She clearly did not<em>like</em>being ridden - this way, at least - but she did cooperate with his requests, lettign him get some practice in with various forms of jousting and the like, to get the timing down. One advantage is, despite her stride, she actually runs very evenly, allowing him to stay fairly level, although she can also crouch and pounce, to give him the extra push he needs, when striking an opponent.