Happy New Year!

Our business operates on a fiscal year and tomorrow our warehouses stop shipping for 5 days during physical inventory.

We're all letting out a collective deep breath!

In preparation for the New Year, my coworker and I (accidentally) wore the same shirt and embarked on a massive cube cleaning spree.

Feeling prepped and ready to go for Fiscal 2017. Cheers to a New Year!

View from the Top

Today I took a field trip to visit Wilbur's potential new home. Susie lives in an unincorporated part of San Mateo County, has some insane amount of acreage, and we're friends through the barn.

I had a number of thoughts while following her up from Woodside (where her mare is showing this week) to her home on "Fog Mountain."
How much longer can we keep going up?
Does she get altitude sickness?
I wonder if my brakes are up for this?
Will I have enough gas to get home?
And....
How the hell does she pull a horse trailer on this one lane, hairpin turn road?

Not quite ready to move this guy

View of the pastures

Bay Area Blogger Meetup

Wow! What an incredible meetup of Bay Area Equestrian Bloggers! There were actually so many of us that I didn't get a chance to chat with everyone!

I'd had a pretty early start to the day getting both Ellie and Wilbur ridden and came to lunch straight from the barn....I figured this crowd wouldn't mind my Sunday Best e.g. dirt smudged breeches.

Pulling into the parking lot I saw a gaggle of gals pulling up chairs and I just knew....these were my people. In fact, as though by some sort of weird apparition, it looked like everyone was wearing riding clothes. Nope. Just me.

When I spotted Karley, it was like seeing an old friend. After all, I'd been following her blog for 3+ years and we've always been like ships passing in the night at various horsey events but never actually had the chance to meet.

And then Lindsay showed up which was this giant, wonderful surprise! While she doesn't publish a blog herself- she following the Bay Area group and we've become friends via Facebook. It was another one of those- 'I feel like we must have already met because I know you' moments. The best part was that she wasn't on the email thread going around so it truly was a surprise!

Olivia brought everyone a goody bag of horse cookies, tagged with her very own DIY screen printed mule- awesome and so thoughtful!

 I definitely had a 'small world' moment when Nicole and I realized that we use the same *equine* chiropractor- a perfect reminder that I needed to get Tina back out!

I hadn't known about Kat's blog prior to the meetup- excited to read about her continued adventures with Holly! There were some new additions to my reading list and it was so nice to put faces with blogs! I was one of the first to leave (thinking that booking a 4pm appointment against an 11:30am lunch was safe) and we had easily gabbed for three hours!

And of course L has a knack for bringing everyone together and making great conversation. She has promised me a visit to meet Ellie and Wilbur- I'm holding her to it!

My takeaway from this adventure is simply....when can we do it again?!? What a great group of ladies!

Clockwise from front left:
Incidents of Guidance
Viva Carlos
A Horse is a Horse...
Avid Blog Reader and FB friend
All In
Me!!!!
Zen and the Art of Baby Horse Management
DIY Horse Ownership
A Enter Spooking
Topaz Dreams

There in spirit:
Cruisen in Stilettos
Pony and a Payday
Now, that's the Spot

Finally Justified

For the past two years I've harbored a slight guilt about not riding Wilbur at Brown. In all honesty it came down to time. There's just not enough of it!

And the excuses I've had to make to folks now feel slightly more justified having them both at the same barn.....

Even a few stalls down from one another, riding them both is a massive time suck! Finding a centralized location to tack them both up, lugging their various girths and bridles around. I'll be damned if I didn't spend a solid 2.5 hours today grooming, tacking, and riding both of them!

Wilbur went out on the trail with the 3 yr old Baby Ali is breaking in (a Palomino Popeye K). What a saint. What a gem my Wilbur is.

Ellie and I worked on collecting and expanding strides....all while maintaining an elusive straightness. She's a good girl!

Complaining aside, I'm cherishing the opportunity to ride both of my sweet horses!

Solid Citizen

So after the excitement of being in a new place had worn off...which really just consisted of that random spin....
He's been right as rain. A true solid citizen. Diane had our token junior on him purposefully flopping around like a beginner and trotting over poles. Wilbur don't care. I've had a couple of super chill rides on him too- nothing big- just a little walk, trot, canter. He tackled the eurosizer just fine.

I may have the two most relaxed horses at the barn. And a potential new job for Wilbur- pasture pet and guest trail horse to a friend and member of the old-guard equestrian community in the Bay. Yes please! Fingers crossed yet again! In the meantime I am enjoying having my two ponies to ride! Doesn't he look super relaxed?