Tuesday, April 15, 2014

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER

Depending on where you live, you may be the most frustrated with mothernature's bitchy attitude as of late.

I left you all last time with all the excitement of going XC schooling.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Rain cancelled it.

Probably for the best, since I'm broke and that trip would've sucked me dry until the next payday. NEVER FEAR. A woman here with a small XC course is going to let me school before I go off to Longview. Better than nothin!

In addition to some INSANE thunderstorms and torrential rain a few days ago, we were blessed with a beautiful snowstorm exactly 24 hours after we were laying out on decks, sipping cocktails, enjoying the EIGHTY FUCKING DEGREE WEATHER.

GET IT TOGETHER MOTHERNATURE. Jesus.

I froze my ass off yesterday at the barn. Like, I'm pretty sure I have frostbite.  And I'm almost positive the horses were close to colic since their poor bodies were being thrashed around with the insane weather fluctuations.

I really loathe the midwest.

Sweating in shorts yesterday...freezing in jackets today. WTF

To add to the fun, we played musical horses and I failed miserably at attempting to ride another beast.

Us, on our own horses at first
I'm pretty sure I looked like a sack of fat potatoes on this beautiful beast I rode, and I could not FOR THE LIFE OF ME get my shit together. I don't think he was on the bit once, and his transition were shit. Oh the flopping. Luckily we didn't get pictures of me on him.

I blame his massive size and ridiculously huge stride. (Yankee looks bigger in the above pic, but thats an illusion. This horse is like, 17.2, and big and beautiful. Also an OTTB)

The owner of the beast of course made Yankee look amaze balls and I was like stahp it.



Luckily Yankee was a darling for me too and we worked on stretchy trot and self carriage. HEY-O



I've never felt uber comfortable on other horses, partially because I've always owned and ridden my own exclusively for long periods of time. They put up with my shit and vice versa. Comfort zoned.

Whenever I ride/rode Isis, Fancy or Pronto I feel/felt awkward and floppy. Mutiply by ten on this horse I rode yesterday.

Actually very jealous of people like Jackie and Jessie who are superstars at catch riding. They can ride ANYTHING. I wish I had had more chances to catch ride and be more versatile. I felt most confident in my riding when I owned 5 horses and rode them all each day. I was very practiced at switching my riding style and of course was insanely fit. Even when I rode for NSF with all the babies, they made me mrs conscious and ultimately a better rider.

But for the most part, I've been exclusively riding Spirit or Yankee for the last 10 years.

Crazy.