Show Time

The beginning of this year has been crazy busy! I've got another horse show tomorrow, and I only have a couple more before the season is over. Then it's time to decide if I want to find a summer series to show in. 

But first, I think I'm going to talk to my vet about giving Chica an all-over evaluation.  As she gets older I want to make sure I'm doing what I can to maintain her good health and soundness. It's easy enough to push myself past pain and tiredness, but since my horse doesn't have a voice of her own I feel a big responsibility to keep her happy.

After tomorrow's show I have to get together with my sister so we can start planning some of the stuff we want to do while we're in New Zealand! It will probably be my last big trip for a little while. I need to start investing more in my riding/training/showing career. I need some better show clothes, a better fitting saddle, and it might be time to start looking at horse trailers. But all things in their time. 

IEA Show Regionals: Baby, It's Cold Outside

This year I have been the schooling rider for the Oak Haven Farm Interscholastic Equestrian Association team. In practical terms, this means that I warm-up and school horses before the shows.

When the students go to the show, each team brings their own school horses to compete. Before the show begins, the show management take all the horses' names, put them in a hat, and draw out a random horse for each kid to ride. Because of this procedure, the kid in question may or may not get a horse he knows to compete for any particular class.

To keep everything as fair as possible, competitors are not allowed to warm up or school the horses before the show. This is where I come in. Each team needs a schooling rider to warm up the horses their team brought before the show. 

It's pretty straightforward, and a fun way to spend a weekend: all the excitement of a horse show with none of the pressure. And less work, since the competitors help with the care of their team's horses. 

The only drawback this particular weekend is the fact that I had to school at 6:00am when the temperature at the show grounds was 46F.

Retiree Tales

Evening Routine

For most of the year I live by myself. But during the winter months, I get some housemates in the form of the retiree snowbirds who own my house and their dog, Kubota.

Every evening, Fred turns on the Hallmark Hall of Fame channel because, "Penny likes to watch a movie in the evening." So she stands at the table and works on her puzzle and he sits and reads, and at the end of the movie when the star-crossed lovers finally have their epiphany and get together, Fred sits and pretends to cry. 

Big fake happy crying. 

It drives Penny crazy. 

And it's funny every time!

Little Things In Life

My hair is (kinda) long enough to braid again! We'll see how long it lasts before I get annoyed with it and chop it short again.