Oh Julie!
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Our farrier, Jeremy was here today so another day off for Romeo. And I had my granddaughter all day, so riding did not happen. I scheduled a massage for Friday and will pick up the muscle relaxers tomorrow.
Thursday, September 31, 2017
Today, Emily came home to ride with me. Thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Harvey, the farm was too soggy to do much work so we opted for a hack and some hill work. As I prepared dinner, Em went to catch the horses and tack up. I glanced out the front window to see Romeo trotting away from Emily. He’s my horse now. Hee Hee! After a trip back to the barn for feed, she had him. Off we went. If it weren’t for Loki’s antics, it would have been a pleasant ride. First Loki spooked at the cattle (which he sees every single day), next it was the newly paved road. He must have thought it was a river of lava or a big snake; He snorted, and bent his neck and showed the whites of his eyes the entire way to the field. Once there, he spooked again…at our dog, which is under his feet every day. Romeo spooked at the cows but only because Loki did it. The other times I felt like he wanted to tell Loki to just “relax.” We tried a bit of trotting but Loki wanted to relive his racing days and I was quickly reminded of my aching back. We decided to end our ride before Loki went over the edge and Romeo and I became collateral damage.
Our farrier, Jeremy was here today so another day off for Romeo. And I had my granddaughter all day, so riding did not happen. I scheduled a massage for Friday and will pick up the muscle relaxers tomorrow.
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
30 days to Jump Start
Today, Emily came home to ride with me. Thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Harvey, the farm was too soggy to do much work so we opted for a hack and some hill work. As I prepared dinner, Em went to catch the horses and tack up. I glanced out the front window to see Romeo trotting away from Emily. He’s my horse now. Hee Hee! After a trip back to the barn for feed, she had him. Off we went. If it weren’t for Loki’s antics, it would have been a pleasant ride. First Loki spooked at the cattle (which he sees every single day), next it was the newly paved road. He must have thought it was a river of lava or a big snake; He snorted, and bent his neck and showed the whites of his eyes the entire way to the field. Once there, he spooked again…at our dog, which is under his feet every day. Romeo spooked at the cows but only because Loki did it. The other times I felt like he wanted to tell Loki to just “relax.” We tried a bit of trotting but Loki wanted to relive his racing days and I was quickly reminded of my aching back. We decided to end our ride before Loki went over the edge and Romeo and I became collateral damage.
Tomorrow is another day off as my best friend’s daughter is getting married. It’s time for Richard and I to put all of those ballroom dancing lessons to good use!
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
31 days to Jump Start
Friday, September 1, 2017
Today, Romeo had the day off and I got a much needed massage.
Me: No need to work on my arms and legs. Let’s just concentrate on my lower back.
Rhonda (my massage therapist): You have a one-hour scheduled; that’s a lot of time to spend on just your back.
Me: Trust me.
She gets to work…
Rhonda: OH JULIE!!!
Needless to say, for the next four-weeks, I have a standing appointment! My rejuvenated muscles and I had an awesome time at the wedding and we danced our tails off!
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
30 days to Jump Start
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| Enjoying a carrot from our garden |
Saturday, September 2, 2017
The conditions here were still too wet to do much of anything on our farm so Romeo and I loaded up and headed back to Merry Hour to practice the dreaded beginner novice dressage test. Emily was to meet us there and read the test and give me pointers. We arrived before Em and so after a good warm-up, I thought I could go ahead and start working on the test. I pulled the paper out of my pocket and tried to focus. Ok; for all of you young bucks out there, getting old can sometimes suck. Don’t get me wrong; I am in dandy shape (possibly the best of my life) but eyesight? I have no control over that. I strained to focus. Even at a full arms reach, I could barely make out the letters, much less the motions of the test. Every time Romeo so much as took a breath, I lost focus! Quite the visual picture, I know! My reading glasses were in the truck. Dare I go back and get them? What if someone comes in here and sees me riding around with my grandma readers on the end of my nose. HELL NO! I gave up and waited for Em to arrive. Heavy sigh.
Despite my vision woes, once Em arrived, we had a great little lesson. Trot the circles. Canter the circles. Oops, forgot that diagonal line! My bad! Romeo tried to help. He thought he had the test memorized and knew when to trot, when to canter, and when to halt. Most of the time he was wrong but, I appreciated his efforts.
I have to remind myself that I am not looking for a ribbon; this is a bucket list item…a challenge. But what if we get eliminated in dressage? Not because of Romeo but because of me? My biggest fear: my 50 (almost 51) year-old memory. What if I get disqualified for forgetting the test?
Less than 30 days to go now. Gulp.
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
29 days to Jump Start
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Today, Em took the reins. I have decided that if I can spare my back any of the concussions that come from galloping about, I should. So, for now, Emily will work on his conditioning. i.e. making sure he is physically fit to run cross-country. Rambo (a mustang that we board) and I watched as they cantered across the farm today. He looked good to me!
Tomorrow is another cross-country schooling. Fingers crossed.
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
28 days to Jump Start
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