Gonyaul's Horse Riding Lesson

They had two days to prepare. Gonyaul needed about two minutes to pack up all his belongings. He had one set of worn work clothes, one set of winter clothes with a hooded cloak only one season old and his Arisha Ikeburer from home. Aside from his seed necklace and the Osiem Uppar (meditation wrap), those were his only possessions to his name. He had contributed his entire savings, the only other thing in his possession, to helping get the Greyriver Hold farming operation jump started.

The future vision was to have multiple fields of crop rotation farming, several orchards with a variety of fruit bearing trees, an...inspired by the recent visit of Nicolaus...get some flax and medicinal crops going as well. He translated his design ideas to Boyce, who transcribed them into useable blueprints. These plans were going to take diligent work, which he would not be around anymore to do.

Therefore on the first day, he procured the farmhands he found to be the most reliable, at his place of work, to drop by and take care of their fields and implement the designs until their return. Boyce was able to make it happen by setting up a payment system through the bank in town and Nicolaus's Tolen would check in on the property on a scheduled interval to ensure payment was to be distributed for their work. Nicolaus had an invested interest in the success of the crops now that the plan was to plant medicinal crops that he would receive a percentage of its yield thanks to helping fund a negotiated percentage of the labor for them.

On day two, Gonyaul helped wherever he was needed for the most part. About midday, when the horses for their trip had been received, he had a horse-riding lesson scheduled with Islana. She was an excellent teacher. Patient and provided immediate appropriate feedback to help Gonyaul learn a new skill. In addition, she was masterful when handling the horses' temperament they were using. Her very presence seemed to calm the horse to be a willing participant in a lesson with a beginner.

Gonyaul took mental notes all the while, on how she spoke, petted, and catered to the horses during their time together. By the end of their training time, Gonyaul was able to successfully do the following at a beginners level: mount, dismount, stay in the saddle, ride at a slow and fast walking pace. She also showed him how to prepare, and adjust, the riding gear on and off the horse.