HOT HOT HOT

So yesterday I had a Show Jumping practice/lesson at my trainer's barn, and if I needed to describe the day in one word it would be HOT! Abbey (my sister) came along for her lesson and games practice, for games rally which will be held on June 19. She's riding a sweet Arabian gelding named Paz, who thankfully puts up with just about anything. They had a great practice, and I know she's super excited for the competition:)

While her game's practice was going on I had my jumping lesson. Five of us from my pony club will be going to Maryland for a Show Jumping rally this weekend. Like I said in my last post, I've decided to give my snaffle a try (for better or for worse). Monte went fantastic in it, and I can't wait for this weekend to see how we will do!

After all of this I had some time to kill before I headed back home, and let's just say the time killed me:) After getting everyone water, putting rails back up, running around on errands, and everything else, I was exhausted!!! I was ready to come back home and take a nap. Thankfully I went back home before they could make me do their laundry:)

After I got home I took Monte into the wash stall so I could work on his dandruff. It's not my favorite thing, but I do get "graded" on it so I did it for the good of all. I then proceeded to put Monte in the pasture, where he promptly decided to roll. After this he decides a trip back to his stall is in order, as he rushes past me cantering to the barn.

Yesterday may have been hot, and I may have gotten sweaty (uhhhh),  but in the end I know I'll feel good when all my hard work shines through.

NEWS!!!!!! EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!!

So you might have heard...or not, what happened this past Saturday. I'll tell you but let me start from the beginning. This past Saturday I participated in the Eventing Rally for Maryland Region at Waredaca. Preparations had started months ago, but this was the final hour. On Friday, I headed over to my trainer's farm where from the hours of seven to twelve (at night) I cleaned tack, Monte, braided, packed, and cleaned more tack! Lets just say that by the end I was more then ready to go to bed:) After an early morning wake up call (2:45 am), we loaded up and headed to Maryland.

This was not just a pony club rally. This was a regular horse trial also, and because they had no junior training, I had to compete in an open division. This made the stakes higher then ever, with twenty people in the class. Our briefing was at 6:30 am, but I was not able to go, because I needed to walk my XC course. Don't get me wrong, Waredaca has beautiful grounds, but that XC course is more than challenging.

Monte and I put in a decent dressage test, but it was nothing to brag about, leaving me with a lot of work the rest of the day. The Moo and I have been making progress with our SJ, but I think we're going to have to graduate to the snaffle... not that it really bothers me:) One rail down, and I could have sworn I approached that fence straight!!! Oh, well we would show them in XC. The course had me a little nervous, because I was jumping the exact water I had taken a bath in last time. With a pace of 475 meters a minute over 1 1/2 miles, it was enough for Monte to sweat.

I love my horse though, as we went though the finish flags double clear. I was the only one in my division to have no time penalties, and Monte got an extra pat for that. The exciting part came when I picked up my awards. Fourth place overall (not shabby) for USEA, while our  pony club team got second overall for riding, and first for horse management.

The best part????? KENTUCKY.................. HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out the Latest Events Page for pics!

January 7

I use to look at riders in Florida and call them babies. Now I look at them and think that they're probably the smartest people on earth. After yesterdays weather I think I might move to Florida myself. The funny thing is almost anyone who isn't a horse person likes the snow to an extent. Any horse person in the northern regions of North America most likely HATES snow. It's all pretty and nice until you have to wade through 2 ft snow all the way out to the pasture. Or when you pray over and over that your fingers don't fall off. Yeah snow really isn't my  thing :) Not that it can't be nice, but its never been nice to me. Snow + Horses = uhhhhhhhhh. Snow; another day of horses.

January 6

Ever ask a question and think that's there's only one answer, and then receive an answer completely different and it still made sense? So think about this... Can horses talk? The "normal" human population's answer might go something like this, "Of course not! Horses can't just open up their mouths and give us a conversation on the latest topic they're thinking about!" Well the other part of the population might share the same thought as I do. Is speech the only way to "talk" to someone? I don't think so. I mean deaf people "talk" all the time, yet some can barely speak. Talking is soooo much more than physically forming words. Every time I get on a horse I have one of the best conversations of my life. The bond between a rider and horse is so deep, that even if horses could "talk" their wouldn't be words to describe it. The best part is that it's so much stronger with a horse. You can understand what a dog's feeling or thinking,  but they aren't able to give a conversation with so much meaning, the way a horse can. It's always more than just a "day of horses".

January 5

 Call it weird, disgusting, gross or whatever you want to call it, but I love a good clean stall. Seeing something that WAS beautiful, turned into a pigsty, and then was made beautiful again. Some people call it a chore. I call it a work of art. So obviously it isn't your typical litter box. I mean you don't HAVE to clean your cat's box everyday, but if you didn't clean a horses everyday then you'd be in some deep doo doo. Literally. I mean look at the top picture...that was one night of Monte being in his stall. ONE NIGHT!!! I know it looks pretty disgusting, but as they say, it's not always as bad as it seems. If you want to know the truth, cleaning a stall is like meditation for me. I take a good 10 to 15 minutes to just think about my day. And knowing my days it's a good thing I have more than one stall to clean :) It's more than that though. When I clean a stall a get a satisfaction knowing that I've provided for my "kids". You may be thinking, "Why would anyone get this worked up over a stall???" I told you it was a little weird, but in the end it's just another day with horses.

January 4

I can't say that I really enjoy math anymore...not sure if I could say it at all before :) At least in the past it didn't interfere with riding. Now, so many of my days are stuck inside doing...you guessed it MATH! Even though I didn't get to ride today I still found reason to appreciate every second I have with my horses. It's scary to think that I've been around horses practically all my life and I just recently found out what amazing creatures they are. I mean everyone always says that they're wonderful and all that, but who really stops to think about how much of a gift they are??? You don't always think about how they make you feel better on a bad day, or how flying couldn't be any better than riding a horse. Amazing creatures? Yeah right, they're magical. There's a reason they catch everyone's attention, and why those of us who work with them adore them to death :) Cause everyday with horses is a wonderful day.

January 3

Horses have personalities just like humans. I'm pretty sure that's a big reason I work with them. One horse can be more playful than the next, or more willing, harder working, or more fun! It's hard to have a favorite horse because you like them each for their own individual personality. And unlike their human owners, horses remain pretty constant in their views. A real treat when the outside world is throwing thunder storms at you :) Unfortunately my video upload hasn't been working at all!!! So try to envision this scenario :) I just like saying that every day's exciting and new with horses.