oh, that was jump 7?

Yesterday's trip to Groton House was kind of a nightmare. I was not that nervous in the morning, and Lucy dragged me ONTO the trailer, so I thought hey, maybe it's going to be a great day! We got two miles down the road and P (my BO) said, "my check engine light is flashing". Then the car (a Ford Expedition) began to stutter and shake, and we made the decision to turn around.

After all, Kenny's truck was sitting in the barn driveway ready to go.

So we turned around, unloaded both horses, switched the vehicles out, loaded them both back up, and we were back on the road within 20 minutes.

The drive was much longer than I thought it would be, but we got there eventually after taking a few wrong turns. We had an hour before my dressage test so we did not have time to walk the XC course. P assured me we could do it after my dressage test. I got on Lucy and started to warm up. She was very forward, looking at everything, but not naughty until we picked up the canter, then both directions she threw little fits. At this point I had about 5 minutes before my test so I decided to stand by the ring and let her chill for a few minutes. We went in the ring and the test started out really nicely! I thought, maybe this is going to be ok! Then we picked up the first 20 metre canter circle and she bronc'd a bit. I got her back, we continued on, and the second half of the test was really nice. We scored a 55 :( :( That bad canter circle really killed it; we had scored some 6's and 7's on other parts of the test. I personally thought she was much more obedient than the first test we did except for that one canter.

P did her test, which was absolutely flawless and beautiful. Then we zipped back to the trailer, untacked the horses and put them on the trailer to relax, then went and walked the XC course. There were a few jumps that I was like, uhhhh that may be a problem. Plus, after jumping the equivalent of baby crossrails at the GPC event, these jumps were HUGE. Some of them were at LEAST BN height. There was a jump with shiny metal barrels in it, a "big" table that was probably 2'6" high and at least 2' wide, a few good-sized logs, etc. We finished walking the course, went and tacked up for stadium, and I was late. I didn't even get a warm up and I watched just two of the previous rounds to "learn" the course. I went in and she jumped GREAT; I was so happy and impressed with her. She waited, she was polite, etc. There was one jump we had a miscommunication about distance; I thought she was going to take the long spot and she actually fit that extra stride in, but I was halfway up her neck when she jumped. She let out a nice buck over the fence, which almost helped me on my way right out the front door but my heels saved me and I sat up and we continued onto the next fence....sheesh! Then I missed the second-to-last jump without realizing it. I finished the course and was so happy with Lucy until the judge was like, you missed jump 7! AHHH I wanted to die. I guess it's a miracle I got that far in the course before I screwed up given that I watched just two people go through it, and it was not a straightforward course, lots of bending lines.

The SJ judge said they'd let me go to the XC course anyway, so I walked over and started right away. P had an experienced friend with her and the friend said to treat it like schooling since now it didn't count for anything. That took the pressure right off. The first jump was a straightforward log up a little hill. She refused. I let her look at it and we did it fine the second time. The second jump was another log but in the shade. I think she may have jumped that fine. Then she refused the next jump, and the next....we quickly racked up 4 refusals, but each time she peetered out going up to it, looking at it, then jumped it fine when we re-approached. But since we had so many refusals, they pulled me off course at jump 7. I was so disappointed, in myself and in Lucy. I don't know why she was so looky; some of the jumps DID deserve a look but others she should have had no problem with. I was disappointed in myself because obviously I did not prepare her well enough! I thought we wouldn't have a problem XC but I was not expecting some of the jumps we had to do. Oh well, live and learn.

I was really disappointed and felt sorry for myself. We waited for Prudy to finish (she won her division) and headed home. On the way home, she mentioned that she was supposed to go to an Eric Smiley clinic today but now couldn't because her truck is broken. I offered to drive for her but she said, no you should go! So today I am going to ride with an olympic rider! Cool huh?


Here are some photos:

my parents came out to support me!

excuse my chair seat...yikes!

"good girl"

yup, there's that buck to say "GET OFF MY SHOULDERS"

almost off the right side...but I saved it!

being told I went off course and was eliminated :( :(

Working for my boots

I have some old friends who have been close to me for about 12 years. I met them in a bargain basement of a local tack store and though they were a bit stiff to begin with, we developed a long-term lasting relationship, full of days spent horsing around.

Having the right paddock boots can really put you on the path to success ;)

Over the last two or three years, I have looked at them often and thought sadly, "you're looking pretty crappy and I know I'm going to need new boots soon, but I am really nervous about this impending change" (insert sad/apprehensive face here).

So I went and looked around and was SHOCKED at the cost of paddock boots these days, especially the Ariat Colbalt Quantums, the creme de la creme of Ariat paddock boots with their lovely soft leather and fancy-pants soles. I also liked the Tredstep paddock boots, but they only come in zip-up and I am a lace-up kind of girl.

Then I got the opportunity to work as a temp hire at the local Dover tent sale, and I earned enough money to buy myself the new pair of Colbalt Quantums! So today, after enduring three VERY long and hot days spent working amongst crowds of very eager tent sale shoppers, they became mine. I spent the entire three days worrying that someone else was going to come in and fall in love with the only pair of size 9's off the shelf but they sat, undisturbed, for the duration of the weekend. THANK GOD.

new and old

Speaking of tent sale shoppers, I met a fan today! How cool is that! She recognized me from my blog! Nice to meet you (you know who you are :D)!

After finishing up at Dover, I headed over to the barn with my new boots and other scores, such as horsey electrolytes, UlcerGard, a hay net, and poultice (and you can probably tell why the boots are so exciting...everything else I bought was BORING). Lucy desperately needed a bath after a very hot weekend where she did a lot of sweating and rolling in the cool mud. I let her eat dinner first, then went to town with shampoo and a curry comb.

this horse really loves her dinner.

pony torture.

I packed the trailer and made sure everything else was all set to go. We are in good shape for tomorrow and I am excited and confident that I will meet my goals, which are (as always):

-have fun

-don't fall off

Oh and I added a new goal after getting my dressage test feedback at the last show:

-don't talk incessantly through my entire dressage test

:D

And I will leave you with a photo of Cairo and a doggie friend we are taking care of while his owner is away, bounding happily through the park on a bike ride the other day:

Excellent news!!!

It has been a hectic few days but I am overjoyed to report that I was offered my dream job yesterday!!! I interviewed for it two weeks ago and the waiting was tough, but totally worth it. I will start this coming Tuesday, and I'll be working as a graphic designer, which is what I really wanted to do.

Thank you to everyone who left an encouraging comment or send good vibes my way. Maybe that boost of positivity is what the universe needed to work some magic after a very long wait!

In Lucy news, Lauren had a great ride on Wednesday, then due to the extremely high temperatures (it was 107 degrees here!!), Lucy had yesterday off. I worked all day at the local Dover store because they are having their tent sale, then Kenny helped me get hay. I went home with a good dose of heat sickness and I had to drink a lot of fluids before I felt normal.

This morning I had an incredible gallop through the trails with my awesome barn owner, who is also going to Groton House this weekend. Lucy is smitten with her handsome Dutch Warmblood and she felt especially fancy today (she was most definitley showing off!!). I worked the rest of the day at Dover, and I'll also be there all day tomorrow. My plan after work tomorrow is to bathe Lu and clean up her mane again to prepare for Sunday.

The good news is that we had a nice little thunderstorm here, which seemed to break the heat!

Kenny, the Chipmunk Whisperer

Kenny and I went to the barn this evening around 8pm to check on Lucy and fill her outside water so she'd have plenty of fresh water for tomorrow. It was 95 degrees and extremely humid here today, and it's going to be equally hot and sticky tomorrow. When we got to the barn, we found Lucy absolutely drenched in sweat in her stall, so I took her out and gave her a nice long cool bath with the hose. As I was doing that, I asked Kenny to fill her outside tub, so he walked out to her paddock with a 5 gallon bucket full of water.

He got to her paddock and then called over to me.

"Kate! Kate! We have to have a chipmunk rescue mission!"

I put Lucy away quickly and went to see what he was talking about. He walked over, orange Home Depot bucket in hand, and inside the bucket was a very exhausted looking chipmunk that Kenny had just saved from certain death by drowning! Kenny said he found the chipmunk swimming frantically around in circles in Lucy's water tub, trying to find a way out. Kenny fished him out with the empty bucket and brought him over to the barn, where we made sure he looked ok. We gave him a few minutes in the bucket to recover before setting him free. He scampered off quickly, but we left him a pile of grain and a carrot so he can have a snack after his workout.

I posted about this on Facebook and someone replied I should have some sort of a ladder so that the little animals can get out easily if they fall in. Does anyone do this? I was thinking I could put a piece of thick rope in there. The bucket has a heating element in the bottom that I am obviously not using now that it's a gazillion degrees out, but I could tie the rope to that and just have it drape over the side of the bucket.

Here's the lucky little chipmunk post-rescue and pre-release:

 And here is a funny photo of Lucy after I hosed her down, proving that the stall guard is no match for her:

all the time in the world

I know I have failed at keeping this blog up. Terri, thank you for your sweet comment wondering how I was doing. To be honest, I have had a rough time lately. My husband lost his job about 3 months ago and I was laid off last week. It's depressing that the one thing that always makes me happy (Lucy) is also the one thing that I absolutely cannot afford without a job. I am hopeful that a new job will come along soon (PLEASE) but it has been tough to remain upbeat when I know how rough the job market is.

So, any good thoughts would be appreciated.

In the mean time, I am shooting a few weddings and doing some other design work. I would love to paint some more saddle pads, too, so if you know of anyone looking for a cool gift or for a way to stand out at their next event, send them my way! :) Kenny and I are also doing a lot of work on the house. I have learned how to use a tile saw and helped Kenny pour concrete to build new front steps on the house, which we then cemented repurposed tile onto. It looks great!

I am almost fully recovered from my fall a week and a half ago. My right elbow is still bothering me and I think when I get a new job/health insurance, I will get it x-rayed if it is still hurting. When I was young I broke my left elbow falling off a horse and it was the same type of pain, very minimal unless I bend my arm *just right*, then quite a lot of pain. I didn't get my arm looked at for two weeks the first time I broke my elbow and it did have a fracture in it. I am not too worried about my elbow but I am going to be careful with it. It would suck to have a cast right now because it's REALLY hot, I want to ride, and it's my right arm and I am right handed! My leg is totally fine now, just a really cool bruise is all that's left!

Lucy has been doing wonderfully. We've had some nice dressage schools. Lauren noticed that the new bit I got for her was rubbing the sides of her mouth just slightly, so I bought some bit guards and she went even better in that bit now that her pony lips are protected :) I am doing some temp work at the local Dover store for their tent sale tomorrow through Saturday, so on Friday I plan on having a jump school after "work" and then Saturday I will bathe her. Sunday is the event at Groton House, and we'd love to see/meet anyone local. My dressage is at 12:42, jumping is at 1:46, and XC is at 1:56.

Here are some cute photos of Lucy making friends with a bunny yesterday after our ride:

my exercise rider

While still in gimpy land, I am being a good patient and not riding. I am feeling so much better today and I will get back in the saddle on Friday, but in the mean time I have my husband and Lauren to thank for keeping Lucy in work!

That's right, Kenny got on Lucy on Monday and rode her in the ring, then went for a trail ride. He was kind of down that day so when we arrived at the barn to do her stall, he announced he was going to ride. "Ok, no problem," I said, and then immediately prayed to the Happy Mare Gods that Lucy would be on her bestest behaviour.

She was very tolerant, bless her heart, though she did get quite peppy when he tried to take her over a little x-rail a few times. The first few times she was very good but then she started zooming so we took it back a notch. I told him to go take her for a little hack and he was gone and back within five minutes, with a newly installed grin plastered across his face. "We galloped all the way back!" he proudly announced.

Ahhhh, yes, that will be fun to deal with next time I want a nice leisurely trot home. I can already imagine the conversation now between me and the horse:

"Trot, please!"

"Oh, you mean SPRINT like I got to do last time!? COOL!"

*mach 4 gallop*

Ups and Downs

I was having a terrific week horse-wise. I had several really productive flat rides on Lucy, a few nice hacks, and then a really fun jump school yesterday morning. It was the first time we jumped since our last event, so just about three weeks. I chose to focus on flatwork before getting back into the jumping because a friend of mine lent me a Boucher bit, and I think Lucy goes pretty well in that. It's a legal dressage alternative to a regular snaffle, so we'll give the Boucher a shot at Groton House.

In the afternoon, I went back to the barn to go out on a trail ride. A new girl has started riding one of the other horses at the barn, and she wanted to learn the trails. The horses owner asked me if I'd show her around. Lucy and this other horse do not get along so Maddy offered to let me take Brantley. I gladly accepted -- even though he's green, he has been really well-behaved and I thought he'd be perfect for the job.

He really was perfect, and even had to lead most of the time because the other horse decided he was not feeling brave at all. Considering Brantley has about 10 trail rides under his belt, I was so impressed with the way he handled himself. We trotted a bit and overall we had a great time.

We were on our way back to the barn and he was ambling along, totally relaxed and ears flopping happily. I was letting him walk on a loose rein because he hadn't given me any reason not to. He had been a champ the whole ride. Without any warning, though, he jumped straight up into the air, landed, bucked HARD three times, and sent me flying off his right side into a pricker bush. He ran over me and stepped on my leg, jumped over a wall of large boulders into the woods, ran through the woods, back through a field, around a corner where we could no longer see him, and ended up running out to a road where a man had to get out of his vehicle and stop traffic so that the horse didn't get run over.

I sat there convinced I had broken my leg where he stepped on it because I could not seem to get my foot under me to get up. I also had prickers stuck in me everywhere and I somehow ripped half my pinkie finger nail off.

Completely and utterly ridiculous.

As I took stock of myself I got my leg to work again and stood up to go collect the horse from the middle of the road, and realized that my leg must not be broken (phew!). I called poor Maddy, who was at work, and told her what happened and she came and walked Brantley home because though I wasn't broken, it really hurt to walk. I drove her car back to the barn, which was about 2 miles away.

So it's going to be a few days at least before I can ride again. I have quite the goose egg on the outside of my calf, and I cannot stretch my heel down/toes up so I don't think riding will be a good idea until that's feeling better. I am really grateful I didn't break anything as it's just the start of summer and lots of good things are hopefully coming up, and I can't participate if I'm in pieces.

I guess this is just part of riding green horses. I was completely unprepared for what happened and I shouldn't have let my guard down so much. I don't think it's fair to ride a young horse defensively but I should at least have enough rein where I can get the head up if they start bucking, and I should ALWAYS have my heels down, which I am pretty sure was not the case.

You live (hopefully) and learn, so chalk this one up to another terrible story we can tell over tequila shots a few years down the road and laugh at...until then, it's ice and ibuprofen for me!

caught in the deluge

I grew up in the Cotswold region of the UK, where random rainshowers are more or less everyday occurrences. I remember when I was a kid, my mum had a tea party in the back garden and we were out enjoying the sun, tiny tea sandwiches and ornate china tea cups set up around quaint tables, when all of a sudden, the skies opened up and it was pouring. Our British friends quickly and efficiently swept up the food and the china and moved the party indoors, and life continued as if nothing was awry.

The weather here has been very similar to British weather lately. One minute it's raining. Then it's sunny. Then it's raining AND sunny! Then back to rain. Black clouds fill the sky, then they're gone and the sun is out again.

It has been like this all week.

Lauren and I decided to go for a trail ride today. The weather called for sun in the morning and early afternoon, then rain toward the evening. We met at the barn at noon and it was sunny, warm (almost hot), and there wasn't a dark cloud to be found. She tacked up Lucy and I tacked up Brantley, and we headed out with Cairo alongside us. It was a gorgeous day and we were in high spirits.

Brantley is doing very well on his trail rides, but we had done mostly walking and just tiny bits of trotting. Today I decided we'd trot some more, and maybe even try a little canter if he behaved. We trotted the whole way out and were about 2 miles from the barn, exploring some small trails off the main field, when I felt a few drops of rain. I looked up and the sky was BLACK.

Cairo watches the rain roll in.

Both Lauren and I were like, where did this come from? Lucy is not a fan of rain, my dog refuses to go outside if she detects even the smallest drop, and I had no idea what Brantley was going to be like. We tried to wait it out in the forest but it started raining so hard that even the trees weren't stopping the drops from splashing down on us. We decided we had better start moving toward home before the horses got upset, so we went through the woods as far as we could, then through the field a bit, then back on the main trail toward home. Lucy and Lauren trotted ahead of Brantley and I, but Lucy's trot is so huge that Brantley picked up a little canter, and he was great! We ended up cantering most of the way home. Lucy was on her BEST behaviour and was really great about the rain, even though I know she doesn't like it. Cairo happily loped alongside the horses and didn't seem too bothered by the weather, though she did have a "let's just make it home in one piece" look of determination on her little face.

We trotted right up to the barn as it rained harder and harder, dismounted, got inside, and the sun came out.

Both horses looked at us like, REALLY?!

They got lots of carrots, a good rub down, and then they went outside in the sunshine to have some hay in their paddocks.

shelter from the storm! wait, what storm? it's sunny!

Brantley and I celebrating our survival! Haha.

We were soaking wet but both Lauren and I were like, that was AWESOME. Cantering down the entire length of the trail through the deluge, the horses hooves splashing through the accumulating puddles and their heads down against the rain was really, really cool.

the problem with summer

THE BUGS

"run away!" 

that grass sure is yummy, though

nom nom nom nom

down to the boat launch

There is a lovely boat launch just a 20 minute walk through the trails from my barn. We go there often on trail rides but now that the weather has picked up, it's hot enough to actually go *in* the water.

Since Lucy has shown lots of interest in going deeper in the water when we've gone to the beach, Lauren and I thought she might go swimming off the boat launch. She was not as confident as she is at the beach, though. It could have been because the boat launch is slatted concrete and she may not have felt comfortable with the footing, or it could be that the boat launch ends somewhat abruptly and there seems to be a 6" drop off the last section down to the bottom of the lake. Lauren got her to put her hind feet down on the lake bottom, but not her front feet. Oh well, maybe another time!

I rode Brantley, the horse we recently re-started under saddle, and he did great. He's been going out on short trail rides and gets more and more confident each time.

down the trail toward the boat launch. Kenny met us there to take photos.
Cairo had just spotted him here and was about to make a beeline for him!

Brantley was so good - he went right in the water.

typical!

she was standing off the edge of the boat ramp here, so you can see how
low her hind end is compared to her front end.

Cairo offers some assistance. Lucy is skeptical.

Cairo decides not to mess with the horse!

I have been so frustrated by Lucy's weight lately. That horse is like a
bottomless pit. I just increased her grain yesterday and I really hope
her metabolism slows down at some point :(

Cairo met a small Dachsund puppy and made friends.

"you're sooooo big!"

Brantley's sweet face