Last Ride of the Year

I rode exactly 100 horses this year, but the only one that matters is Ozzy. He and I rounded out the year with a ride through the snow to the Ellises' and back. I've been working him regularly, but I won't do any kind of distance riding in the snow. I stick to footing I know so we don't find any surprises. He's feeling good and has more energy than I know what to do with, but he behaved. There is something magical about cantering through the snow. We made our way across the fields and stopped to say hi to our buddy with the ATV (he was towing his kid around on a sled). It was a peaceful way to finish out another year of riding.

Kate Cont'd

The adopter came back to look at Kate today, with her trainer, M in tow. M is an endurance rider who I've crossed paths with several times over the last two years. M brought his child protege, D with him. D is 14 and competes on a horse named Mr. Wiggles. He's making some really good connections in the endurance world and has a bright future. I know I've seen him at rides.

Of course, Kate and company were all way at the bottom of the hill when we went to get them. Kate came right over, but we still had to traipse through the deep snow to get her. M looked her over, poked and prodded, and asked about the slight fluid in her RH ankle. I told him it was just wind puff and welcomed him to check out Ozzy's legs for comparison. I could tell that M was going to be someone worth impressing and not someone you could fool easily. The man definitely knows his horses.

We brought the mare in and they all groomed and saddled her. M threw D on board first to see how she'd be with a young rider right off the bat. Kate wandered away from the mounting block a few times, but I reminded her of her manners and he got in the saddle.

"Do you mind if I coach?" I asked. I can't help but micromanage when people ride my horses, but I try to keep the urge in check.
"Go right ahead. I'm here to see the horse. D might learn something."

Kate started off not wanting to go by the scary door, trying to stop at the gate, and sneaking in a pace here and there. By the end of D's ride, they were trotting along consistently and using the whole ring.

At that point, M had C get on. He took over the coaching and I stepped back to hang out with C's friend. M was putting both horse and rider through the wringer. I was impressed. He wanted to see the mare trot out. He wanted to see how she learned. He wanted to see her hind end in motion. He insisted that C ride 20m circles at the trot. He had her do direction changes and figure eights. He said he wasn't concerned with the canter, it would come with time. When Kate gave the corner the hairy eyeball, M instructed C to ride her into it and park her for 15 seconds. I laughed. It's an exercise all my horses are familiar with. Then he had C turn Kate away from the corner and back her into it. This exercise is harder for a horse because it requires more faith in the rider. Kate backed up obediently, but fussed with her head and asked to walk off. She was definitely fussing about standing still. M had C drop the reins at a halt. Kate walked off and came to the gate to say hello to everyone. Oops.

By this point, M and I were talking about endurance riding in general.
"If there's one sport that requires complete and total trust between horse and rider..." M mused.
"I hear people call it an amateur sport and it makes me laugh. Someone once asked me, 'How much training does endurance really take? You get the horse fit and then you just trot for miles.' Yeah. Let's see you do it."
M was cracking up.

Next, M asked if we could turn Kate loose in the ring.
"Absolutely."
We chased her around and she was pretty confused, but figured out the exercise quickly and moved out at a lively trot that would make any endurance rider proud. Best of all, as soon as we stopped chasing her, she walked back over to people and allowed herself to be caught. What a good girl!

"I have to say, she's really growing on me," M smiled.
"I can get on her and show you what she really knows," I offered, knowing I could show the horse best because she knows me.

Kate stood stock still at the mounting block. I settled, wiggled into my stirrups, and chatted with everyone while her reins rested on her withers. She didn't budge. I asked her to walk off, and we 'warmed up' on a loose rein, working deep into the scary corners. We picked up a trot (Kate knows I don't allow pacing) and did circles and figure eights. She was soft, supple, and relaxed.

"Do you find your riding has changed since you started endurance riding?" M asked.
"Not really. To be perfectly honest, I've always been pretty endurance minded, in a way. I've always ridden hot horses with a lot of go, and I've always been bored in a ring. I was the type of rider who would find trails where there weren't any. My results have definitely gotten more consistent with time, but the basics are the same."

I walked, trotted, and cantered Kate. Then I halted her from a canter. She stopped dead. I demonstrated how supple she was. I parked her in the center of the ring and dropped the reins. She napped. Finally, we went back to the corner with the door. I parked her face first, dropped the reins, and counted 15 seconds. Kate waited. I turned her and backed her toward the door. By then, she had figured out what I was getting at.
I swear, the smart ass looked at me over her shoulder and thought, "ALRIGHT!!! You want the door? Have the door." She propped her butt against the door. It swung and thumped her in the hindquarters. She flicked her ears and didn't move. Everyone laughed.

I dismounted and C looked at M. "What do you think?"
"Well, it's your call of course," he said. Uh oh. "But you shouldn't walk away from her. I wouldn't."

HUZZAH!!!!!

Then came my favorite part. The girls brought in a helium balloon (one of the foil ones) and an umbrella. The balloon was no issue (I put it right on her bridle). The umbrella got a wide eyed look and a few steps back, but then Kate sniffed it, ducked her head, and stood under it with me. The horse is decidedly not. spooky.

The vet appointment is scheduled for Tuesday with Eli. The contract is filled out and if she passes (I don't see why she wouldn't) she'll go home right away. I'm extremely excited.

Day Summary (With Snow Photos and Minis!)

I put the minis out this morning. They were very feisty and happy to be out and seemed to really enjoy the snow. They've been in since Christmas and were really eager to go out. I thought they were going to drag me down the hill. I'm glad they're little, because even on their hind feet, they're not as tall as I am. They made awesome photo subjects.

The adopter who took Michael's Fortune came back to look at horses today. She's looking for a competitive trail horse so she needs something sound and athletic. I pointed her toward Eltee, Nikki, and Jumbo, but totally forgot about Kate. Thankfully, Kate was a step ahead of me and and introduced herself. The adopter instantly took a liking to her. I got on the mare first and she was stellar. The adopter and her friend both had a go, then the two young daughters they had with them also had a turn. Kate was wonderful, honest, and willing for everyone. She babysat the kids and tried her best to figure out what everyone else wanted. She even jumped the flower boxes. They're coming back with their trainer (an endurance rider who recognized mine and Ozzy's names) on Thursday to finalize things. I suspect they'll be taking the sweet mare home.

I also rode Prairie for R today. The girls got her in and tacked up, no problem, and I brought her into the indoor for her evaluation. She stood quietly to mount up. She was tense while I warmed her up, but didn't act up. I encouraged her to stretch and loosen up. We did a little bit of trotting. She has picked up a nasty habit of pacing, but I corrected her. She was worse to the right, swapping gaits back and forth and trying to canter through the corners. She even tried to buck once. I suspect she's sore somewhere and plan on having the chiro look at her. She also has a habit of hanging on your hands. She's gotten to be so afraid of being crammed into a frame, and I can't blame her. All in all, she's still a good girl and there' s no damage we can't repair. R got on her to cool her out and the mare instantly relaxed. They even walked over some ground poles together. R was beaming ear to ear by the time she was done cooling Prairie out. Awesome!

After work, Ozzy and I went for a ride. We warmed up by playing in the snow. It was night by then, but the snow made things visibly brighter. Ozzy still has to get his 'snow legs' about him, but he loves playing in the snow. We went trotting and cantering along the mare field and he got quite a work out. Afterward, he gave me some really lovely trot work in the indoor. I should exhaust him before we school more often. Haha. My parents got me lime green biothane and rubber reins to match Ozzy's bridle and the wet snow gave me the perfect excuse to try them out. They were awesome :)

Then it was back to Carolyn's to take care of the animals. The minis were thrilled to see me and came running when I called. After a whole day out in the cold, they were more than happy to go back in their cozy stall for the night. Rue was really mad that I dared take care of the little horses first. How dare I!

Imari

More under the jump.

Snow Day

That was about the most exhausting day off ever. Originally we were going to go to the city for the day, but that never happened. We were well and thoroughly snowed in this morning. Thankfully, our neighbor is really awesome and had snow blown half our driveway so we didn't have to shovel by hand. Bryce finished it up and I was able to get on the road pretty quickly, but not before a hot breakfast and lots of layers.

I started off by going to Carolyn's to take care of the animals. The drive there was slow, but uneventful. Unfortunately, whoever plowed Carolyn's driveway did it before the main road was plowed. There was no way I was making it through the huge snow bank at the end of the property. I picked a house across the street and knocked on the front door, asking permission to use their driveway while I took care of the critters. The woman kindly obliged and I walked up the long, long driveway to the barn. I was going to put the minis, Lunar and Imari, out for the day, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it out in time to bring them in, so I left them in. Everyone except the rooster seemed happy to see me and I fed and watered them all. The horses were bright eyed and eager for their food and the birds were all safely under their heat lamp.

From there, I took the long and treacherous drive to New Brunswick to retrieve my cats. Rob's roommate has been up his ass about finding them homes and I didn't want to cause tension, so I talked to Carolyn. She offered to put them up while I keep home-hunting. New Brunswick is only about 40 minutes away, but today it took over an hour and a half to get there. Once I got off route 1, it was over. They hadn't even TRIED to plow the roads. It was a wreck waiting to happen.

I slowly wound my way through New Brunswick, looking for street signs and hoping I hadn't gone the wrong way. I finally found Rob's street. There were two cars already stuck on the corner and I skirted slowly around them. The hatchback ground to a halt. Stuck. People on the sidewalks stopped to watch. Unfazed, I rocked the car... reverse, drive, reverse, drive... and wrenched her free. There were looks of shock and awe. What? I drive in snow. It's what I do. LOL.

I found the house, parked outside, and went up the stairs, hoping I had the right place. Isis greeted me in the living room, weaving around my legs and purring loudly.
"Hi mom! Missed you!"
Pandora took one look at me, bolted under the bed, and snarled. "Fuck this noise."

Great.

I fed the girls first in case they don't want to eat after moving. Isis came right to me when I called and allowed herself to be placed in the carrier. Pandora wanted nothing to do with it. She bolted around the house like a bat out of hell until I got her locked in Rob's room. I had to pretty much demolish the bed to get to her. She was giving me hell, snarling and hissing and spitting from the farthest corner. I finally snagged and scruffed her. She started screaming like a banshee. You would have thought I was ripping her limb from limb. I wound up holding her at arm's length with one hand while wrapping her in jeans and sweatshirts with the other. She STILL made me bleed.

The whole way to Carolyn's I could hear Pandora growling from the back of the carrier. Isis would periodically plead with me to let her out, away from her crazy sister.

Thankfully the end of the driveway was cleared by the time I got back to the farm after dark. I still got stuck for a moment and had to back across the street to get a running start. Then we did the slip-slide all the way up to the house.

Isis pranced happily out to her new surroundings. Pandora had to be shaken out of the carrier, then disappeared to some dark corner to sulk. She'll come around.

I checked everyone and refilled waters for the night, then drove back to Bryce's. He's making me dinner as we speak. I am famished. And sad that I didn't get any pictures today.

Snowed In

There's finally snow! I was starting to think that New Jersey had some sort of shield around it. Even New Mexico got snow before we did this year. If it's going to be bitterly cold, it might as well be pretty. Also SKIJORING.

The timing is atrocious, of course. Rob is in BC for the week, on a skiing vacation. This means I have to run to New Brunswick (half an hour or more away) to feed the kitties while he's gone. I'm happy to do it, of course. After all, they are my cats. However, the roads are lethal right now. Everyone is slip sliding all over the place and Bryce saw 12 accidents in 45 minutes on his way home today.

I am also farm sitting for Carolyn while she's in the Poconos for the week. She just got two minis and a pitbull puppy named Herbie. The puppy was dropped off at the clinic when she started seizing at the shelter and Carolyn has taken her home. The dogs and cat went with them to the mountains but the horses, minis, and fowl need to be taken care of.

It took me three times as long as it should have to get to Carolyn's. People forget how to drive when the weather gets bad. I'm not worried about my own ability to handle the elements, but watching other people whipping around turns and fishtailing down the road is unnerving. The minis, a black and a bay, are adorable. They are well conformed and well mannered. Best of all, they are the perfect size for cuddling. Rue and Art came running up to see me when I whistled and I gave them their grain mash and hay. Bryce helped me by doing their water tubs. The birds were pissed because I wouldn't let them out (I don't need them getting eaten if I can't make it back tonight), but they got over it quickly because their water was frozen solid and I brought fresh water. They were lining up to drink and I gave them extra feed before collecting eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

We made it home safely and are now happily snowed in for the remainder of the weekend. We'll deal with the hassle tomorrow.

Year in Review

This seems appropriate since this is my new blog and many of you don't have a lot of back story on me. According to tradition, what you do on Christmas Eve reflects what your upcoming year will be, so today seems like a good day to look back on the last year. Here's how 2010 went for me.

Ozzy Jumping Photos

No laughing!

3' and looking adorable.

More under the jump.

Solstice Ride

The moon is full. As always, I have a crazy idea. I beg and plead Erin into tacking Jabby up and going on a moonlight ride with me. What better way to celebrate the quickly approaching lunar eclipse? Ozzy could use a change of routine and I'm itching to do something out of the ordinary.

The temperatures have dropped for the night and my fingers are frozen, my face numb before we reach the end of the corn field. The horses plod along, their bare feet alternately thudding on cold, hard earth and crunching over brittle leaves. I pause to appreciate the gentle jingling sound of frozen grass blades breaking under hoof.

The moon is shining brightly and the horses cast long shadows over the rutted fields, their heads stretched low, ears rocking gently in the night. Ozzy grunts happily and swings his hips as we cover ground. We can see all around us, everything bathed in a peaceful blue glow. The winding branches seem to reach across the sky as we reach the barren soy fields and pick up a brisk trot. Ozzy seems happy and we ride on a loose rein, taking in the sights and sounds of nightfall. I watch the way the light plays off leather nose bands, silver stirrups, and shiny, well-brushed flanks. Across the fields, I see fleeting silhouettes of deer sprinting for safety in the dark. In the distance, ice glistens on the pond through bare tree branches in the woods. The access road gleams white, leading the way to the back of the E. property.

Around us everything is quiet. The world seems far away, with twinkling Christmas lights making silent appearances along the horizon. One brightly colored house in particular looks more like a gingerbread creation than reality. The horses' breaths seem to echo on the empty winter air.

"This is what I dreamed of as a kid," I confess, "when I pictured owning a horse."
Erin admits she's glad I talked her into going.

We stick to a familiar path, erring on the side of caution and picking footing we are familiar with.

A gusty wind picks up as we turn for home, lifting Ozzy's mane and shutting out the sounds of the world. Ozzy pricks his ears, lifts his knees, and plays with his bit, asking to go faster. Jabby is prancing around, breathing steam. Erin transitions into a long strided trot and I leg Ozzy forward. He picks up a canter paced rack and we single-foot through light and shadow. His gait is smooth to ride and he hits a locomotive rhythm I can't resist. I giggle out loud and give him more rein. He gains speed without changing gait and I think people who have never ridden a gaited horse are really missing out. I'll work on clean transitions tomorrow.

The ground between us and home disappears and we're back to the corn field before we know it. Reluctantly, I make Ozzy walk. He stretches obediently, but he's definitely powering along. Withered corn stalks rustle in protest as we traipse across Jersey's mythical open land. The barn glows like a beacon across the way and Ozzy knows the way.

Ozzy's stall is a warm respite and I quickly trade his saddle for his mint green fleece cooler. He drinks deeply then nickers brightly for his alfalfa mush. After I make sure he's taken care of, I slip back into the cozy office, where my still-warm coffee waits.

It's the perfect celebration of the winter solstice.

Ozzy Play Date

Earlier this week, Cara requested a Sunday play date with Ozzy. The timing was perfect since Bryce has decided to demolish our perfectly good bathroom to install a new one. Since his house only has one bathroom, this means I needed to find somewhere else to crash. I drove up to see Cara, Mo-dog, and the horses last night. I was treated to fresh baked cookies before bed. This morning, Cara made me pancakes before we went up to the barn. I was spoiled.

Mikey is looking fantastic. He's at a great weight and it turns out all it takes to get him to finish his hay is a hay net. Cara finding out by accident makes me feel somewhat better about not thinking of it myself. He's getting ready to get back into work to put a topline back on him. Awesome.

We went to Horsemen's Outlet so I could pick up a dressage whip and Vetrolin shine. I was bitterly disappointed when they didn't have whips in pink OR lime green. I settled for plain black. The CROPS come in every sparkly variety imaginable. Grrr! I also wound up getting a new bit for Ozzy. I've been riding him in a full cheek French link snaffle, which we both love. Unfortunately, the endurance bridle doesn't have bit keepers and never will, so I was looking for an alternative. Besides, I'm too lazy to keep switching bits between my two bridles. I wound up going with a D-ring snaffle with an oval piece in the middle. Ozzy seems to like it, so that's good :)

We drove down to SRF and Rachel let Ozzy in for me.

Cara rode and had a good time racking around. Ozzy knows it's her favorite thing ever and gladly obliges. She did eventually make him trot and even attempted some ground poles, which he stubbornly refused until she really got on his butt about it.

After Cara rode, Rachel took a turn on Ozzy. He didn't even try to rack, gladly flailed over the ground poles, and cantered happily around with his perky ears on. Cara and I were shaking our heads. Too smart for his own good.

I asked Rachel if she wanted to try jumping him. She did. I waited until she seemed confident over ground poles before setting up a cross rail. I could see Ozzy was locked and loaded long before they reached the jump. He didn't even THINK about refusing with her. Good boy. Of course he kind of jumped her out of the tack on the first attempt, but she stayed on, grinned bravely, and agreed to go again. She nailed it on the second attempt and decided to call it a day. '

Of course I decided to school him myself. We worked our way back up to three feet. Cara even got photo evidence, which I'll share as soon as she gives it to me. Then Cara half-dared me to go up a hole. How could I resist? We popped the jump up to 3'3". Ozzy went right over it. He did nick it and take the pole down, but he gladly went over a second time. The second 3'3" attempt was beautiful, but Cara missed it. He clobbered it the third time and didn't want to go again, so I dropped back to a cross rail and ended on a good note. Then I made him do the ground poles like a civilized horse before dismounting.

He's getting into a nasty habit of hanging his knees so I see a lot of gymnastics in his future.




More photos under the jump.

Trail Ride

Distance: 13.1mi
Max speed: 23.7mph
Moving time: 2h2m
Avg speed: 6.4mph
You can explore the interactive map.

Ozzy and I went for our weekly long trail ride, covering 13 miles in two hours. Jabby and Erin joined us for the first three miles or so before heading home on their own. Erin got to witness Ozzy jumping his first ditch. Ozzy was being a rock star.

We went past the playground and over to the nurseries, where we said hello to the Morgans by the galloping track. Then we rode out to Walnford Rd. The weanlings were thrilled to see Ozzy and came galloping up to see us (see video). The 'Ozzy baby' was being particularly bold and let me scritch his face. I did a big loop around the pasture and past the Woods of Death just so Ozzy wouldn't have an issue with that part of our riding territory, then turned for home. We stopped at the nurseries and visited with the donkeys. They were too cute for words and came running over to say hello, with these little half-bray noises that made me squee. They came up to Ozzy's chest or so. Soooo adorable!

It was a blissfully uneventful ride and Ozzy seemed thrilled to be out in the open again. I can't wait til spring.





More under the jump.

The Pink Blanket

Speaking of the Ozzy beast:


Some more of Ozzy, Willie, and Jabby under the jump.

Three feet!

Ozzy has always had a thing about jumping.

He's perfectly capable. Sure, his form is somewhat lacking in the sense that he occasionally, alright, frequently, jumps like a severely handicapped deer, but he can jump. I've taken him cross country and done a cross rail class and put him over all sorts of wonky looking jumps at home. I've even jumped 'double' with Erin and Willie.

With that said, Ozzy likes to pretend that he's never seen a ground pole before. He'll go over big, solid coops in the Assunpink one day, then practically sit down when I ask him to step over a ground pole the next day. Some days I can do courses with him. Some days I have to pretty much beat him (with a rake, ahem) to go over a cross rail. It doesn't matter if we're inside or out. It doesn't matter if they're white rails, striped rainbow rails, or natural rails. It doesn't matter if it's a jump he's done a thousand times or one he's never ever seen before. He is always equally unpredictable and I never know how he's going to be until we're on top of the jump. Sometimes he'll go over the same jump four times and run out on the fifth identical attempt. Then there's the time he was giving me a hard time about ground poles for the better part of a month. We went up to Rhode Island to see Kate and he trotted over her ground poles like he'd been doing it his whole life. I could have left him there.

His refusals are wide and varied. Some days he won't go at all. Other days he'll only go if he's allowed to panic-flail and rush through it. Sometimes he tries to run out. Other times he just comes to a grinding halt. All of it frustrates me equally and there have been days where I get off of him in tears. I've taught plenty of horses to jump and I am not a timid rider. Even when I'm worried, I ride like I'm not. So what the hell is it about this wonky looking, stubborn, almost certainly autistic standardbred that I can't get him to just either GO OR NOT?!?!?!?! *tears at hair*

Most of my falls off of Ozzy are related to one of two things: either we have a freak accident and both of us go down or he unexpectedly stops at a jump and I keep going. I've had a handful of really incredible saves that I wish were on camera, and Ozzy is definitely responsible for my velcro butt. On the last one, I landed on my feet.

Ozzy has a really dirty refusal under his sparkly, innocent eyes and fluffy Fraggle forelock. He'll actually get his front legs up like he's going to jump, then change his mind midway. Instead of just screeching to a halt, which is enough to unseat many good riders, he'll throw it in reverse and fly backwards. The best is when he drops a shoulder just to mix it up. Usually it's the left shoulder. But that's not it. If you're still on when all THAT is done, he throws in a spin. Which direction is... a surprise!!! Yay!!!

...

...

...

Yeah.

I've sort of taken a step back on the jumping thing lately. Now that it's winter and it gets dark before I get to leave the confines of the SRF office, Ozzy and I have been doing a lot of schooling. I ride him four times or so during the week for anywhere between half an hour and an hour. We only trail ride on the weekends. We putz around with dressage, work on our transitions, play with steering, and just see where the day takes us. As with every horse, I make it my goal to end on a good note. Our sessions have been very productive. I've even been throwing in some neck reining for shits and giggles. Yesterday, Ozzy and I did a real sliding stop. It'll probably never happen again (he's just not that graceful) but it was a blast. His favorite activity has been halt-trot, canter-halt. He's been particularly cooperative the last few days and even gave me a super relaxed lead change last night. I've been throwing in ground poles here and there just so he doesn't forget they exist. He still gives them the hairy eyeball, but we haven't had to have a 'discussion' in quite some time. Knock on wood. I've also been hopping him over the cross rail once or twice at the end of every other ride or so. I have really been making an effort to go back to square one and forget that Ozzy has ever done anything more than trot poles. The basics are our friends, right?

Tonight, Ozzy just wasn't feeling the dressage end of things. He was being obedient, but his mind was elsewhere.

"Oz," I told him. "There are only two options. Dressage and jumping. You just picked jumping."

I warmed him up over the cross rail. No problem. Ozzy had a really sneaky habit of just cutting to the left after any given jump, regardless of what direction or angle we took it from. Last week, I made a point of undoing that habit. I'd aim him at the cross rail, let him trot or canter for a few strides in a straight line, then make him halt for several seconds before moving on. Today, I let him have a loose rein on the approach and he dutifully trotted straight, and stopped off my seat.

Hmmm...

I got brave. After a few more laps over the cross rail, I jacked it up to a 2'3" vertical. Ozzy popped over like it wasn't even there. Twice. I moved the rail up to 2'6", which is pretty much what we've done in any kind of ring setting. I'm not sure what the highest XC jumps we've done are, but XC doesn't count because Ozzy doesn't mess around when our lives are actually in danger. Again, Ozzy went over without even looking at the jump. Still feeling ballsy, I cranked the jump up one more time to 2'9", figuring that would be the edge of our comfort zone. Ozzy didn't so much as bat an eye. Now, I've free jumped this horse up to 3'9" so I know what he can and can't do, but riding him is a different story entirely.

I called to Erin, "I'm going to push my luck and try to do three feet with him. If he does this, we'll call it a day. Can you watch in case I need an ambulance?"

Erin was lurking in the shadows as we approached the jump. My pulse went up as we approached the three foot vertical and I tried very hard to 'think past the jump'. I got up in my two point and grabbed some mane, just in case it didn't go smoothly. I didn't want to yank Ozzy in the mouth if he pulled one of his deer-esque stunts. He was locked and loaded. I could feel him hesitate for half a second as he finally registered that there was a pretty big jump in front of us. He flicked an ear and we were airborne. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped. Erin and I both cheered and I let him walk over to the gate to see her. The ever-awesome Erin had a cookie waiting. I dismounted and praised the heck out of my horse and he looked at me like, "What? It was just a jump. Alfalfa mush now?"

On Monday we'll see what happens when I move everything around.

Runs in the Family

Check out this article.
Mike, the roller coaster designer, is none other than my own baby brother. Seems I'm not the only one making headlines lately. I'm riding my horse through lava filled ravines while my brother makes human pancakes. His FB status said, "FINALLY a more accurate article." I know the feeling.

Trail Ride

Distance: 6.49 miles
Max speed: 23.9mph
Moving time: 1h14m
Avg speed: 5.2mph

Erin and I took Ozzy and Jabby for a six and a half mile trail ride today. I am proud to report that it was completely uneventful. It was relatively warm and the wind had finally died down. Oz and I got a good gallop in. We did a lot of walking. There was no mud, no gopher holes, no sudden changes in weather. Just a perfectly normal trail ride. Huzzah! And then Ozzy got a lovely hot alfalfa mash.

Standardbreds at Work

SRF does a fundraiser every year based on a chance to win a trip to Paris to see the Prix D'Amerique in January. It's $25 per chance. The prize is a trip for two, including a $2k flight voucher, 4 star accommodations, tickets to the race, and food for the four days. We put together a giant mailing to all our usual supporters and the big names in racing. We also sell the tickets at all the events we attend. The drawing was supposed to be at 9am today. Yesterday, Boss Lady sent me out to Showplace and Gaitway to sell last minute tickets. A few people promised to buy tickets today so I went back this morning. Of course I couldn't resist taking pictures and got pretty distracted. God do I MISS the track. I need to take a day when the weather is warmer and go to all the training farms, breeding farms, and layup facilities I have invites to. It will blow your minds :) Today I hit up Showplace and White Birch. Mike Tanner from the USTA won :)

Highlights of my trips to the farms include:
-I went into a barn and introduced myself to a man named Ron. I got distracted by the horse behind him. He looked just like Ozzy's brother, Thunder, who I worked with at the track. Thunder got sold after Mike got hurt.
"What is that horse's name?" I asked Ron.
"That's Bevan Evan."
"O. Ok. He looks just like this horse, Great Thunder, who I knew a few years ago."
"Did you say Great Thunder?" I nodded. "No shit! I drove him a bunch of times, mostly at Freehold. Nice horse. Mikey got hurt you know..."


-I got to see a horse swimming at the pool at Showplace. I've seen the pool and watched the dog therapy there, but I've never been there early enough to see the horses swim.

-I saw Worldclass Guy, adopted from us almost a year ago. A board member and the owner of Showplace(?) got him for his wife. Guy has been spoiled rotten since. Allison of SPHO fame took me to see him. She was half an hour late because she wasn't feeling well and Guy was furious. As soon as she opened the barn door, he whinnied indignantly. The whole time she was changing his blankets, he was huffing and all but lecturing her. He has two paddocks all to himself and they even built a ring for him at the back of the property. It's nicer than my ring at SRF!

-White Birch was GORGEOUS. I had been to the office before, but walking around the barns and stroking all the famous ponies made me drool.

-Trond Smedshammer offered me a job. Haha.
I was standing by the track outside his barn, watching the work outs. He saw the way I was watching the horses and smiled at me. I introduced myself and he asked if I was looking at horses to retire. I laughed and told him I just miss the track sometimes.
"You worked at the track?"
"Yeah. A few years ago."
We chatted for a while and he said, "Well, if you ever want to get back into it, give me a call. I'd hire you. We're always looking for good help."
If it wasn't 7 days a week for less than I'm making now, I'd be all over that.


Click the blue text to see more photos.

Endurance Bridle

Long story short, I thought Amazon messed up my order so I let Bryce open his Christmas present early. He's Jewish anyway, haha. In return, I got my Christmas present early too. Bryce got Ozzy the endurance bridle I've been promising him... in his colors!!! (hot pink and lime green)

I think Ozzy likes it.

Click the blue text to see more photos.

Boston Kate

This is the baby they weaned off Kate the day before they brought her here:

Her entire story, start to finish, can be found on the TVG forums. Basically, it's a big tear jerker. This woman is unemployed and finds some work for cash... feeding a mare and foal a few mornings a week down the street. Turns out the owner is a long time standardbred owner, but doesn't actually know (or care) about their upkeep. Rose, the sign lady, steps in and realizes that there is something (ok, a lot) lacking in the care being given to Kate and her foal, 'Star'. She doesn't know much about horses, but she's an animal lover so she starts asking questions online. People answer and she takes their advice, essentially raising the foal. Then, dirtbag of the year decides that he "doesn't need the mare once the foal is weaned" and plans on auctioning her off at the kill auction. Rose freaks out, advertises the mare on a sign around her neck at the SPHO National Show, and finds out about SRF. The owner decides it would be easier to just sell the mare for $200 to the Amish. Rose buys her for $200 on the spot, even though she has no way of keeping a horse. The thread is 91 pages long and chronicles everything from start to finish. The woman should seriously write a book. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it's worth checking out. Rose changed names to keep herself from getting into trouble.

As for Kate?

I rode her again this morning and she's coming along in leaps and bounds. We didn't need the crop at all and she has learned what leg means. She moves willingly forward and even did a handful of trot poles. She's starting to go in a nice frame and is super supple. She's going to make someone a very nice horse.

With her old-enough-to-be-weaned colt.

Haunted

I'm going to blog this out now because it's daylight and I'm nowhere near there, but I'm pretty sure Bryce's house is haunted. The old couple that lived there died... in the house. Bryce got it for a great price and some of their belongings, including hospital equipment, were still in the house when he got it.

Shortly after Bryce bought the house, he found a secret compartment in the wall. Inside was a tiny baggy with one of those prayer charms that dying people hold between their thumb and forefinger when they're too weak to do much else. And rose petals. Blessed rose petals. From the year of Bryce's birth.

Christine, Devon, and I laughed and laughed and laughed and wished Bryce the best of luck. I swore I'd never sleep there. A year later, I'm living with him.

Bryce has kept many of the trinkets that were left behind, probably out of fear. You don't want to throw something out and anger the spirits... haha? Perhaps the creepiest one is the nativity scene carved out of wood. There are no faces on any of the characters. You could argue that it's just a matter of detail, but there are far more intricate things carved into the piece. It sits in the kitchen and I try not to make not-eye contact.

One of my first nights in the house, I woke up to footsteps over my head. Definitely human foot steps.
"Psst, Bryce... Bryce?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Do you hear foot steps in the attic?"
"O... yeah... you get used to it."
"WHAT?!?!?!"

It's true. You get used to it. That is NOT OK.

It's a nice neighborhood on a quiet street. We're across the street from the college. Half the street is rented out to college kids. Our half of the street is filled with old people. Our neighbors are all friendly, but quiet. I think there's a three legged dog next door. However, we're maybe half a mile from Trenton. I never worry for our safety, but we definitely lock our cars at night and double check the door when we leave. We always enter and exit through the side door. The only time we use the front is when we order food.

One night I thought I heard someone walking around the house, but thought nothing of it. The next morning, Bryce found the front door wide open. The fake alarm we have mounted on the door frame was wheezing weakly, out of batteries.

We've been pulling down the wall paper in the bathroom and bits of primer have been coming off underneath. The latest bit revealed chunks of tan, distinctly shaped like three letters.
BLL
Bryce's initials.
I should take a picture.

Then, night before last, Bryce thought he saw the shadow of a hand in the corner of our room. The scented candle on the head board flickered ominously. He told me not to look. We stayed up extra late reading.

This morning I was getting ready for work and very deliberately not thinking about it. Suddenly there came a tapping from the medicine cabinet next to me.

"I'm not looking, you crazy demon!!!!" I told the cabinet. "Going to work... so hard..."

I'm just going with, "It was a nice old couple and we haven't done anything to anger them. They probably don't mean any harm. Tralala... don't believe in ghosts..."

Galloping Photos

I talked Bryce into coming to the barn with me to take pictures of Erin and me riding. She hasn't had anyone take pictures of her and Jabby yet, and I've been craving a good gallop. It was our first 'trail ride' since the mud rescue incident and Ozzy was feeling GOOD. He behaved on the way out, but when I turned him to gallop he took off like he had rocket boosters. It caught me off guard. The tree line was coming fast and I wasn't sure he'd stop. I was able to pull him up, and I was cracking up. Apparently he's really super fit. We went back and forth a few times and Bryce got some great photos. Ozzy didn't even break a sweat.