Summer’s over, and with just one year left until graduation, I’m trying to squeeze the most out of this last stretch—especially with horseback riding. Over the past few months, I’ve gotten a lot more familiar with the horses I ride, and I’m pretty close with two of them: Coco and Catseye.

I was so determined to make the most of this year that I actually woke up at 5 AM for my first lesson back after vacation. This time, I got to ride solo in the paddock—no trainer, just me and the horse. It felt pretty great, kind of like a small win, knowing I could be trusted to handle things on my own. I kept thinking back to the mistakes I made in past lessons and tried to avoid them as I rode. It was a mix of excitement and nerves, but mostly, it was just cool to have that independence.

During these lessons, we went through two courses: one where I was on my own and the horse (Coco), and another where the horse (Catseye) was on a lead rope, and I was practicing transitioning from a trot to a canter. The speed is pretty thrilling. I’m hoping that by the end of this month, I’ll manage to do this on my own without the lead rope.

Even though I’m not exactly a morning person, I somehow managed to do two hours of riding and then hung out with Thilo, the trainer and owner of the Premadasa Riding Club, for another two hours. Like usual, she noticed I’d strained my shoulder—probably from being on my phone too much. And, as usual, she sat me down in front of another rider and gave us a talk about the importance of releasing stress in our muscles. She even gave me a shoulder massage, which I wasn’t about to turn down. This is also useful for horses after you untack them—giving them a massage instead of just a scratch.

I’m also prepping for a theory exam, which means I’ve been digging into the less physical side of riding. It’s a lot (okay, not really that much).

also photo credits to my dad for finally taking pictures of me during a lesson because, most of the time, he just pretends he can’t hear me from the fences.