Colours in my life

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On the mend

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Annual Trail Rides: 101/200 (Bareback 3/12) I arrived at the barn to find Q buried in a big pile of fresh hay with his best buddy Chester. He was in no rush to see me as his pile of hay was being topped up by more hay ... but he came regardless and I felt like he was striding better in the driveway and the barn aisle. He had done a real number on himself, rolling in the heavy sand, and literally looked like Pig Pen with a cloud of dust everywhere. I decided to wash him first, fix his feet, ears, and bridal path ... and if he still looked good we might stroll out on a bareback ride. Well, it all turned out right. We manoeuvred around the hay wagons and piles, hopped on and took some tentative steps towards the trailhead. By the time we were on the trails, Qs natural walking stride was back. Thank goodness! We meandered around the trails and Q even gave me some big bold trotting. He was a bit tentative when roots were underfoot but I tried to navigate around those. Overall I was pleased ...
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Cheers 1 6 0

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Annual Trail Rides: 160/200 (Bareback 17/12) This ride (#160) was just for me! Q gave me a blast of an experience, finishing 20 km in under 2 hours which was a blazing pace for us given the terrain. Up, down, narrow, wide, rooty, deep sand, asphalt and gravel sections, rocky sections, bogs, creeks ... we had a little bit of everything. We trotted where others would walk, and cantered where others would trot. We would not have been able to tackle that pace accompanied. I put a saddle on for this ride, and warned the barn staff that I was going for a long one, thinking it would take me 3 hours. Q was a beast! This ride also marked the official end of my glorious 6 week vacation, clocking in 35 trail rides. Thats a solid 5-6 trail rides a week, never once setting foot in the arena. And of course, Ive been blowing up my objective of bareback rides at 17.  Now, I have 40 rides left for the next 3 months, and Im thinking of pushing the needle on the bareback portion. If I do 23 of the ne...
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Gratefulness

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Tough week. Had me wondering if it was the full moon or some planet in retrograde. Everything seemed to be souring, and my level of irritation was at an all-time high. And then, out of the blue, a client team shared their gratefulness with me. An unexpected gift. Reminded me of the ted talk on gratefulness leading to happiness. Worth a listen. Ted Talk on Gratefulness Ted Talk
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Juggling Perceptions 1 7 0

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Annual Trail Rides: 170/200 (Bareback 21/40) Our on-the-buckle trail lope is increasingly solid, which is a surprise to me because I never expected my pretty andalusian to be such a steady eddy when he grew up. My intention back when I started my search in 2015 was to just have a cool and spunky trail horse and I ended up with something completely different but also incredibly fun, and cool and spunky but in a different kind of way than what we horsepeople generally mean.  Our tremendous mileage of 2021 has really highlighted the good, the great, and the incredibly annoying that is my wonderQ. This beautiful, friendly, generous and willing partner turns into a cantankerous pony when given the opportunity to eat (hello branch!) or stop on the trail to poop. He can be so obnoxious when given the chance. And then, when Im just thoroughly annoyed at his yanking me all over the trail, he gives me the most amazing lopes on the buckle with an easy glide from walk to canter and a steady pa...
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Stepping out in Hungary

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So its the last night at the ranch in the steppes, or grasslands, of Hungary. Its mostly quite flat in an undulating kind of way with patches of forests and marshlands. This national park is a bird sanctuary and we see the occasional deer along the way. While much of it feels familiar because of the sand and pine forests, there are a few notable differences. First, the sand roads go on for long distances which has us often cantering 3-5 km stretches. Thats 3-4 times the distance we generally do at home. Second, there are no electric high transmission power lines to mar the view. Third, the grass sections stretch out for miles in each direction with a view that is not customary. The ranch is great. We figured out a good rhythm after a few days that had us gathering in the sauna and jacuzzi in the evening because there is literally nothing else to do. The beat here is very relaxed, and we have all achieved a great zen state. We had a good reining lesson this morning when they p...
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