Day 201 & 202: Not an eyeliner kind of girl and making things happen

Day 201: Monday

- Hi, have you had a chance to try our make up products? - I hear and when I look up from kneeling down at bottom shelf next to lines of shampoos at Boots I see a girl wearing Benefit shirt and a Benefit badge hanging off her neck - would you like to test our new eyeliner?
Now I look at her properly as I stand up with polite version of "I really have no time for this" formulating in my head.
- Thank you but I don't really wear eyeliners - I say and I am quite aware she is noticing I am wearing my riding clothes, boots and all and she probably wishes she didn't approach me ;) I also have zero make up on (bar a tinted lip balm - not sure if that counts as a make up?) which makes me think she maybe felt sorry for me and decided I should indeed wear some. Having just spent the morning teaching and grooming I certainly don't look or feel very fresh.

The girl insists I test the eyeliner to make my eyes "pop" and "open".
I try not to laugh as she is very serious and very passionate about her popped and opened eyes so I really try to be polite about it all and finally manage to convince her , I think, that I am really not her kind of customer ;)
As she walks away and I go back to my exciting task of finding a shampoo to replace my empty bottle back home I notice her stopping next to someone else and tempting them too with popped eyes. This other person hesitates but follows and lets herself be led to Benefit counter.
I am a little relieved because you know, she did try and she didn't give up after a horsey person covered in grey hair said no to her products.

The no-giving-up theme continues throughout my day. The lovely rider who I mentioned before had to give up my training due to change of work schedule writes to me to say she wants to come back. I get things organised straight away for her to ride on a different day that she can do and we are good to go.

Another rider who I couldn't fit in due to, this time, my schedule, has persisted and cleared some of her weekends and is now able to join in Aspire programme from August.

I do really like Mondays ;)

Day 202: Tuesday 

A couple of my riders today are up for a bit of a test. Mairi has a task to connect all the elements we worked on for the last 3 months - connection, feel through her seat and balance perception. I have a good think about what the best conditions for the test should be and go for bareback in the jump field. She does a great job, it's so exciting to see the riders progress from barely managing a bareback trot to being able to help the horse balance over undulated terrain.

Eve is up for her first jump but I don't tell her because I don't want the mare she rides to become too eager. We often undervalue the power of our own thoughts on the horse's mind - they are one of the strongest aids...Eve has worked very hard in the last few months to improve her stability and body control. As a result, the jumping itself is easy today and she concludes that jumping is her favourite thing now ;)

I take my Start Programme rider for a nice hack to cement the basic rising trot skills and short canters we worked on on the simulator yesterday and on the lunge for the last 12 sessions. One more session and I am moving him up to Foundation Programme :)

Early start for me tomorrow to run one training before setting off to Wiltshire for Dauntsey Park Horse Trials with Shabby and Fig.

Wx