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. 🦌
Yesterday was day four in a row of trail riding. Usually at this point my pony starts to whither. Everything becomes relaxed and easy, and we enjoy much time on the buckle. We spend our time practicing with leg aids and neck rein and a good time is had by all. We have also had four days of epic footing. The best footing of the entire year. (no rocks, no roots, no mud, no bugs) Trails are well padded and the track is fast. My Q that I thought was so lethargic 10 days ago has shown me that he is all go-go-go! But I still figured that by Day 4 of constant riding, he would start to slow down. I was wrong. Yesterday he was all funny faces and ears at his buddy Shadow when we trotted side by side, and he definitely wanted to blow past him several times. On one canter stretch where Shadow was leading and Q was accelerating up the hill, Shadow spooked at some branch and my buddy B stopped him. Well Q was having none of that, and literally went to pass him ... until I stopped h...
What a pleasure to spend the morning picking berries with my mom. The blueberries were not yet ripe, but the blackberries were starting to ripen. It was hard to see them from the trails but once we went through the thorny bushes they started to appear. Pickings were still a bit slim, and many of the fruits were a bit small. But we will go out two more times over the next two weeks and hope for more abundance. These babies were hiding behind some bushes My mom is 81 years young and still a firecracker. Although she stopped riding a few years ago, she still volunteers twice a week at the local horse rescue doing chores ... even stacking hay!!! Here is a picture of us on our palominos dressed up for the western pleasure pairs class. It was a hoot of a time, with tons of trail riding and the occasional shows. On trail, we enjoyed the nickname of the golden ghosts as we trotted and cantered through the forest. Mom & I on Mare & Son Things changed a while ago, and bot...
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: 194/200 (Bareback 27/40) These two weeks are busy with work and teaching so riding is taking a backseat in the form of showing up at the barn after several days of absence and then wrangling the fire breathing dragon for as safe a trail ride as I can make it. Somehow, though, and perhaps because of Qs advancing 8 years of age, his fiery reactions are now “less unsettling”. Last Sunday I showed up on a chilly but sunshiny day to find Q head butting me on the crossties, constantly pawing the ground. I tossed him in the ring for a run and he gave me some good bucks in the process. I thought all was clear, but his energy went straight up again once we were on the trail. I pushed into a trot mighty quick, dropping those reins and letting him stride out until he gave his first big blowing sign. I knew it would take 5-10 minutes. But he wouldn’t stride out, sucking back with his head up like a giraffe. I kept pushing for forward but he was stuck. And then he spooked and sp...
Another one of those gorgeous autumn days, where the skies turn cartoon blue, and the sun strikes the colourful leaves with just the right angle to create an illuminating effect. I did this 13 km ride 2/3 riding, and 1/3 on foot to keep building up my endurance for my upcoming Patagonia trek. It went well, but with the mercury climbing to 15C, I started getting overheated mighty quick. Q, not even a drop of sweat on him. We also saw our first cow! Boy Q was surprised. Now actually it was a calf, two in fact, but he doesn't know the difference of course. Except that something smelled different, and was slightly hiding behind a conifer hedge. Made for a pretty stance though. He also got spooked by a painted concrete stump. It took us a few extra minutes to approach this one, as he was sure it was the devil hiding behind that black face. Looked like a ghost to me.
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