Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Hi All,
I apologize for my
absence as of late. I had a very busy weekend, and am getting ready for
another very busy weekend. I am apologizing again ahead of time for not
stopping by everyone’s blogs – if I can scratch out some time this week
I will stop in. The boys are settling in at my folks place, Patrick
more so than Stretch – who is very nervous at being in a new
environment and at being turned out but is adapting however slowly.
I
visited them this weekend – but the new footing I was hoping for was
not in the round pen so I was unable to lunge either one of them. In
order to ride my younger horses with my back in the way that it is – I
need to lunge them first, this is not an option for me. Since the only
place for me to lunge wasn’t safe – there was no lunging and therefore
no riding . My parents live up in the woods basically on the side of a
mountain & the only place level enough and free enough of trees to
lunge is where the round pen is now – and right now there is a very
thin layer of footing in it over the years the wind has blown it away –
it’s important that there is LOTS of sand and dirt in there because
that area is basically on top of a big slab of rock. With little
footing it’s too slick to work the horses in there.
Because of
financial situations this is unlikely to change anything soon. I came
the realization this weekend that there would probable be no more horse
showing for me for this summer – even if I get Stretch or Pat moved
down with me we simply don’t have the spare cash. So I have been
feeling kind of down. I was just keeping this “upbeat state of mind”
thinking that some how I’d find a way to sneak in the show pen, but now
with the reality of the cost of fencing, footing, and vehicle
maintenance looming over my head I find that impossible to keep up. So
I have been feeling rather down about it - it's just not going to
happen.
When you have competed and shown for as long as I have you really start to notice all the things you did “
just because you were showing.”
Now without those things to do I am kinda at a loss. I can’t even do
things to substitute like trail riding or planning or many of the other
things that I used to do to occupy my time until I could show again.
In
short - I miss my show friends, my horse trainer friends, the travel,
the activity, and the excitement and it’s only been 2 weeks (and one
show). I have a feeling this is going to be a LONG, LONG summer….
PSNo I didn’t stick Pat and measure him (sorry) – Stretch was being real high maintenance and needy and took up my time.
Yes
– Stretch and Pat are kinda pals but compete ruthlessly for my
attention – maybe at some point they will be turned out together but
for now Stretch has shoes on while nobody else does so he has been
separate from Pat.
And I am so
very pleased with the outcome of Saturday’s race – it was just a really
good race with Mine That Bird proving to the world that he wasn’t a
fluke and with Rachael proving to the world that she can beat the
“boys.” I was jumping up and down and hugging my mom about the end of
the race.
