Unrelenting weekend

It's been a weekend of unrelenting rain and I think we're all tired of being stuck indoors. The barn's eurosizer and round pen are not currently covered and there's limited opportunity for turn out given the weather over the past two weeks (Ellie's stall actually flooded so she's squatting in a neighbor's who is gone at Thermal) so the horses are bored and going a little crazy.

I've known the instructor filling in while the team is at Thermal for years so it was fun to reconnect with her at Fairmont and to show off Ellie. Correction- show off a demon who had forgotten that she can canter on the right lead. I'm going to chalk it up to the weather which is expected to clear up this week. All will be well once we're back in the outdoor and on our regular turnout schedule- I'm sure of it.

Face Brush: Most Hated Thing

This face is precisely why I've got a cart full of brushes from Teddy's Tack Trunk. Someone has some serious Mare Glare going on!

Ellie Gets a Training Ride

Which actually happens several times every week. But it's not often that I get to be there to watch.

Miss Ellie has got a case of the Spring fever- bad. This seems to happen to us- I travel a lot and when I am home, put a lot of pressure on myself to have THE BEST ride. Meanwhile Ellie uses this time to devise new ways to get out of work. Remember last year- refusing to trot and the "snake neck?" Yup- that resulted in a pricey saddle repanel while I tried to determine whether her lack of propulsion was due to discomfort. It was not.

This year we're going somewhere (not fast- but somewhere)....except we're crooked. Both of us! And in order to maintain her crookedness she gives a little crowhop every time I actually manage to get myself sitting straight. A short necked horse with a round buck? It feels like a little more than a toss of the hips.
I actually said to Ali in a recent lesson, "It's really hard to ride to fence when the horse is bucking every stride." And then I got a classic Ali nugget of wisdom.
"Ride the horse as if you're schooling for the owner. Take the emotion out of it."
So I've been making a huge effort in recent lessons to not let the little sparks of attitude get to me, not to continue the fight, and to carry on quietly and firmly.

I also had the rare opportunity to watch Ellie get a training ride. And you know what? She looked great! A little snark but not nearly as dramatic as it feels under saddle and a soft look about her! Love to see her in action,

#SelfieFail

#ROOTD and Moose

In an effort to brighten up an otherwise gloomy day I decided to bust out my best Spring colors! I enjoyed reading Aimee's Post about being a Tack Ho but not a Riding Outfit Ho. I'm much more the latter, and you'd think that having things merchandised for me in front of my face would make it easy to put outfits together. Yet I continue to buy pieces and on a Saturday morning when I'm getting ready to head to the barn...nothing seems to go together. I end up in the same boring old White Sunstopper. Breeches. Maybe a jacket.

So imagine my delight when this happened....
showcased perfectly by my second ride of the day on Moose!