Zumba for Black Beauty!! Video time... Er yay?

Did I promise the good the bad and the ugly? Yes, well yes I did.

So I set up the new camera in the arena… Pointed not quite right, and then ran a “test run” by hopping on directly without warm up or anything to just see what we would get.

No edit other than parts where I am completely missing from view…

Now mind you, for the Red bullets length of time back under saddle she is actually doing everything I could ask of her…. That was the not the problem.

Aside from my obvious inability to film myself without cutting half of the ride off, I noticed something.

Something kinda bouncy… Kinda opposite of firm… Kinda round…

Cue scary music.

THE DREADED HOLIDAY BOOTY!

Between weather/job pushing my riding back to weekends and my own sudden interest in cereal at midnight… I’ve have managed not only to pack on a few, but also to let it get as jiggly as a gummy bear on a hot day… Doing some hip hop.

More cushin for the pushin…. Well the red bullet would say leave all that rap video shake for the bedroom. If she has to carry me around on her back, then maybe I could do a sit up more than to get out of bed.

I joke, I joke, but let us take a little detour shall we?

Ginger came to me as the good ole gal. She is just kind and generous and even though she can be bit HIGH OCTANE at certain moments, her overdrive is hardly a shortcoming.

But the strangest thing is every time I say her name I am reminded of the Ginger in Black Beauty. That movie impacted my life at such a young age like none other. Horrified, I would still watch it… And the scene of the dead Ginger on the cart haunts me to this day…. Well that and the naughty pony and evil children with whips.

Years later to get a horse uncannily close to what the Gingers used look like, as well as have her be an older horse that’s had so much life before her (of course this Ginger was well cared for). Full circle I’d say, and for some reason it gives me such a soft spot for her, being that this is the life the fictional ginger should have had.

And we intend to keep it so ;)

Some quotes from the author:

“Oh! if people knew what a comfort to a horse a light hand is...” 
― Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

“we call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.” 
― Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

“My troubles are all over, and I am at home; and often before I am quite awake, I fancy I am still in the orchard at Birtwick, standing with my friends under the apple trees.” 
― Anna Sewell, Black Beauty [With Gold-Toned Horse Charm Necklace]

I choke up quite a bit at that last one… If you know the book or movie you do understand I would think.

Anyway… To make things happier again… Onto the Zumba part in all of this.

So since I am all about fair to the horse, fair to the rider… I needed to work on my seat, and not just by sitting on the poor beast some more (frowny face).

So diet? Yeah, I guess. Exercise? Okay sure but what?

I begrudgingly pull up my local gym calendar to find all sorts of fun classes that sound interested but really boil down into, “We have to make kicking, jumping, and laying on the floor in various dirty positions sound cool so we give it a foreign spin by using names like Pilates, Yoga, Kickboxing, and Zumba.”

Ohhhh Zumba.. That sounds foreign enough for me! Sign me up!

Video to include us settling into work at about 2 minutes if you want to skip that… Or to skip the entire parts where I remain jello and go to another thinner more refined rider video… Be my quest ;)