planBE

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...

Annual Trail Rides: 158/200 (Bareback: 16/12) It is back to school season, and Im preparing for my first class in person in 18 months this week! I do hope it sticks, as cases are on the rise and we are ever watchful despite a huge (85%) double vaccination rate in adults in our province. We now have vaccine passports which give us access to restaurants, gyms, and non essential services. But this is about the other professor in my life: Q. He is so gentle in his teachings, like the Zen master that waits for the student to empty his cup before adding knowledge. He does poke and prod me to go faster and release my controlling anxiety-prone ways. He does laugh and sigh at me, as he shows me how easily he accomplishes my requests. And he takes care of me, rebalancing my body when I start to fall off. We have achieved good success bareback this week, especially at the faster trot. I even started dropping the rein contract (hello control!) in the trot, and Q continues down the path steady and ...

Annual Trail Rides 153/200 (Bareback 12/12) Anxiety overload. I had 5000 reasons why I shouldn’t do the thing, and only 1 reason to do it. I tried a few times, but it didn’t feel right. But this day, a stinking hot day, where the bareback pad was the only option for a short jaunt in the woods ... was the day. August 21, 2021. I did the thing I had not done in 30 years. Those blissful teenage years where your body is like a rubber ball, and you have no sense of death or serious injury.  I was feeling locked in to the bareback pad, with my sticky sweaty skin sticking to my sticky jeans that were sticking to my sticky bareback pad. We did a little trot and it felt good. And Q was feeling mighty chill in the sweltering heat and humidity. I had scoped out this section of trail two days ago and had deemed it acceptable. If I fell, and Q left me, it was a short trot back to the barn without any road crossings. If he stayed with me, it would be a very short walk of shame. Help was nearby i...

Annual Trail Rides: 150/200 (Bareback 10/12) Almost there! After a few too many social rides, my last rides were mostly solo and fast. I attempted my 2 km canter stretch and almost made it! A few more tries and it should be success! I also tried a new watering hole and found a new/old trail as a result. And Q is getting real cozy on his grazing proximity. One more week of this riding vacation and its back to work! Im sure Q will enjoy some rest!

Annual Trail Rides : 148/200 (Bareback 10/12) Ive been wanting to do this for a long time. Ive been amping up my speed on trail quite intentionally, being more consistent with canter departs, lead changes, and transitions. Ive also been working on much longer canter stretches, pushing my endurance and managing my breath.  The result is that Q has now defaulted to a lovely cadenced canter on trail for long consistent stretches, while I have dropped all contact and sit on the buckle. Which helped introduce two bucket list items: 1) cantering downhill (Im so fearful of tripping hazards since my last horse was a daisy-cutter) 2) I managed to film a long sequence with my phone while cantering on the buckle Talk about trust! The small clip is below. Ive also been spending consistent time with my horse loose grazing under the power lines after a ride and bath. He loves it because his turnout is in a dry paddock! And recently he has been coming to graze next to me, while I sit in the grass...

Annual Trail Rides : 144/200 (Bareback 8/12) Two weeks of heavy riding, speed records, dashing through rain and puddles and introducing 9 other riders on 4 separate occasions to my amazing 3 km track! Ive also managed to dramatically reduce my time online and finish 4 novels. Im also in the running for the big bingo prize! Its been a great vacation so far, and today my Q gave me that oh so sweet teenage girl feeling with her lovely pony as we meandered through the soupy forest bareback and on the buckle on one of those icky sticky days. 3 more weeks of bliss ahead.