer for a day experience.  I was thrilled! Then terrified! Then thrilled again! When I told my husband about it later, he laughed, and then reminded me to make sure my insurance was up to date.The fact is, although I’ve always harbored secret equestrian ambitions, my parents (rightly) decreed that no one as accident-prone as me should be allowed to take riding lessons. To discover that I was going to be able to learn how to ride at Arabian Nights was the realization of a long-cherished wish, and I wasn’t going to let a little cautious ribbing from the friends and family members who have driven me to the ER over the years dampen my enthusiasm.

My stint as the performer for a day began with a trip down to the barn, where I found myself in the capable hands of Melody McCray. Melody and her family have been working at Arabian Nights for two decades, and having watched Melody perform the challenging Native Act in the show, I was eager to benefit from her years of expertise.

Melody demonstrates how to bridle Lucky.

Most performers for a day (let’s call them PFDs) begin with an extensive barn tour. Since I’d already been through the barn several times, Melody kept our tour on the shorter side. Instead, we spent more time getting to know the two horses I’d be riding. The first was Lucky, one of the gentlest mares in the herd. Pure white, sweet tempered, and extremely intelligent, Lucky plays the magical, mystical Unicorn in almost every show. Her gentle disposition and willing demeanor makes her the perfect horse for PFDs, who are usually are aged 8-18 (though we’ve had exceptions). Her patient nature and my utter lack of experience were a perfect fit. Lucky, who’s official name is Playland Lucky, is actually half Arabian and half Irish draught horse. She was born on Playland Farm, which runs a special breeding program, combining the best traits of both breeds. This means that Lucky, who topped the auction when she was sold to Arabian Nights, is even calmer than our already exceptionally calm Arabians.

Melody ushered me into the tack room, and asked me if I wanted to learn to ride Western or English. Since I had absolutely no idea what the difference was, I let her pick. Melody decided on English, since it’s a little more challenging for beginners. She pointed out Lucky’s tack, had me grab a saddle, and demonstrated the proper way to saddle Lucky. Then she unbuckled the whole ensemble, and it was my turn to try. It took me a few tries to get the bit into Lucky’s mouth, since she likes to stick out her tongue, and once the bit was in she seemed to be playing with it. It was kind of like when a kid pops his retainer in and out, only much cuter.

Lucky, as you'd see her performing in the show.

Lucky, Melody, and I headed into the arena, where a few performers and horses were already warming up and practicing for the show. I managed to vault myself into Lucky’s saddle in one try, and with Melody holding the lead line, my lesson began. Getting a feel for the reins was pretty simple, and Lucky – like all Arabian Nights’ horses – is trained to start and stop on voice commands, all of which made the basic walk simple. More challenging for me was the trot – as Lucky quickened her gait, I bounced around a fair bit, which I tried to counter by digging in my heels. This was a mistake, because digging in my heels only cued Lucky to trot faster. This was probably the most difficult part of the lesson for me – learning where to position my legs so that I was not giving Lucky mixed signals. After a bit of experimentation, I realized that I could draw upon my years as a yogini to hold myself in a position that was like a modified, wide-legged utkatasana. This kept me from inadvertently encouraging Lucky to go faster.

Lucky and I hanging out after my lesson.

Once I got a rhythm going with my semi-yogic riding, Melody unhooked the lead line and let me take Lucky for a ride around the arena. I had a few tense moments where I dug in my heels again, but before long I had got the knack of speeding up and slowing down. Of course, most of the credit really has to go to Lucky and her handlers. This mare is just so sweet and well trained that she made learning to ride seem easy. It’s clear that I still have a great deal to learn, but Lucky and Melody had me off to a great start.

Next week, I’ll be chronicling the second half of my PFD lessons: bareback acrobatics. Check back then for more photos too!