Had a good ride in sector 3 and got some new flying mane pictures on 17 and N trails. The scent of the wildflowers was a delight, and we got surprised by a deer. 🦌
Four years ago today I made a scary decision of offering to purchase a 3 year old untrained andalusian stallion from Florida, sight unseen. It flew in the face of everything I thought about purchasing a horse. It was all business, and based on the breeders understanding of what I wanted to do with the horse. The breeder had 20 colts and fillies of the same age to sell, and my Q was the least dressage flashy and the most in-your-pocket of the bunch. And his conformation made him well suited for working equitation or western riding. We did fly down to meet Q and the breeder before we had him shipped from Florida to Quebec in the spring. But by then the wire transfers and vet checks were done. It was more like an arranged marriage kind of meeting. It actually turned out to be smart, because once we got there and saw all the other horses, I was in awe of the tremendous beauties also for sale. Had I not already made and executed on my (rational) choice, I might have made a different cho
It has been over twenty-five years since I did a solo trail ride bareback. Today was the day. Q was amazing, and gave me the confidence to ride on the buckle most of the way. When we came up to a road crossing, I got nervous because I could hear an unseen car climbing the road and was afraid it was the roadster sans muffler that had been gunning it up and down the road earlier. So I asked Q to trot, and he steadily complied with the smoothest transitions. Comfy and confident! The last time I had done this was with my first QH Rocky that I moved from Canada to Costa Rica (in the winter - bad idea) to live on the Pacific Ocean with me. We would go ride on the beach and in the ocean and bareback was the way to go. It was mostly walking around and I honestly don’t remember galloping bareback since my poney days as a teenager. Of course my new best friends bareback pad is amazing. It provides a little cushion, gives a stickiness to my seat with the suede-like top and adheres to Q
It was a lovely mild day and I headed out with my pals for two hours of walking and trotting bliss in the forest. I caught this short moment trotting in slow motion. To help Q forget his snorting piaffing ways, we did 30 minutes of lunging, 15 minutes of riding trot in the arena ... and then headed out in leading and following positions on the buckle. Ahhh, nice to get my horse back. ;-)
Zoom, zoom ... ouch. Finally one of the coolest days is here. Sunny, blue skies, low humidity and temps in mid-twenties. Perfect riding weather. Particularly after our surprise storm on Wednesday that left tons of debris and fallen trees and branches on the trails. Surprise storm brewing a few days ago. Within a few minutes, there were huge circular gusts of wind, almost like a Tornado. The next day volunteer crews were out removing the fallen trees. But some trails still have significant debris. I was heading out with trail buddy C and her azteca mare to explore section 5. I told her I needed some media for my summer challenge. She was happy to oblige not quite knowing what other objectives I had in mind. Most of the trail was lovely and I even tackled the jump trail, with a series of cross-country log jumps, for the first time. Q was just simply amazing, leading sometimes or in the back sometimes. The two horses have a trot that is simply in s
I did a crazy thing today. Jumped off the cliff. Let go of the handlebars. Tossed caution to the wind. I did not listen to my inner voice that says “If Only” + whatever is blocking... as in If only I was younger, fitter. If only I was a better rider. If only my horse was better trained. If only I had a better roundpen. If only I had a safer horse. If only. I listened to the voice of my 9 year old self that says “Imagine” + whatever you dream about. I may have four decades on my 9 year old self with all the physical and mental limitations that brings, but today I said Carpe Diem. The peanut gallery looked on in shock and amazement as I approached the mounting block without saddle or bridle. As I stood on the block and Q parallel parked beside me, I suggested someone predial 911 just in case, slight apprehension in my voice. Q was confused at first as we left the mounting block, and he did a 10 meter circle to park again at the block because he clearly felt I had forgotten som
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