Friday morning: 10 riders in a small arena were already enough to get our heart rates up, and there wasn't even a cow in the mix yet. Brent immediately made everyone feel at ease, and he had us started on exercises to obtain a softer feel. We worked on leg yields, shoulder ins, rein back with the lightest aids possible "How little does it take?". Even with 10 riders going Brent noticed right away that Remy's reinback was neither straight nor smooth, so he helped us and it made a huge difference.
Once everyone was soft and chill (relatively speaking) we moved outdoors and met our 10 bovine partners for the weekend. I was glad to see the cattle shining with good health, and they sure were a spunky crowd.
Brent introduced is to "rodear" (I had to asked how this is spelled, turns out it's a Spanish word pronounced in English as "rodeer"). Rodear means "to surround", "to round up cattle". So we practiced to "rodeer" the cattle with the horses. Brent then had individual riders surround the herd while the group kept the cattle together. It was a perfect exercise for claustrophobic Remy: Cows on the left, horses on the right. Brent helped us addressing Remy's issue by asking the other riders to back up a step when Remy went by them, thus giving him more confidence (in that he thought they moved due to his authority).
Fazit (conclusion) after the first day's three hour session: Success! Remy and I were still standing - and so was the cattle. And in true American fashion I now pronounce Spanish words in English.
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