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Thursday, December 28, 2023

Year in Review 2023

 My favorite Christmas Eve tradition is recapping the year on the blog. It's a great way to look back, unwind, and reminisce. 

The biggest purchase of the year was the horse trailer. It felt like the culmination of a lifelong dream. The year has definitely centered around the horses and I don't take a single adventure for granted. Booger in particular really came into her own. We had our first official endurance season and she exceeded all my expectations. 

This year, I went back to keeping my notebook full of lists so I will probably do a 2023 By the Numbers post closer to the new year. 

For now, let's just go month by month and recap what 2023 looked like for me.

Saturday, December 23, 2023

Jumping Around CHP

 One of the perks of my corporate job is that I get a good amount of PTO. The downside is that I'm really bad at taking it. 

Part of the problem is that I'm a workaholic. I don't say that as a brag. It really is a problem. One of the factors is that I work a lot of (voluntary) overtime and I lose money in my paycheck if I take PTO during a pay period. As a result, I won't take a day just for the sake of taking a day. I would rather work and make more money than sit in the corner and stare at the wall. A con of working from home is that there is no real separation between work life and personal life. With my personality, I struggle to turn it off. 

Other limiting factors include the horses and the dog. I would not trade any of the critters for anything, but it's tough to schedule vacations and long getaways when there are seven horses and a terminal dog to consider. 

This year in particular, things got a bit wild at work. Despite doing a bunch of rides and taking a mini vacation in the fall, I had nine PTO days left. I can only roll five over into the new year. For as much as I'm a work addict with no off switch, I absolutely will not throw away a PTO day. I scheduled the remaining four that I had to "use or lose" and started reaching out to friends. 

I took one day for Lucy's solo field trip. 

I had the following Friday off as well. As luck would have it, Julie and Tor (who I introduced to each other at the FLSS pace) were available! They were already planning to ride, and I sort of invited myself. We decided to meet at Christie Hoffman Park for a low key day of hopping some fences.

Julie and Amira over a monster log.

Monday, December 18, 2023

Solo Field Trip

 Lucy is my go everywhere, do everything horse. She's the one I pick when we try something new or when we're going in polite company. I call her "my sane horse". She is generally pretty solid. 

But.

We almost never trailer out alone. This has not been on purpose. I ride Lucy alone at home all the time, both in the ring and on the trails. We've done 15 mile jaunts around the valley completely by ourselves. I have been really lucky to have lots of pals to ride with since we got the trailer. Lucy's last time trailering out alone was in January of 2021. That was our very first trip off the property. (And if you want to see some pretty epic foreshadowing, go back and read that post.) Everything since then has involved a buddy horse (usually Lilly, sometimes Booger, even Julie's mare, Amira.) 

This hasn't really been a problem. After all, we've had plenty of adventures. 

However, I have noticed that Lucy seems a little overly attached to Lilly. If we trailer out and Lilly gets out of sight, Lucy will start calling and getting upset. I get it. It's scary to be a prey animal alone in the great big world. 

It got a little annoying when we got the new trailer. I had a Hi Tie installed on each side of the rig, but I haven't gotten to utilize them much with Lucy since she gets Very Upset if Lilly is on the other side of the box, out of view. (The sentiment is very one-sided. Lilly doesn't care as long as there's food.) We have practiced this a little bit this year when it was appropriate, but at a clinic or event is not the time to work on my mare's separation anxiety. 

When we took Booger and Lilly out to Horseshoe Bend, I got reports that Lucy spent about an hour running around the paddock and whinnying into the abyss, even though Gunner and Felix were home to keep her company. 

By comparison, Booger couldn't care less about going places alone. She has trailered several hours from home all by herself. She camps without a buddy. We've trailered out to meet friends all over the place without a second horse in the trailer. In fact, Booger is on the other end of the spectrum. Sometimes I wish she would care just a little bit about having a buddy to ride with. (Nope. She'll just leave them in the dust and never look back. It's beneath her to worry about friends.) I have made her too independent, it seems. 

I am very guilty of comparing my two horses to each other. I often joke that my perfect horse would fall somewhere in between Lucy and Booger. Lucy's canter and Booger's trot. Booger's athleticism and Lucy's laid back nature. Booger's bold nature and Lucy's sweet personality. I love both girls in their own way and I honestly cannot pick a favorite (whichever one I'm on that day). However, I do use one mare's strengths to set goals for filling in the other one's training gaps. 

One of my goals for 2024 (yes, it's that time of year and I'm already making lists) is to trailer Lucy out alone more often. 

As I keep mentioning, I have some time off that I have to use by the end of the year. The week after Thanksgiving, I took Friday off. Mike was down south, traveling for work, and nobody I asked was available to ride. I originally thought about riding Lucy and ponying Booger, but that seemed ambitious and I was feeling lazy. 

Instead, I took the opportunity to trailer Lucy up to Horseshoe Bend by herself.

This is the field where ride camp was set up in August. We had the whole place to ourselves.

Sunday, December 17, 2023

HVH: Black Friday Pace

 On Black Friday, Eryca and I got to try a new hunter pace. This one was just over the border in Pennsylvania. We ended up having a great time and rescuing some kids along the way.

We had great weather for the end of November.

Friday, December 15, 2023

HSB: Falling Trees

 It's hunting season, which means whatever remains of the home trails is only accessible from 10-2. It also means short days and lots of mud. None of this has left me feeling very creative about where to ride. Still, if we want to get out of the ring for more than 20 minutes, we have to trailer out. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Eryca and I met up for a ride. We decided to just head to Horseshoe Bend. It's the closest place that has well-maintained horse trails, and we know the park well. I hadn't ridden there since the 50 in August. It was Booger's turn and I was curious to see how she would do at this particular venue after doing a ride there.

That morning, I woke to the wind howling outside the bedroom window. I almost scrapped the ride entirely. Eryca and I decided to head up and just stick to the field on the north side of the park. 

Sunday, December 10, 2023

NACMO: Turkey Trot 2023

Eryca and I tried NACMO for the first time this spring and I was instantly hooked. I've been trying to make it to another event ever since. I have had rotten luck. Mostly, the weather has been uncooperative, leading to a lot of rides getting rescheduled to dates that didn't work for me. 

The Tuscarora ride was the same weekend as the fox hunting clinic. 

I wanted to do the two day ride up at Pure Country, but I wasn't sure Lucy would be able to handle camping by herself. Plus the ride was five hours away and sandwiched between photographing Muckleratz and doing Booger's first 50. It was just too many  Things in a short period of time.

I was bound and determined to make it to the Halloween Haunt at Trexler. It got rained out and rescheduled twice. The first rain date would have worked for me, but the second one ended up being the day we photographed Asad for Christine. 

The Turkey Trot at Lake Ontelaunee was the last thing in our region for the year. Eryca was away, but I was eager to go even if I had to ride by myself. I wanted to do the long course, but my back up plan was to do the short course with any team that would have me. (Sadly, Jen and Christine did not end up going, but Sandy and Emily would be there, along with Dodie and Melissa.) 

Luckily for me, Tor was available that weekend. She and I have been riding together more than ever this year, which is a trend I hope to see continue in 2024. I offered her Lily and she gladly accepted. I felt bad because she has to drive over an hour to meet me at the barn, and the ride was another two hours away. 

I messaged the ride manager, LeeAnn, and asked what the latest we could start would be. She said 10am. ("I don't want to still be waiting for riders to come in when it gets dark." Fair enough.) I told her we would be there.


Thursday, December 7, 2023

November

 The year is wrapping up fast. There is still so much I need to catch up on (NACMO ride and another hunter pace). I'll start with my November recap.

There's an iconic property at the bottom of the hill. There used to be three gigantic dairy cows on this farm and all the locals used them as a landmark. Over the years, the cows aged and passed away until there was only one left. When the old farmer died and the last cow disappeared, everyone was heartbroken. Then, one day, a handmade sign on neon poster board appeared at the end of the driveway. It said that Bessie had moved down the road where she was mothering an orphaned calf. The rest is history. A local woman and a young livestock vet purchased the property and are turning it into a cow sanctuary. It's federally preserved and a huge conservation effort. They are using the sanctuary to rescue cows, but also to spread the awareness about the desperate plight of livestock vets in NJ. (Equine vets are common. Livestock vets are a dying breed.) In November, they had an open house. Of COURSE we went. To my utter delight, visitors were allowed to go in the pasture with the cows!!! They were all super friendly and sweet and I was 100% in my element. I do not miss the chaos of having cows at the barn, but I do adore cows. I miss my friend, Steak. This sanctuary may be the perfect way to fill that hole. Lots more cow photos later in this post.

Friday, December 1, 2023

Jersey Devil 25

 One year to the day after Booger's first CTR, we went back to where it all began, finishing the season at the Jersey Devil. 

This was the moment she spotted Mike waiting for us at the in timer.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Farewell to Asad

 At the beginning of November, Christine had to euthanize her 12yo Arabian gelding, Asad, due to a degenerative neurological condition. Before the appointment, she asked if Mike and I would come up and take some last pictures of Asad. She also wanted pictures of all three of her horses together. Of course, we said yes. We wound up taking over 1200 photos. It is not my story to share, but Asad was just about the sweetest horse I've met. He was snuggly and personable and acted more like a dog than a horse. I just wanted to share some of the photos we got that day.

Run free, sweet boy.

Thursday, November 23, 2023

EFH Fall Pace

 Fall hunter pace season is in full swing. The weekend after Tor and I did the FLSS pace, Eryca and I took the girls to the Essex Fox Hounds fall pace. We had so much fun at their spring pace. I was delighted to go back and ride those trails again. I knew we could expect a longer course and a competitive pace. We wound up also having the perfect weather.

Saturday, November 18, 2023

FLSS Hunter Pace

 October 15th was supposed to be the Halloween Haunt NACMO ride at Trexler. Tor and I had planned to go. Unfortunately, the ride got rained out and rescheduled. As luck would have it, the Lord Stirling hunter pace, which had gotten rained out the previous weekend got rescheduled for the 15th instead. This is one I've been trying to make it to ever since we became mobile with the horses. Tor and I decided to do the pace instead. We had a blast!

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Garden State CDE

 Jen in Indiana is one of my favorite people. We've known each other online forever. We joke that it's a good thing we don't live in the same time zone. We would definitely get into way too much trouble if we were neighbors. 

Once every ten years or so, we are allowed to meet in person. The last time was in 2014 when we popped in on the way back from Magic's first 50 in Illinois.

Imagine my delight when Jen announced that she would be at the Horse Park right here in New Jersey the weekend of Mustang Memorial. Even before I pulled my entry, we agreed that we just had to meet up. 

Jen was here for work. She grooms for a woman who does combined driving at the FEI level with a Fjord named Duke. They were in the area for the Garden State CDE. Everything about this was exciting to me. Jen is awesome. I love Fjords. I am fascinated by combined driving. 

After crewing the 50 at Mustang, Mike and I came home to sleep in our own bed before heading down to the HPNJ for the day.

Monday, November 6, 2023

October

 Here we are, a week into November, and I haven't even scratched the surface on all the things that happened in November (like seeing a long distance friend at a CDE, two hunter paces, and much more!) Here is the monthly photo dump. Better late than never.

Lilly at sunrise on farrier day.

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Crewing Mustang Memorial

 The weekend after we got back from our vacation was the Mustang Memorial endurance ride, right here in NJ. Originally, I had planned this ride to be Booger's first 50. When I entered her in the Horseshoe Bend Boogie in August, I was hoping it would be her second 50. After she was not-quite-sound at the finish, I went back to the drawing board. I hemmed and hawed and Mike encouraged me to enter the ride. My mantra all year has been "just try it and see what happens". Jen F and Christine would be attempting their first 50's. Jen M was coming to crew for them. A lot of our friends would be coming down. I wanted to camp and ride and have a good time.

In the end, I entered the 30. I planned for it to be my last ride of the season. The only other ride left on the AERC calendar was Fort Valley, and we are definitely not ready for OD trails. 

With 48 hours to go, I couldn't shake a bad gut feeling. Plus the forecast was calling for 80% rain. I had only ridden Booger on trail once since the 50. I ride her in the ring about three times a week so she's not just sitting, but still...

If I was being honest with myself, I just plain didn't want to do this ride. I have done Mustang a million times. The trails are, frankly, boring. I will never beat crossing the finish line of the 50 in first place with a ride time of 4h13m in 2013. While I try to actively support all endurance rides, and especially the local ones, I didn't want to go. Thirty miles of sand and pine trees in the pouring rain sounded awful.

So I did something I've never done before. I pulled my ride entry and cancelled my PTO. 

Instead, we went down and crewed for Jen and Christine. It ended up being a lovely day.

Crew Jen, Killian, Rider Jen, and me.

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Mini Vacation

 At the end of September, we got away for a much-needed mini vacation. While we travel a fair amount, it's almost always horse or work related. The last time we took a trip just to get away and relax was before the pandemic when we went to Big Moose with Andrew and Amy. Before that, it was our two year wedding anniversary in 2018, when we went to Niagara and the Finger Lakes. Needless to say, we were overdue. (My boss practically shoved me out the door when I put in for PTO.) 

This vacation came together at the last minute. One night, I was scrolling through Facebook. I guess the algorithm heard me moaning about the need to get away because all my ads that night were for Vrbo. Out of curiosity, I finally clicked on one of them, and decided to put together a hypothetical trip.

I plugged in "cabin", "Catskills", "hot tub", and "pet friendly" just to see what would come up (and what it would cost.) About three  listings in, I found what was basically my dream house. It was a log cabin set on five acres in the middle of nowhere. It was dog friendly with a hot tub and an enclosed wrap around deck. I was sold. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually totally affordable. Because we were booking last minute, the available weekends were a bit limited, but the last weekend in September opened up just as I happened to be looking. 

Mike and I were ready to book the cabin just for ourselves, but there was plenty of room for friends, so we reached out to see if Bryce and Eryca would be available or interested in joining us. It just so happened to work out perfectly. A couple of clicks later, I had the place booked for four days.

The downside of having horses is that they need daily care. Luckily, my mares are pretty low maintenance. I give them just enough grain to keep them coming up when I call. They are on free choice hay and 24/7 turn out. As long as they have access to a round bale and a clean water trough, they are all set. Missing a meal or two won't kill them. When I travel for competition, Eryca takes care of them for me, which would obviously not work this time.

I still have a ton of PTO left for the year, but between the horses and the chaos that is work right now, I wasn't comfortable going away for more than four days. So we booked for a Friday afternoon check-in and a Monday morning check-out. The horses would be fine for 72 hours (and the BO lives on the property in case there was an emergency.)

I was very excited to spend three nights here. When I told one of my co-workers we were going to a cabin in the mountains, she asked, "Is there electricity?" I replied, "Let me rephrase. It's a ski chalet. It's nicer than anywhere I'll ever be able to afford to live."

Friday, October 6, 2023

September

 This post is super late because we actually went on vacation. *gasp* September honestly went by in the blink of an eye. It feels like we didn't do anything until I look back at the photos.


The big news for the month is that Mike got a second motorcycle. I have two horses, so two motorcycles seemed fair. His and her rides.

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Tewksbury Hunter Pace

 It is raining. It has been raining. I haven't sat on a horse in a week. This has been a trend all year. Wet, wet, wet.

But before the week of nonstop rain, Eryca and I went to the Tewksbury Hunter Pace and had a lovely time. 

Photo by Carlie Johnson.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Baldpate: Obstacles

 Three weekends ago, Eryca and I were looking for someplace local to take the horses. In the end, we decided to give Baldpate Mountain one more try. We hadn't been since February. At that time, we had sort of given up on going there. As usual, I mostly blocked the reasons why from memory. It's a popular park, so I was hoping the trails would be cleaned up a bit. Long story short: they weren't. In the end, we were only able to get five and a half miles in. I have taken Baldpate off the riding list for the foreseeable future. It hurts me to do this since it is a trail that has been near and dear to me for a long time. Eryca and I joked that the theme for the weekend was Obstacles.

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Riding Round Valley

 At the end of August, I knocked an item off my bucket list. I finally rode at Round Valley!


Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Green Lane with Dodie

 I have been seeing Dodie post about riding at Green Lane for a long time. This park was on my to-ride list for this year. In fact, Mike and I even took the bikes out there earlier this year to scope out the drive and parking situation. That day we cycled the Perkiomen Trail, which is mostly flat. I knew the trails in the park were more technical than that, but I still wanted to give them a try. Green Lane is about an hour and a half away, so it would require a little bit of planning. Still, I was delighted when Dodie reached out and offered to show us around. Any ride I don't have to plan is a plus!

We agreed to meet on Sunday morning at ten. At first, I wanted to meet a little later than that, but the forecast was hot and sticky and I didn't want to torment the horses too much. Booger was in her rest week before the endurance ride, which meant Lucy got volunteered. She has not been doing as many long rides, though she still gets worked plenty. Eryca and Lilly were available to join us, and Dodie agreed to go as slow as needed. 

In the end, we did a little over twelve miles. It was probably the most technical ride either Lucy or Lilly had ever done.

Bee (left) and Lucy looking out over the reservoir.

Saturday, September 2, 2023

August

 I feel like my August post last year started off with "August sucked". Well, this August was really rough as far as work is concerned. At the beginning of the month, my supervisor (who I was quite fond of personally) passed away. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but it was still a nasty shock when it happened. I make it a rule not to talk about work on here, but the whole month centered around work basically falling apart. Without going into too much detail, my work load and responsibilities have basically quadrupled. I have been working more than usual. The money is good, but the stress definitely is not. Luckily I have the most amazing boss who has my back 100%. (And for the record, the increased work load is something I brought upon myself because I have no off switch.) ANYWAY. It will be interesting to see what happens with that in the next few months. 

In the mean time, I compensated by cramming way too many activities into the weekends. I still have to blog about two trail adventures at new places and another endurance ride. But first, let's catch up on the other things that rounded out the month...

We went kayaking at Nockamixon. I didn't take any photos on the water because I hadn't gotten a waterproof case for my current phone yet. I did bring the drone for some aerial photos though.

Monday, August 28, 2023

Jacobsburg

 The weekend after Muckleratz CTR, Jen offered to show me around Jacobsburg. This park has been on my list for a long time, but I have never managed to get out there. Luckily for me, these are Jen's home trails and she knows the park very well. Christine was not available that weekend, so Jen and I would be heading into the forest unsupervised. We joked about the types of misadventures we might get ourselves into, but it ended up being a drama-free ride.

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Photographing Muckleratz CTR

While I was at Muckleratz doing the LD with Booger, Carolyn asked if Mike and I were available to photograph the CTR. This is one of our favorite locations to shoot. You really can't beat the view off the hang glider launch and it's easily accessible. We always sell a ton of photos. The CTR doesn't have the number of entries the endurance ride boasts, but we had nothing else going on that weekend and we are always happy to give back. We happily agreed. It turned out to be a little mini vacation at the end of July.

Julio really enjoyed camping that weekend. This is my new favorite photo of him.

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Trexler

 The day after the fox hunting clinic, I met up with Jen and Christine to ride at Trexler. You would think they would have run for the hills after seeing Booger running through the forest without me at Muckleratz, but apparently I have found my people. I was delighted to be invited. Mike and I hiked Trexler right before the pandemic, and I have been wanting to ride there ever since. As always, I am eager to go on any adventure that means I don't have to navigate. 

We were meeting up early, the terrain is a bit technical, and the ladies originally planned to do the ten mile loop twice with a "hold" in the middle. All of that meant I was heading out to meet them by myself. 

The whole day turned out to be an adventure.

We totally harassed a stranger into taking this picture and texting it to us.

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

July

 This month just plain got away from me. We packed way too many things in (and I didn't even get to do all the things I wanted!) I have to blog about a fox hunting clinic, a ride at Trexler with new friends, and photographing a CTR. But first, let's dump the July photos that didn't earn posts of their own.

Let's start with this absolutely stunning barn cat I got to meet in July. Photo by Mike.

Monday, July 24, 2023

Muckleratz 2023

 Over fourth of July weekend, Booger and I did the LD at Muckleratz. 

We had some highs:

We had some lows:

It's always an adventure around here.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Essex Hounds Hunter Pace

 Two and a half weeks ago, Eryca and I headed up to the Essex Hounds Hunter Pace in Califon. It was near last year's Pace with a View, but took us in a different direction. We had never done an EFH pace before, but they come with a reputation of being both beautiful and competitive. In the end, the course wound up being nearly nine miles. Thus, the pace checked all our boxes: new trails, beautiful trails, not a pokey ride, and a longer course. 

The forecast leading up to the pace was abysmal and I worried we were going to get rained out. In the end, I reached out to the organizers and asked if the event would be held rain or shine. I was told they were going out as long as there was no lightning. Perfect!

It turned out to be a gorgeous day.

More hideous NJ.

Monday, July 3, 2023

June

 The year is almost half over, but we are really cramming in as many activities as we can. I still have to blog about a hunter pace and an endurance ride, but let's get caught up on all the miscellaneous June photos first!

A random between the ears photo from the home trails. Doing a little loop after work.

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Round Mountain: A Ride in Pictures

 The ride logs are really piling up. We have been shipping all over the place and riding every chance we get. At some point, I guess I really embraced the weekend warrior mentality. We have trailered out almost every weekend this year. I am not complaining, but I suspect that after a while, all the trail riding logs blur together. 

The weekend before last, I was feeling uninspired and a bit lazy. The forecast was, in a word, muggy. On Saturday, Mike and I went exploring at a new park. Then Eryca and I had a lovely jump school at home with Booger and Lilly. When Sunday rolled around, we both wanted to go ride, but neither of us had the energy to come up with a grand adventure. 

Instead, we revisited an old (local) favorite. We took Lucy and Lilly to Round Mountain and did six and a half miles. It was enough.

Friday, June 23, 2023

Nockamixon

 After talking about it forever, Eryca and I finally got to ride at Lake Nockamixon in Pennsylvania. It was an instant favorite.

This is now my favorite photo of Eryca and Lilly.

Saturday, June 17, 2023

AEA Trail Pace

 Two weekends ago, Eryca and I headed out for our first pace of the year. Between weather and conflicting schedules, we pretty much missed the entire spring season. To be honest, I don't mind. I love hunter paces and we have historically done really well. 

However (and you'll have to excuse me for sounding like an old fart) paces are not what they used to be. I remember the old days when the local pace was 12-15 miles and took you through the entire valley. People would tailgate before and after riding and you had to really know how to ride. Plus it was like twenty bucks to enter.

These days, a lot of paces are 5-6 miles (or less!) Depending on who is hosting and whether it's a hunter pace, trail pace, or pleasure pace, the ideal times vary drastically. I don't do these things to be competitive so I don't really care about that. In fact, I think it's great to encourage people to get out of the arena, even if it's at a walk. Plus, I totally respect doing whatever you need to do to keep horse events alive year after year. You have to adjust to your demographic.

With the cost of paces being in the fifty dollar range, though... I'm going to be picky about which ones I go to.  We stick to old favorites, places we've never been, and paces that have a longer option.

With the newfound freedom of  truck and trailer, Eryca and I have really been racking up the travel miles. We both agree that we'd rather spend money on gas to ride someplace new. I do, however, enjoy not having to navigate once in a while.

So when the Alexandria trail organization advertised that they were hosting a trail pace a new location and offering a short/long course format, we were all over it! It wound up being a gorgeous day.

Monday, June 12, 2023

New York Adventure 2023

 The reason I was in such a hurry to get the horse trailer picked up and situated was that I wanted to take Booger to the LD at New York Adventure. I had already missed the early entry deadline and was worried the ride would fill before I sent my entry. I messaged Dodie the day before the deadline and told her that I needed to have the trailer by the end of the week to be able to commit to the ride. It was down to the wire, but the trailer came home on Friday and I sent my entry on Saturday. One week later, we were on our way to New York. 

Booger's first official ride photos, by Carien Schippers of ImagEquine. Used with purchase, of course. I love how happy she looks!

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Maiden Voyage: Tyler Park

 The day after we picked up the new horse trailer, it rained heavily, but the day after that dawned clear and bright. I was itching to go on our maiden voyage and Eryca was available. 

We were originally planning to do the hunter pace at Lord Stirling, but there had been an EHV euthanasia at a Hunterdon County barn a few days earlier and I wanted to avoid a crowd. 

I asked Eryca if she was craving any trail in particular and she brought up Tyler Park. I went there in 2016 with Ozzy and have been wanting to go back ever since. Eryca and I hadn't gone because I wasn't comfortable taking not-my-trailer out of state, but with my own rig, the sky's the limit (well, and gas money). 

Monday, June 5, 2023

May

 We packed a lot into the month of May and I haven't even blogged about half of it yet. Here are all the things that won't make it into their own posts. 

Our landlord got chickens. This is Nugget, our future rooster. 

Friday, June 2, 2023

New Trailer

 We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a special announcement.

After waiting my entire adult life, I finally have a horse trailer of my own!

2023 Hawk Model 110.

Friday, May 26, 2023

PTA with Sandy

 This past weekend was the Pittstown Trail Association group ride. Sandy is on the board at PTA and was the one organizing the event. The weekend before the group ride, Sandy asked if I would be willing to come ride the trails with her to give them a once over. She needed to make sure the route was passable and safe. PTA is normally members-only so I jumped at the chance for a guided tour. Plus Sandy and I were overdue for a ride. I have only ridden a small section of the Pittstown trails before. That was when Sandy and I did the 17 mile point-to-point ride from Deer Path Park to Sandy's house. Other than that short stretch, all of these trails were new to me. I volunteered Booger for the task and the four of us ended up doing eleven and a half miles. It was lovely.

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Farewell To Friends

 Geneva and I first met in 2018 at Mustang Memorial. She had been riding with Sandy all year long and I was a bit jealous of their adventures. I had found myself without a riding horse after Ozzy's passing. At the time, Tango's then-owner had actually reached out and offered the mare to me as a lease. At the time, I wasn't in a position to take a mare. Plus Tango had a bit of a reputation

Well, things often seem to happen for a reason. In the end, Tango ended up with Geneva, first on loan and then for keeps. The two of them had a hell of an endurance career together! 

The next time I saw Geneva, we rode the first few miles of Broxton together in 2019. I was on Dart. She was on a horse named Ghost and he was A Lot. I had no desire to go as fast as they were going so I pulled off of them, but I remember being impressed by Geneva's riding. 

We saw each other later that spring at Rabbit Run and Geneva shared her wine with me in the gun club. I should have known then that she was my kind of people. 

Our next major interaction was at OD 100; me on Lunar, Geneva on Tango. We were on the same team. It just so happened we were the winning team that year! That was a good year for both of us and we saw each other in passing at a few rides, including Moonlight in Vermont and Fort Valley. We were friendly and chatted happily about this and that, but we didn't know each other super well. 

That didn't stop us from getting a little tipsy in the hotel after the OD Christmas Party, in our matching Triple Crown jacket. That year, Tango won OD High Mileage Horse. Geneva also brought me my ECTRA awards after she went to their banquet a few weeks later.

After that, a pandemic hit and the wheels fell off the bus. 

The next time I saw Geneva was at my return to distance riding in 2021. We were at Muckleratz and Geneva was doing her first ride with Hopper, a young mare she'd gotten from Dodie. I was instantly smitten with the little gray powerhouse, and I told Geneva as much. 

By then, we were pretty friendly online, chatting here and there about this and that. We hadn't really hung out in any official capacity, but we ran in all the same circles and the same sport. 

When Geneva posted that she was looking for someone to do a long, fast ride in the sand with, I volunteered. To my surprise and delight, she took me up on my offer. The rest, as they say, is history. We rode together at Colliers Mills in November and I think I can safely say all four of us had an absolute blast. Hopper and Booger went really well together.

Looking back, I only wish we had met sooner. 

We packed a lot of adventures into the last six months. We even started Booger's first endurance ride side by side. We rode in the pine barrens, at Horseshoe Bend, and at Baldpate Mountain. We laughed, we gossiped, we cruised down the canal path on our two confident Arabian mares who have way too much in common. We bounced ideas off of each other and shared wild events as they were unfolding in our lives. It has been a fast, easy friendship, and one that has brought me much joy.

And of course, whenever I make a friend, the universe has other plans.

Almost two weeks ago, Geneva moved to Vermont. 

It's a wonderful opportunity and I am over the moon excited for her and her boyfriend. I am also 100% planning to crash in on them once they're situated. It's not goodbye forever, but it still stings. 

The last weekend she was home, Geneva sent me a message and asked, "Any chance I could convince you to come up for one last ride at the park on Monday or Tuesday after work?"

It would make for a long night. We both work until 5pm. Then I'd have to hook up the trailer, drive to the barn, groom and load the horse, haul up to Frenchtown, tack up, ride, and then do it all in reverse before feeding and driving back home.

I said, "Absolutely."

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Assunpink Adventure

 It had been one of those weeks where it rained and rained and rained. Every day I looked forward to riding my horses. Every day I got rained out. It had been a rough week at work. A thing I had been looking forward to was delayed and didn't arrive on time. To put it succinctly: I was crabby.

So when the forecast for Saturday called for mild temperatures and clear, blue skies, I decided I needed to haul out to trail ride somewhere dry. On Friday night, Eryca and I decided to trailer down to the Assunpink. I had some new gear to try out with Booger, so she got volunteered as my partner.

Ah, that's better.

Saturday, May 13, 2023

NACMO: Fingers Crossed

Three weeks ago, Eryca and I tried something new! Mounted Orienteering has been on my to-try list since I first heard about it many years ago. It sounded like Geocaching on horseback... and I love Geocaching and horseback! Unfortunately, I seem to have a passion for dying sports and orienteering is not very popular on the east coast. Still, I saw many of my friends in the PNW having a blast doing CMO. I knew NACMO was something Miss Dodie was involved in and I left that information in a dusty corner of my brain "for a rainy day". 

Imagine my surprise and absolute joy when Dodie posted that she was holding the Fingers Crossed ride at our very own Horseshoe Bend Park!! Fingers crossed because it's April and the weather can be fickle. The first date got rained out, but that actually worked in my favor since Eryca wasn't available that day. The ride was rescheduled to the 29th, and we planned to go. (One of the benefits of CMO is that you can do it as an individual rather than a team, but things are definitely more fun with friends.)

Friday, May 12, 2023

My right knee aches
When it's about to rain

And there are forty hours a week
I can no longer claim

But I am not too old 
To canter bareback around the fields
With birdsong, dogwood blossoms, and the lightest feel

On my reins
In my seat
Between oversized ears

Some things don't fade
With the passing years

Friday, May 5, 2023

April

How is it possible that a third of the year has passed already?

It feels like it has been raining nonstop all month, but we did get some riding in. The hunt put some jumps up around the vineyard. This jump has been tempting me for a while. To be honest, it looks huge to me. When we first saw it at the hunter pace last year, I noped right out. On this day, Eryca and I rode together and I decided to just lunge Lucy over it to see what she thought. She hopped over it so easily that I decided to give it a go. It turned out to be fine. That's one of the things I love about this horse. She builds my confidence. I do wish the Horse Park would hold weekend cross country schooling like they used to. I'd love to go!

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Photographing No Frills

 Mike and I photographed No Frills again this year. Becky had the same scheduling conflict as last year and we were more than happy to step in. For starters, it's a great way to get to a ride and see everyone. Last year we also made a killing on photo sales. We have a lot of upcoming expenses so the chance to make a little extra cash was appealing. No Frills is a two day ride, which meant taking half a day Thursday to head down. 

My photography assistant for the weekend.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Hiking: Penn State Forest

 A few weekends ago, Mike and I headed down to the Pine Barrens for a hike with Julio in tow. We ended up walking five and a half miles without another soul in sight, and made some fun discoveries along the way.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Driving Miss Booger

 Just popping in to break the silence up a bit. Things have been chaotic around here. What else is new? I have a few posts in the works, but just wanted to dump some driving photos of Booger from last week.

I needed Mike to help me put out round bales before we headed to Virginia for the weekend. I asked him to bring his camera to snap some pictures of Booger in harness. We did change directions and gaits, but all my favorites were tracking left in the corner where the light was best. 

Booger loves to drive and I keep telling myself I need to make more time for it and upgrade some of her gear. I have a long list of expensive and time consuming hobbies, though, so the jog cart at home will have to do for now.

Thursday, April 6, 2023

In Which We Need a Tune Up

 A week after the LD, Geneva messaged me to let me know that Hopper had signed herself up for the fifty at Foxcatcher. It would be her first one. (Spoiler alert, they completed and came in third!!)

"I guess I should probably ride her tomorrow, huh?" she wrote. 
"If you want, I'll come join you!" I replied.

Turns out this wild animal needs new brakes.

Monday, April 3, 2023

March

 March came in like a lion and went out like a... wet lion. I still have to blog about my last ride with Geneva, but I'm otherwise mostly caught up.

We had some pretty wild sunsets this month.

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Booger's First Endurance Ride

 I filled out the entry form and hit send, then closed the computer and made a list of things to pack. Getting ready for an endurance ride always consists of a flurry of activity. Go, go, go. It wasn't until the initial frenzy died down that the date struck me. Rabbit Run was being held on March 18th. It was the five year anniversary of Ozzy's death. The realization hit like a ton of bricks. 

The following weeks flew by and the knot in my stomach grew. The date felt like a sign. Would it be a good sign like the eagle I spotted on the last loop of the cold and snowy fifty at Foxcatcher, or a bad sign like the tree blocking the road on our way to the airport for Tevis? Only time would tell.

Thursday night I packed the trailer. I climbed in the truck and the engine roared to life. I pulled out of the driveway, heading for home. Sirius XM played on the Mosaic station, a leftover perk of the truck's last owner. From the moment of silence between songs, the familiar chords of The Goo Goo Dolls rose and filled the cab. Name. The song that always makes me think of my heart horse and his larger than life personality.

"I think about you all the time
But I don't need the same
It's lonely where you are, come back down
And I won't tell 'em your name"

I pulled into the driveway at home with tears streaming down my cheeks. 

"I hear you, buddy," I whispered into the gray of the evening.

Good sign. 

Friday, March 17, 2023

Lucy Gets a Turn

 You may have noticed that Booger has been hogging the spotlight around here lately, but Lucy is still getting ridden. While Booger has more miles and hours under saddle so far this year, Lucy actually has more individual rides. I'll admit that juggling two is a challenge, especially in the cold, wet, dark months. 

This past weekend, it poured all day on Saturday. I had promised Lucy she would get to go on the adventure the next time around. When Sunday dawned clear and dry, I loaded Lucy into the box to head down to the Assunpink for a ride with Eryca and Lilly, even though it was technically Booger's turn. 

Eryca had places to be that afternoon, so I planned to keep it on the short side. Then we accidentally did a little over ten miles anyway. Whoops!

I was slightly obsessed with this tree line.