Riding with Amy

I am going to start this entry with a little bit of a tangent. I have to get some stuff off my chest, but I'm not really ready to talk about any of it. That's cryptic and annoying, and I know.

If one more well meaning person cheerily asks me how newlywed life is going, I am going to scream. The fact of the matter is that it's hell right now. Not the marriage. The marriage is wonderful and I would love nothing more than to enjoy wedded bliss right now. I did legally change my name, so that's one exciting thing, I guess. The fact of the matter is, however, that since very shortly before the wedding, Mike and I have been getting hammered with bad news.

The short version is as follows: we are increasingly broke due to factors outside of our control, the property we live on and adore is for sale and we are frantically hunting for other options while trying not to go down with a sinking ship, and Skip has decided to sell Moniet.



On top of all that, we've continued to battle this mystery ailment with Julio. The one year anniversary of his first episode was on Tuesday, and he spent the day at the vet, getting more testing done. Yesterday, we got some really devastating news about our big, black dog. I can't wrap my head around it, let alone talk about it yet. I am only saying something because Julio could really use some positive vibes right now, and especially this coming Tuesday. I promise not to keep you guys in the dark forever, and I'll do a big entry as soon as I know more, but it is really bad news and we may be saying goodbye much sooner than I could have ever anticipated.

I had two trains of thought on all of this. Mike and I have been holding it together pretty well, considering that we feel like we're cursed, and that when it rains, it pours. Still, the stress is considerable, and every time I open my blogger tab, I just sort of stare at the screen and then hit the little 'x' in the corner. I thought about just putting the blog on hiatus indefinitely. Then I looked at the mountains of photos that I've edited over the weeks, and decided that it would be cathartic to share them. So I'm going with option two. I am going to keep blogging about the happy, cheery things that are going on right now. Despite the gloom, I know that I have many good things going for me right now. It just doesn't always feel like it.

So, while you guys wait for me to finally unload outside of private messages, I'll just keep blogging here like nothing is wrong.
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Appropriately, I'm going to start with an entry about Amy. We've been seeing a fair amount of her and Andrew recently. They were at our wedding, of course, and they've been coming over to provide some distraction on some week nights. Amy also works at Julio's vet. He thinks the vet is his Aunt Amy's house, and gets ridiculously excited to go over there.

Amy used to ride a lot. She showed saddleseat and trail rode and was your typical horse-obsessed little girl.

Unfortunately, life happens, and Amy's saddle time has been sparse the last few years. She has been on a few trail rides at Big Moose, and she hops on JR bareback every chance she gets. She also rode at a friend's barn on a young western horse for a brief while.

I am not sure why this didn't occur to me earlier, but I had a light bulb moment this week. Lilly's owner has been casually keeping an ear out for someone who would be interested in doing an on-property free lease with Lilly. Currently, I get paid to keep the mare in light work, but an ideal situation would involve someone who was looking for saddle time without wanting the expense of having a horse. Lilly's owner can't ride her herself for a variety of reasons, but she'd love the mare to be in more regular work without her having to foot an additional bill.

Meanwhile, I've been thinking to myself that it would be really nice to have someone who could ride Lilly or Bones so I could take Booger on trail with company. Booger will get her own update shortly, but I really think she'd get braver faster if she had another horse to provide a calming influence out in the real world.

One night this week, I suddenly (and out loud) thought, "DUH! Amy could ride Lilly!"

I didn't have to ask twice. Amy met me at the apartment on Wednesday morning and we drove down the street to Lilly's barn.

Booger, who used to be stand offish and crabby, was throwing a fit that she didn't get to be involved in the day's activities. She was definitely jealous when we pulled Lilly and Bones out of their paddocks.

Amy and Lilly hit it off right away. I'm not surprised since Lilly is a total sweetheart on the ground. Amy groomed Lilly and we tried Amy's cutback saddle on the mare, since it's what Amy is most comfortable riding in. It fit like it was meant to be!

I had Amy start with Lilly in the ring so the two of them could get acquainted. Lilly was a lady, as always. It wasn't long before Amy was grinning from ear to ear.

I took a few minutes to tack Bones up and then we hit the trail. The trails are only open from ten to two right now due to hunting, but that left us plenty of time to do a leisurely four mile loop. I realized as we headed out that this was the first time Lilly had been ridden by anyone but myself in the four years (!) since I started her. That's not completely true. Her owner rode her in the arena once, but was intimidated by her height. I was excited to see how Lilly would do with another rider. Not to toot my own horn, but Amy loved the way she was going and commented, "I can't believe how good this horse is!"

We did my usual loop, around the farm next door, down along the brook, and up along the edge of the golf course. The horses went well together, and neither one of them spooked at anything, even when two huge bucks came crashing through the brush directly to our left.

We did have one moment of excitement next to the golf course (where else?) Hi golfers! Me again! The footing along the golf course is lovely, and there is a gentle up hill slope. I asked Amy if she wanted to try a canter, and she agreed. Bones picked up the most beautiful, relaxed, rolling lope. It was awesome! Lilly was shortly behind him. Unfortunately, Bones slipped behind a few strides later. I think Lilly thought he was kicking at her and panicked. She stopped short and popped her front feet off the ground in an attempt to get clear of him. It was unnecessary and silly, but Amy sat it beautifully, then laughed and pushed Lilly forward again. You'd never know she hasn't been riding recently.

We had a grand old time, enjoying the spectacular weather and the lovely scenery. I enjoyed having company for a change. I am so used to trail riding alone, but the minutes definitely go faster with a friend.

Bones posing reluctantly for a photo. He was amped and ready to go, and I had to keep reminding him that he's twenty-four years old.

Before we knew it, we'd made it back to the barn, where we spent some time putting the horses away and spoiling them with treats. Amy seemed to have a really good time, and I suspect she'll be back to ride some more. She said she's not quite comfortable going there alone yet, but I think she'll enjoy having access to horses again. I also offered to let her ride Bones and see if she liked him more, less, or the same.

And, professionally, it was good to see that Lilly and Bones go well together on trail. My goal is to ride Lilly and have her owner ride Bones. She has been itching to get back in the saddle again, and I think the horses are quiet enough to give her the good experience she needs. It would be nice!