enjoyed it we did

Oh what a glorious day!

I cannot tell you how much I needed a day like yesterday. After the lovely year we've had, the stress, death, heartache we've endured and all the ups and downs yesterday was a day to let go of all the craziness surrounding me, turn off all the chaos and worry in my head, silence the wolves at the door and do nothing but breathe in and out and ride. It was one of the single best days of my life! For two years my friend Elaine and I have gone to this farm and ridden in the Harvest Hunter Pace they host for the local pony club. I blogged about last years ride here. This year I brought the camera so I could take you along as well because I'm sure we could all use a day like yesterday because we're all facing something.

So that's me, taking pictures of the day for y'all, I think it's great Elaine got that shot, too funny!

Here are Harry and I ready to go, and GO! is exactly what Harry wanted to do, I think he'd have run all or at least most of the course if I'd let him. Harry is a sweet, sweet horse, and due to the fact that he looks so similar to Garlic I find him even more endearing. He's got a very kind eye and wonderful easy-going temperament. Having not ridden all summer with the exception of one short 10 minute ride a couple months ago I was certain I was going to die after this 8 mile endurance ride. Mercifully I was not really even that sore! Thanks in large part to a mount that rides like a rocking chair, who's stride would take us up hills and across green pastures in the blink of an eye and an extremely comfortable saddle.

This year Elaine rode Zeus, a.k.a Zeus the MOOSE! This guy is stunning! He's an appendix Quarter Horse with a hind end that, well, quite honestly most women would be horrified to have, but he wears it well. It's more like a couch than anything else, but it's quite a powerful engine, carrying them up and over the hills and through the streams and pine groves with ease.
I love this shot of the boys, I wonder what they were thinking...."Ok, let's do our best and give these ladies a great ride, they both need a break as they are both dealing with a ton of stuff right now. We can do this for them, they are both horse lovers and safe forever homes and they need this." "Absolutely, my thoughts exactly!"
Elaine and Zeus, getting ready to head out! At this point it was impossible to tell which had the bigger grin on our faces, we were both so happy to be away from everything and have this glorious day.
One shot of the barn from the course. The barn isn't really slanted despite the fact that it's so old, it's just hard to take a good picture when the horse you're on does not want to stop, he wants to just go go GO!
another shot from the course...
Elaine and Zeus heading down to and obstacle, then back up to head into the pines!
Ahhhhh, does a view ever get more glorious than that?!
I mean seriously?!
If I could capture the scent in this part of the course, we'd be debt free in no time! The potent elixir of horse sweat, leather, pine, sweet grass, warm afternoon sun, fresh clean air and a bit of dirt is so powerful that you cannot help but stop and breathe it in in a way as if your soul had never been given oxygen or seen the sun. If ever I am stricken with a terminal disease and..... ....take me to such a place and let me breathe.
Harry and I on the other side of the hill Elaine and Zeus were on in an above picture. There were several water obstacles we crossed, one nearly cam up to Harry's chest! (Maybe if we go again next year I'll try to get a picture of that one! It's AWESOME, I can certainly see how this type of thing is addicting!)
Harry and I had run across the finish line and were able to turn around and take this picture of Elaine and Zeus at the finish!
A view of part of the course from the finish line, up near the barn.
Harry and I after the ride, sweaty, covered in mud and ready for lunch, oh and Harry was too!
Grinning from ear to ear! That my friends is a picture of a VERY happy, stress and worries forgotten for a day, woman!
Thank you Harry and Zeus for a ride fit for kings on gallant steeds, thank you Elaine for allowing me to tag along and having a day that I will never forget, thank you God for allowing all things to be possible.

eating ice cream

Yesterday was a beautiful day and one that was made for being outside, so I spent most of it raking and doing yard work with my family. Ron was leaf blowing, Faith having not felt well for a while sat and picked rocks off the lawn and ate popsicles, more than I thought she would do. Andrew took turns picking up the piles of rocks I was raking; the downside of having the gravel drive way plowed, and leaf blowing when Ron took a break. At one point during the day Ron and Andrew grabbed a pole, tackle box, the dog and headed out to see if they could catch anything. They did not, but had a nice time trying.

The animals are being weaned onto the grass now that the last bit of the snow officially left last week, yes, I'm serious! I do it slowly so as not to upset the stomachs of my beloved animals or the delicate root systems of the grass. I think Garlic's best week is the first week he's let back out onto fresh pasture, he hops, kicks, bucks, farts and tosses his head around like a spring colt! It's simply delightful for both of us. As the day wore on and I was loosing steam and my body was aching from cleaning the goat pen out after a long winter of deep bedding and a day of raking I walked out to Garlic who at that point was being brushed by Ron and said how much I'd love to go for a ride. Ron continued brushing and said "Well, in the words of Pam, (a family friend who just lost her courageous battle with cancer) 'Life is short, eat ice cream!' do it." For about half a second I considered it, but the rocks on the lawn beckoned my return and I obliged and continued raking. Afternoon turned into early evening and I had gone inside for something to drink and on my way back outside I walked past my husband; who was sitting in a lawn chair after his final turn with the leaf blower, and said, "I'm going to go eat ice cream!" Then I went to get my boy, (Garlic) brought him to the barn for a quick brush down, slapped a saddle and bridle on him and took off. It felt wonderful and was just what I needed.

So for those of you who've never galloped down a country road or eaten ice cream this video is for you! I hope you find it as delicious as I did.

dark cloud lifted!

Saturday morning I pulled into the driveway of the farm where the fundraising endurance ride was to take place with as much giddy anticipation as a 5 year old on Christmas Eve! I'd honestly waited my entire life to do something like this and realizing what was about to happen made my whole body spark with excitement! I couldn't wait! I drove past the rugged old barn and down into the hay field that was dotted with duelies, trailers and every color horse imaginable and found my place in amongst the other trucks and parked. The sun was shining brightly in the beautiful September sky and the air was crisp, the makings for a perfect day. I knew at that moment in time I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I breathed it in; horse, sun, pine, sweet grass, and crisp fall air; yes this would be a day to remember.

My friend Elaine and her boyfriend pulled in with her duelie diesel truck, trailer and our trusty steeds for the day and I didn't covet even a minute! We unloaded the horses, a big black Appendix Quarter horse named Zeus, his slick black coat shining in the sun was a beautiful contrast against the greens of the hay field, towering white pines and serene blue sky. Next was Lady, a dainty Paso Fino Appaloosa cross with a peppy little gait that said she could go all day. She is creamy white in color, seemingly a baby standing next to Zeus, but she is not, and don't let her little stature fool you, she held her own. Then there was what was to be my mount for the day, a gentle giant named Harry. Harry stands 16 hands high at the withers and those Thoroughbred legs of his looked three miles long, they came in very handy later in the day, let me tell you! Harry looks very similar to Garlic, with the exception of the much longer legs and a white patch on his forehead. We groomed the horses, tacked them up, signed our lives away with all the necessary paperwork, mounted up and hit the trail. I felt like I had a mile wide smile across my face and I'm sure I did, I knew I was in for a treat.

Elaine told me that Harry was a former racehorse, I raised an eyebrow and she went on to say that he'd been off the racetrack for 27 years, so not to worry. Later she informed me that while he was the fastest horse on the track, he'd fly out of the starting gate get ahead of everybody, then plant all four feet on the track and wait for everybody to catch up to him, not the ideal makings of a racehorse, so he was taken off the track. As we headed out Elaine told me that Harry was happy to poke along at a walk but would go into a trot with much encouragement, hmm, much like Garlic. Due to his age, he'd be inclined to want to trot or jog up the hills as it was easier for him, no problem with that here! We crossed the street and got to the starting line, checked in and set out. Mind you there were riders there who ran through the entire course, hoping to make the best time and earn the most points, we were not of that group. We were going to take our time and enjoy the ride and the day off our farms. We could go at any pace we desired. I'm not one who likes to charge down a trail with steep hills, bridges, water obstacles, split rails, and hairpin turns that I've never been on, on a horse I've never ridden, at a breakneck speed, call me crazy!

At the first or second hill Elaine's horse who insisted on being in the lead hopped up the incline with that peppy little gait, I asked Harry to trot, he obliged with gusto! He started to gallop and we were up the hill in about three strides! Another advantage to those long legs. At the top of the hill Elaine looked at us heading up the hill and said Harry never goes that fast for anybody except her and was happy he did for me. I grinned. Yea!

At some point during the ride while galloping up a hill my foot came out of the stirrup and Elaine who was in front of me slowed and started to circle back to her boyfriend whose horse was way more content to bring up the rear. I was quickly behind her and cued Harry to start slowing down and to the right. He moved like lightening, unfortunately I was a little off center having had only one foot in the stirrup. Being off center made the saddle shift off to the side as well. Well that was all it took for me to realize I was quickly headed to the ground and the ground was not where I wanted to be. My thoughts were "Oh great, this is going to hurt! I don't want to smack my head. Oh this is going to hurt! Please don't step on my legs. Legs! I've got to get my legs under me!" I was able to swing my right leg over the back of the horse who was slowing down but not stopped, grab the horn and cantle with all I was worth, (Thank God for upper body strength from farming!) tell him whoa and get my feet on the ground. I was standing and Harry was trotting around me in a circle. We were fine! Later Elaine called it a "cantering dismount." I took a breath, walked over to a log to use as a mounting block, did I mention I have short legs and Harry's are VERY long?! and hopped back on and finished the course.

There were miles and miles of well kept horse and rider friendly trails that were well marked and with some very beautiful scenery, parts of the trail were wide enough to gallop two abreast, talk about exhilarating! We galloped through some wide open fields, up over hills with the tails of the horses streaming out behind us, I was living my dream, then we'd slow our horses to a walk and catch our own breath and giggle and squeal at what a rush that was, well, at least I did. I was out there riding this huge magnificent horse whose gallop is like a rocking chair with the wind caressing my face, whipping past my ears and blowing my hair with not a care in the world and I was alive!!!!

Words cannot accurately describe what a rush that is, no pill could ever produce that amount of intoxication. Utterly exhilarating, mind erasing, and soul satisfying are words that are appropriate to the description of the ride, but in my mind only barely scratch the surface of accuracy of what that ride was like.

We finished the course, untacked and cooled off the horses, made sure they ad food and water and headed into the barn for a potluck lunch offered by the Pony Club whom this fundraiser was for. We had our lunch tickets out and tried to hand them to the lady standing at the door with a box. She asked us what our team name was and looked up our time and handed us a ribbon! Elaine and I looked at each other, neither one of us expected a ribbon, but it was like icing on the cake. We probably looked like two little girls, best friends from the Pony Club books, standing there mouths open, eyes dancing, happy as can be! We were told that about half of the teams that enter don't even finish and since we did. we earned a ribbon! We looked at the leader board and saw that one team had completed the course in 80 minutes! Talk about crazy! The 'optimal' time was about 107/108 minutes and our time was 124 minutes. I had no idea we were being timed, I thought they were just checking us off when we came through the 'check points' to make sure we hadn't had an accident and gotten thrown off or something. Lunch was delicious, of course, I think anything you don't have to make yourself tastes better anyway, but maybe that's just me. After lunch we loaded up and left, I rode behind Elaine back to her house so I can only speak for myself, but I had the biggest grin on my face and was on a high like no other. It was certainly a day to remember; a day spent with friends, on horseback, in the sunshine, fresh air and pine trees, covered in sweat and 'horse' and overflowing with joy; it is a day I'll never forget.

any day on horseback is a good day!

The kids went to mom's house for a few days for some "Nana Time" which meant that I had a day to do whatever I wanted. There were many things I should have done, but since that doesn't happen very often (by choice) I took advantage of it and goofed off!! I went riding!

Three years ago today...

...my life changed forever. It was the day Garlic arrived at his forever home. When I walked into that pen and saw him he managed to get a hold on my heart like I never though was possible with an animal and I've never looked back. Though he was not the skinniest horse I'd ever seen; close, but I'd seen worse while volunteering at an equine rescue out west. He was in really bad shape and I knew it. I knew he was a gamble I just didn't know then that gamble would pay off in more ways than I'd ever know. Against all the naysayers I bought him and had him delivered the next day, and I can honestly say he was not what I was looking for, in fact quite the opposite, but he is exactly what I needed. Funny how those sort of things work out. He has taught me patience, understanding, and trust. He's given me the ability to relax and chill more than any drug, prescription or otherwise ever could. When I was a horse crazy little girl I'd drawn a picture of a bay horse in a red box stall with white x's on the door wearing a blue halter. Three years ago that's exactly what I got. I don't know his past; where he came from or really anything about him other than the sorrowful old soul with a kind eye and a heart of gold, and yet I'm thankful for everything he went through, (though I wish he didn't have to be starved) so he could be in that pen on that day and steal my heart and join my life forever. We've ridden many miles together and I'm so thankful for each one and as long as I live no matter how many other horses come into my life I know I will never have another Garlic. A while back I read a saying that went, " All horses deserve, at least once in their lives. to be loved by a little girl." To that I would only add, or a woman whom had waited her entire life to love her horse.

Garlic, a few days after he arrived here; yes, he's skinny, but this picture was taken after he'd gained about 80-100 pounds!

Saddle Up and Ride!!

You know you're in a bad mood when you put a Mozart cd on to help you relax and you feel like telling him to take that screeching violin and shove it where the sun doesn't shine! Then I switched to a different cd.... my go to girl when I'm that irritated, it's the only thing I can deal with, Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am album, great great cd! So there I was listening to the cd, loudly, as that's the only way to listen to that cd and happened to look out the window and see Garlic out in the pasture, he was just enjoying the late afternoon sun but to me he was beckoning me to take him for a ride; so I shut the cd player off and went to fetch him. I tacked him up and took off and at the end of the driveway let him decide which way to go, at the end of the road I again let him decide. I'm very glad to have done this as he made a great choice and it felt nice to let him take charge. I'll admit that's not something that comes easily to me.....

So up the road we went and I'll tell you that it was better than any cd played loudly or not. We went for quite a ride, passed walkers, joggers, and ladies pushing babies in strollers. Past empty hay fields that are just now starting to awaken to the gloriousness of spring by starting to slough barrenness that is winter. Past the homes of fellow homesteaders who like me, are tapping maples and enjoying their sugary and delicious nectar, and past a pine grove that intoxicating and delightfully scents the air of the sweet yet earthy smell that only a pine prove can. Today we stopped and just breathed it in. At that exact moment I could think of nowhere else I'd rather have been. After a bit I urged him on, feeling him respond to the slightest cues from my seat, legs, or hands; I'll tell you what, there's nothing like it!

On our way home I rode in near silence, except for the sound of my trusty steeds clop-ker-clop cadence which sounded like heels in empty room with a marble floor, it was peaceful. Like we were the only ones around and the world was silenced just for us. It was at that moment I felt a smile come across my face and the dark cloud that'd been hanging around me all day just lifted away.

Garlic doesn't need much encouragement to return to the barn, his step is always a bit more brisk on the way home and I took full advantage of that during this ride! We trotted along the side of the road for a stretch, he didn't take much convincing to canter, well we cantered up behind one of those aforementioned walkers, (we were on the other side of the road and she was not in any danger mind you) and I think we startled her a bit, but she smiled and said what a glorious evening it was, I agreed and went on my way. I'm sure she thought she was looking at the Cheshire cat or the proverbial grinning idiot, and rightly so. What a sight I must have been, a seemingly wild woman cantering down the road on a mighty steed, hair, mane and tail flying straight out behind them, both grinning from ear to ear. Guess we both needed to saddle up and ride!

Winston Churchill was only partially right when he said,
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
I cannot beat those words, but I would say .....good for the inside of mankind.

Thank you Garlic for a ride I'll never forget!

Hoof prints on the side of the road...

There is something soul satisfying about the clop-ker-clop cadence of my horse and I as we ride down the road on a brisk fall day, leaves rustling and pine needles swooshing under foot as we go along. This afternoon I was in a foul mood after a series of events that went south so I brought Garlic out of the pasture and but a bit in his mouth and climbed aboard bareback and took off out the driveway. Not having a plan when I left I just knew I needed to go, so that's what I did. We rode up our road and through the woods on a path where the trees come together at the tops as if to greet one another in a warm embrace; we traveled along the main road that runs through our small community and turned onto one of my favorite dirt roads. The trees along the sides of the road are many but the colors of the Maples against the dark Pine green is inspiring and beautiful, and if you hit it just right and the sun shining through them it's as if they were lit up just for you. We rode down and back along the road in serene quietness and thoroughly enjoyed our time out. On the way back home I noticed the hoof prints in the gravel and it reminded my of my childhood; I would be traveling in a car looking out the window and see others that had been made by another trusty steed and think how much fun that would be. To the little girl out there that will likely see the ones we made today I say this, your time will come and the wait will be worth it.