I am writing this entry on November 11th. Hailee has still only been gone less than a week, but it's been a really tiring time. She was getting ready to leave. I travelled for a conference. I'm dealing with the big end-of-semester rush. So, I gave Renny his first full week off from work since he first learned how to be ridden. And you can bet that on Tuesday, two days ago, I was nervous about riding him. But I shouldn't have been because he's amazing!! He was mellow and quiet and thoughtful. He never shied or acted strange or goosey. He just gave me a quiet walk, trot, canter. And his canter is so smooth and wonderful. And he doesn't fret about ground poles or jumps or any other big old obstacles, including people. He's just the king of mellow.
So, last night, I rode him in a lesson with Cheri and Baker, his first full hour lesson with me since he started the lesson program. And he was great! He just kept on going and never was nervous or surprised. Baker rode Parker right up behind and practically onto Renny and Renny didn't even budge. The cat came jetting around and he didn't even look. And he was very happy to sidepass for me and canter and go over this pattern of groundpoles. At the end of the lesson, he was breathing fast because of all of his hard work, but he did a great job! I am proud of him and gave him the little nickname -- my little red corvette!