Work Photos

I have this photo folder sitting on my computer. It has random photos from the race barn sitting in it. Today I realized that some of them date all the way back to May!! It's high time to clear the folder. Besides, who doesn't want to see some greenery and warmer weather for a change?

Percy and Desperado on the hill.

ESDCTA Wrap-up

Way back in October, I went to the Eastern States dressage regional championships with Sam and her mare, Kylie. I never got around to blogging about it, although I did leak a pretty dramatic before-and-after comparison photos. I'm not sure how much detail I really want to go into about not-my-horse almost five months after the fact, but I do have a spoiler alert!

Sam casually asked me the other day, "Are you planning to go to the ESDCTA awards banquet on the 24th?"
At first, my response was an overly-cynical, "No!" because I hate banquets and hoopla in general.
"Oh, well... I was just wondering since," there was a momentary pause, "Kylie and I won Grand Champion in our division!"
"What?! That's awesome! In that case, yes, I'll be there!"

So we spent Sunday at the awards banquet, getting dressed up and drinking wine at the country club, where Sam picked up her stunning, enormous tri-color ribbon (photos to follow) and engraved silver platter (literally). The awards were based on cumulative scores for the year, and not just the championships, and I think it was a real cherry-on-top for their first season together. I am, of course, very proud.

All I have to say is that Sam's no longer allowed to complain about they aren't making progress or aren't doing well enough. I also gave her the bad news... now she has to move up!

As for the championships... they didn't go as well as the rest of the shows all year, probably because Sam felt a lot more pressure than she normally does (and she's a perfectionist to begin with!) With that disclaimer out of the way, I was still thrilled with how well Kylie did, and I can't help gloating a little bit about the progress this mare is making on a regular basis.

February Photos

February apparently featured a ton of photos. I could probably make some mini entries about some of these, but I'm lazy. 

Recent Rides

The weather has not been super conducive to conditioning recently, but that hasn't stopped Jen and met from hitting the trails on the weekends. We've just been sticking to the Paulinskill, but it's better than nothing!

Another new set of ears.

Sam Breaks His Maiden

My large chestnut friend from last summer, Sam, broke his maiden this afternoon at Parx. Sadly, I didn't watch the live video and they don't seem to do replays, but I'm still super proud and bought the win photo. Mostly I'm still terrified to actually go fast on these horses, but it's pretty cool that I've gotten to gallop a few winners now :)

Photo by Bill Denver/Equi-Photo.

Extremely Overdue January Photo Post

First of all... thank you guys so much for all the supportive comments on my off leash dog rant! I was a little nervous to post it, but your comments have been 100% awesome. It is both comforting and infuriating to know that so so so many people have had similar experiences.

And now it's time for the rest of my January photos. I was in the process of making this post when our internet went out (first because the landlord didn't pay it, and then because the electric company knocked out the internet pole while doing some utility work across the street).

Herbie looking like a jailbird.

January Dog Walks (And a bit of a rant...)

Despite the chaotic weather and short days, Mike and I managed to get the dogs out for a couple off-property walks last month.

Broxton Bridge 2019

(This post is super delayed because we didn't have internet at home for over a week.)

My number one goal for 2019 was to ride more endurance than I did in 2018. Given that I didn't make a single start in 2018, this wasn't exactly a lofty goal. As of the last week in January, I can officially check that one off the list. Ha.

On Sunday night, Evelyn texted me:
"This is last minute (like, really last minute) but do you want to go to Broxton and ride the 50 with Bobby on Friday? Jeff is leaving Wednesday night."

My initial reaction was to think, "Oof, that's a lot of last minute scheduling and rearranging..."

Then I stepped outside and the real feel was -21℉. Suddenly I was like, "You know what? South Carolina sounds really good right about now."

I texted back, "What time are we leaving?"

It wasn't until a moment later that I realized that Mike's birthday was that Friday and I would be winning the worst wife of the year award by ditching him for warmer climes. (Mike, as usual, was super supportive and assured me he didn't mind and that I should go because I'm cranky when I don't get to endurance ride.)

I spent Tuesday night wide awake, panicking about all the things that could go wrong. A client of mine had just told me a terrible story that involved a trailer getting rear ended and a horse I know getting hit by a car on 95 in Virginia a few weeks before. The horse, miraculously, is relatively ok and will make a full physical recovery. Still, it was not what I needed to hear the night before I was to travel down 95 in Virginia with horses in tow.

My mind was like a cracked out hamster in a tiny wheel.
What if we got in a car accident on the way down?
What if my horse didn't pass vetting?
What if I fell off at the start?
What if Jeff fell off at the start?
What if we got pulled?
What if, what if, what if...

On Wednesday, I went to work at the racehorse barn in the morning, taught lessons until 6:30, came home, showered, packed, cooked a quick dinner (unstuffed bell peppers), and hit the road.
Jeff and Evelyn live two hours north of us. South Carolina is obviously south of here. Our place is about 45 minutes off the most direct route, and features lots of narrow, winding roads that are not exactly inviting to a huge rig. (Not that Jeff would have any problem navigating the streets up here, but more on that later...)

So at 9:30 on a Wednesday night, my husband drove me to a rest stop on the turnpike, where I hopped out of one vehicle and into another.

My carriage awaits.