Dingo's lesson with Ron

Dingo is a little 13.2hh chestnut pony.  He is reasonably stocky, and hence my 169cm frame looks surprisingly fitting on him - until you see how far my legs hang down.  Over the years I have had numerous judges come up to me and ask me about his exact height, while they marvelled how "good" I looked on him (meaning - I didn't look too big).

Nevertheless, his potential as either a serious dressage, or showjumping, or eventing horse appears rather limiting at first sight.  And it might well be limiting.  That's not the point.  Dingo, while he has no buck or pigroot or rear in him, is quite a tricky little pony to ride, and he is here to teach me lessons.  I don't say that lightly.  When I was at a spiritual retreat (following my cancer diagnosis) I had a vision of training a chestnut pony with a blaze and a white sock.  Six months later, Dingo came into my life.  It's not a coincidence.

However, when I bring Dingo into a lesson with a new instructor, I get this very strong feeling that the instructor thinks "Really?  Come on, bring your real horse." or "Why are you riding such a small pony?".  The instructor goes ahead with the lesson, but I really get the feeling that there is not much they can do with Dingo.  He is tricky.  The contrast is when I bring Lil for a lesson with the same instructor - the instructor appears to take the lesson much more seriously, and teaches me in a manner that is aimed to get me somewhere.  (I will add that some instructors have really put in a great effort trying to teach me on Dingo, but that feeling that he is not my real horse always remains.)

Having been jaded many times in this way, I was scared to bring Dingo to a Ron Patterson lesson.  I take Ron very seriously, and I didn't want him to think that I was an idiot by bringing Dingo to a lesson.  My intuition was screaming at me to take Dingo to Ron for years, but my fear of what Ron might think held me back.  Read that again ... my fear of what someone else might think prevented me from following my intuition.  Stupid!

Finally, I bit the bullet though and took Dingo to a lesson with Ron.  I figured that I have had enough lessons with Ron now, that even if I did bring Dingo to a lesson, Ron would see the value of learning on yet another horse.  Plus, to be honest, I was at wicks end with Dingo.  I *know* that he is a brilliant pony, but my recent dressage and showjumping results leave a lot to be desired.

I rode into the lesson immediately clarifying my position - "Hi Ron, this is Dingo, I know he is small, but he really is very capable.  But he is tricky, and I need your help to figure him out."  Ron looked at him and didn't bat an eyelid - "Ah, a little pocket rocket?  Ok, walk on."

Ron straight away treated Dingo like any other horse - no matter his size or potential.  And within 10 minutes I had Dingo going like a regular dressage pony, with rhythm and relaxation matching that of Echo.  I got the most marvellous canters - on a long rein!!!  But there was an even better edge to this.  Ron suddenly got to see how much I had retained from all my lessons - that everything Ron had taught me was now becoming a habit.  That I have a "Ron toolbox" in my riding skillset and that I am immediately able to transfer it from horse to horse.  Ron suddenly saw that I have actually learnt something from him - and for an instructor, that is one of the most inspiring things in a student.  Win-win!