In the Arena #151 - Ready or not - here we come...

The past several weeks have been overrun with travel preparations. When it wasn't raining that is. Thirteen inches in thirty six hours. Okay - I'm really sorry I complained about how dry it was, how I was tired of having to water the plants, and especially how I couldn't use the arena, because then this happened:

 

I will not walk in the quicksand...

  

Somehow no wires or insulators popped... It's fun to do electric fence repairs in the pouring rain.
Yes - that branch is covered in poison ivy.

Not scared unless it falls on me...

We did get some decent rides in before the deluge. One in particular combined an energetic, attentive horse with a balanced, focused rider. Heavenly. Actual round circles. Really nicely forward + good bend, off of light aids. Best ride all year, and it felt like we might possibly be ready for our clinic. Of course I promptly got dumped the next day following a very lateral duck and spook, the source of which was a total mystery. (wouldn't want to get over confident or anything...) No worse for the wear, I remounted and we continued working.

Loving you despite the sandy helmet...

With no objections to getting wrapped, and after donning his protective headgear, Val self loaded and we hit the road. (love my horse!) I worried that he wasn't eating his hay, because he's such a rubbernecker when we trailer - always looking out the windows - but at our midway stop he'd finished his travel manger and promptly polished off the half bucket of soupy mash I held for him. He only got a little on me. ;D (is it weird that he pees on a moving trailer?)

 

After an uneventful seven hour trip, we arrived at L's farm. Val settled into his accommodations, although sadly for him he's residing in the round pen. Coming from the land of sand and no grass it didn't seem a good idea to go straight on to 24/7 grazing. Poor Val... Maybe to pay me back - he waited several hours before drinking anything. At bed check he pulled his face out of the water bucket to greet me, so all is well.

Saturday is our first mounted lesson + an unmounted bio-mechanics seminar. (!)