Sunday Stills

This wakes me up in the morning

I go downstairs and pull my breakfast out of this

and cook it up on this

I might spend some time watching this

Sometimes I'll mess around with this

or pamper myself with this

I spend a good amount of income made here

right here

When I need an afternoon pick me up I'll have this

and day dream about September when I can go to the 100th Pendleton Roundup and yell this with thousands of other rodeo fans!

Success

I hadn't ridden Boo in a over a week, so I decided it might be smart to longe him first just to see what kind of mood he was in. He is such a good boy! We started out just on the longe line and he followed my voice commands like the pro he is. We attached the side reins and he continued to cooperate. I didn't make him go for very long because my goal was to ride the rising trot and report back to the physical therapist. I'm happy to say we rode for about 10 minutes (PT rules) at the rising trot. No pain!!!! I'm looking forward to seeing what the physical therapist says tomorrow. Maybe she'll let me go longer or maybe she'll let me sit the trot. Gotta tell ya I was tempted to sit the trot and to canter, but I didn't do it. The last thing I want is to set myself back. Trail season is upon us and I'm hoping to get out for a few short rides and work up to some longer ones.

I'm going to go out again tomorrow. Boo needs a little clean up. He needs his muzzle clipped and his bridle path. He needs his tail washed too in the worst way. It is so gratifying to go out and have him be happy to see me. He met me at the gate and I think he enjoyed the brushing. He's all shed out now and looking good.

This weekend is the Fort Vancouver dressage show at the Clark county expo. We'll be there on Saturday with Sarah and Bay. I think she's going to ride training level and first level at this show. Sure hope the weather cooperates and we get some sunshine and warm tempertatures. I'm taking my camera so I hope to have pictures to post.

I want to thank everyone who gave me encouraging words on my last post. Sometimes life gets me down, but I'm happy to report that I'm back on track with my diet and exercise and that goes a long way towards helping me cope with the rest of it.

Posting a picture of a bush in my yard. It's blooming right now. I don't know what kind of bush it is, so if anyone does I'd be happy to find out.

God grant me the serenity...

This past month has been a rough one. I've been trying to stick with some good eating and exercise habits that I've been cultivating, but it's not been easy. In the past couple of days I've fallen off the wagon. I'm determined to get back on. It's only a failure if I don't get back to it. I know that. So as of right now it's back on track for me.

I made the 25 lb mark last week. This week it's been diet sabotage. Go figure!!! It's actually remarkable that it hasn't happened before now. I started this journey in pain with my sciatica yet I managed to stay active through the pain and on board with my physical therapy. I've had a dear friend spend 20 days in the hospital nearly at death's door...I've had two family members spending time in the hospital with serious illnesses...and another taken to the emergency room due to an accident. I've discovered some disturbing things about someone I love with all my heart and haven't a clue what, if anything, I can do to help. It's hard to stay in control when life seems so out of control.

The only thing I can think to do is to keep putting one foot in front of the other one day at a time. Tomorrow I will go to ride my horse. I will be getting to ride the rising trot for the first time in more than a month. It's a small thing, but it's an improvement. I will cling to that and wait for the rest of the people in my life to get better...or not.

Sunday Stills

Had to go to the archives for these. No time for photos this week. The first one is of Mt. Hood with Timothy Lake in the foreground. The second one is Mt. Hood. Should be easily recognizable if you do much driving over the mountain.

Wordless Wednesday

OHSET for 2010 has wrapped up. It was Sarah and Bay's first OHSET and seems they had a lot of fun and a lot of success too. They won 1st place in dressage at their first meet. The second meet did not go as well and they ended up in 24th place. The third meet found them in 4th place. They ended up being the 1st alternate for their district. It was a long shot that they would get to go to state. One of the top three...the gold, the silver, or the bronze medalists would have to drop out first. We absolutely could not believe it when that is what happened. Central Point here we come!

We arrived early Wednesday afternoon in order to give Bay time to recuperate from the ride down. He rode down in the trailer by himself, and he was a real trooper. No problems at all hauling. The stall floor was asphalt so we bedded really deep. Luckily they had plenty of bedding available. I have to say I think Central Point handled the state meet really well.
Parking seemed to be the biggest issue and that was because participants kept trying to park where it was posted not to park. I would have liked to see a little more shade, but quite frankly I couldn't think of any place that would have had more. The meet is moving to Redmond in Central Oregon for the next 2 years and I hope they handle it equally as well.

Thursday dawned bright and early. We headed over to the expo grounds around 10:00. I set myself up at the top of the bleachers with pillows for my back and seat. I had my trusty iphone to take notes on and proceeded to watch the dressage rides from start to finish. I like to write down the numbers and what my impressions are of each horse and rider pair. I completely stayed away while Sarah and Bay were getting tacked up and warmed up. Sarah had been asking her mom if she thought she belonged at this meet. She was pretty impressed by some of the horses and riders she was seeing in warm up and she was letting it sap her confidence a bit. They were scheduled to be the 20th horse and rider in the ring. Just before they came in I texted Mick and told him to tell Sarah they soooo belonged here. I was seeing nice horses and good riders but none that I thought we head and shoulders above Sarah and Bay.

They came in and they had a respectable ride. I've seem them do better, and I've seen them do worse. Bay was willing and did every movement asked of him. Sarah felt he could have been more connected and more through, but all in all it looked like a good ride to me.

That was it! That was what we came for. Now we could relax and watch the rest of the meet without any expectations whatsoever. We could cheer on Sarah's teammates and our friends from all over the state. I managed to get some shopping in too. I particularly liked a jewelery booth called Mystic Mustang out of Ashland Oregon. I bought 2 copper bracelets and a silver bracelet from them. The silver is a Navajo sandcasting journey bracelet with garnet and green turquoise from Nevada and Sleeping Beauty turquoise from Arizona.

It was about the time I finished up shopping that I received a phone call from Sarah. The results were in. Out of 29 horses from across the state Sarah and Bay had come in 3rd in state. They would be the bronze medalist...just one point behind the silver medalist. WHOOPEE! Way to go! Not bad for a first year OHSET pair and Sarah's freshman year.

Sunday Stills

Lilacs

Tulips