planBE

Annual Trail Rides: 204/200 (Bareback 31/40) Well I was having some thoughts on the way to the barn ... I haven't had my unplanned dismount for 2021 and I only have 3 weeks to go before we leave. And so today, I had my ONE for 2021. Everything was going really well, but I was determined to try a planned canter bareback (as opposed to the involuntary bolting gallop bareback that happened the day before). I trotted some, felt pretty good. And then I hit a spot with a slightly sloping hill and asked. Unfortunately Q didn't think I was very serious (or stable) so he only hit stride towards the top of the hill. The first few strides felt good. As we crested the hill I was leaning forward and on top of his shoulder. Q did a sidestep right leaving me hanging mid air over where his left shoulder was. He then moved more right and I was a goner ... heading straight for a young tree that bisected me in the chest. I saw the tree coming, thinking, oh shit. I was hoping to not crash my head ...

Annual Trail Rides 203/200 (Bareback 30/40) Two interesting episodes happened over the last week that really challenged my perceptions. My teacher Q served my learnings quite effectively and have left me scratching my head as to when I imposed these self-limitations. Episode 1: The Hunter The Background We have some interesting forest trails that are very narrow (sometimes 3 feet between 100 year old pine trees) and very bendy (sometimes turning 130 degrees around a tree). It makes for an interesting bend and yield exercise and these trails are often quite popular with the riders. Sometimes it is a great place to hide in the woods with very little traffic and zero sleighs/buggies. Occasionally there are deer hiding in there as well. Some of my past horses were brilliant at trotting and cantering through these paths, and never gave my knees a moments worry. Some of these paths are worse (more narrow, more bends) than others. One particular trail #31 is the worst of them all.  Some o...

Annual Trail Rides: 197/200 (Bareback 28/40) Topped the birthday weekend with some extra special solo rides where we went off exploring new trails and stayed confident despite the roar of a rogue dirt bike that was threatening my peace and sanity. Q, as usual, was unphased by everything except the big pile of rocks. Mucho speed was engaged and we refound our canter on the buckle. Today it was back on bareback where Q sent me into a big bouncy trot and I was giggling until … my phone fell out of my pocket. I jumped down. and then 🤷‍♀️ wondered how I would get back on! Thanks to our new forest management friends, we have some stumps turned into mounting blocks and so I decided to give it a go! I must give thanks to the time I spent teaching Q to sidepass to any object I desire and then stand stock still while I scramble back on bareback. Although I felt like Goldilocks, the first mounting block was too big … but the next one was just right. And so I learned that all that time doing grou...

Annual Trail Rides: 180/200 (Bareback: 24/40) Rode three times today including one drill team practice in the arena which was a surprise and novelty as I have not ridden inside in 6+ months. I started out with a quiet bareback hack around the woods, following our fearless leader as she begins rehab on her pretty boy. The barn crew was supposed to head out to a local show next month and this morning was going to be a practice flat class. My intention was to join them as a whirling dervish and do the silly things that silly riders do in competition (pass too close, cut you off, ride too slow) so that the newbies could be better prepared for the silliness of a hack class. But it seems that the show might be canceled so they converted practice to a drill team practice and it was tons of fun. My Q was pretty darn good and precise and malleable for a horse with very little ring time. We ended with a cool down trail ride and thats a wrap for the 18th milestone of this series.

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...