Post Party Update

Well the party was a big success. There were tons of horses, people and food. The temp was a rare 50 degrees which was the best thing of all. At one point we had 16 horses and riders in the ring. When I went to go get Possum from the paddock he was a little stocked up behind. I gave him a good grooming and checked him all over and couldn't find any obvious signs for him stocking up. I took him to the indoor and rode him around at a walk to get the blood flowing. I then put him in the barn and ate some food and watched a couple of games. Before the high jump we participated in pole bending. This is not one of his good events. We did make it though, but it wasn't pretty and nor was it the best time.

When the jumping started I could tell right away that he was full of himself, which is suually a good sign but he was being sloppy. I don't know if it was because he aw maybe a little stiff behind from being stocked up or just too hyper, but he was racing towards the jumps. He would throw his head up in the air to avoid the bit and charge to the jump and literally throw himself over it. Jumping flat and on the forehand instead of sitting back and rocking on his haunches for a good take off. I have to admit that I was a little pissed, but you have to just chalk it up to a bad day. We were eliminated at 4'1". No one was able to break the past years record of 4'6". Afterwards I put the jump to 5ft just for shits and giggles and tried to jump it. The first two times he stopped abrubtly, and once I almost came off as he slid to a stop and then ducked to the side. Luckily I still have a few instincts left and was able to control myself from tumbling off. The last time I brought him to the jump I made the mistake of thinking that he might stop and was nt ready when he heisitated and then started to launcy over it. I got caught behind and definately sat back on his back as I threw my arms forward in hopes of not catching him in the mouth. It was not pretty by far and I let him stop there ona valiant effort. I gave him lots of pats and a good rub down and promised that I would ride him more so we were both in better shape. Everyone had a great time and it was all smiles.

As for the guy situation. "G" has decided that he is going to be mad at me this time and it not really speaking, which is fine with me. We both have to get over this in our own way and maybe this is the best thing for him. As for Greg, I just can't find anything bad about this guy. I am still trying very hard to keep my feelings to myself and keep it on a friend level with no strings, but man I really like him!! My roomie and I are cooking a big dinner to have tomorrow night and Greg and his son might come over to eat with us which will be nice.

I'm battling a wicked cold right now and am just so tired all the time. I'm having a hard time getting up in the morning. Luckily tomorrow is the last day of work this week due to the new year holiday. It'll be nice to relax and chill because this upcoming month is going to be crazy busy with school educations and drop in hrs.

As for the saving money for the ranch trip, it's slow going because I'm still paying off all my bills. But I hope to really stick to it. My roomate might go as well and I think it could just be an awesome time. Well have a good rest of the week and a happy new year if I don't write till then.

Greetings on a Friday day off

Merry Christmas everyone. I had a good time at my parents the other day and got some awesome gifts. It was good to visit with family and totally stuff myself with yummy food. I got n awesome rain coat made of Gore Tex that my mom got on sale. I left my last raincoat at the horse track this fall when I was marshaling the races so I've been without one for a while. My mom actually even got me some riding gloves and some winter gloves for the barn which was cool. I got a Sweatshirt with a cool shadow of a horse on it that says Fryeburg Fair, and of course the most useful gift of all, MONEY!!! I'm going to pay off some bills and then start saving for my trip out west.

The ranch that I'm hoping to go to with Greg an possibly my roomate is the 71 Ranch in Nevada. I keep looking at the website and drooling over the slide show and reading every page detail through detail.

I'm looking forward to the barn party tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be warm in the 30's with no snow predicted. I have a funny story to shre. The other night before Christmas my roomate and I went to the barn to check on our horses and put on extra blankets. We decided to just ride bareback with bridles in the arena to stretch their legs a little. Possum is always a little jumpy with his bareback and you have to be careful. Well I just got done telling my friend that watch he'll try and buck or something when I tried to get on, and no sooner did I try and lay a leg across and was competely sideways on his back due to the many layers that I was wearing when he let out this huge buck. He didn't move other than his hind legs. I was very proud of myself I didn't even lose a little balance. I quickly swung my leg over and he curled his neck up and arched his back and pranced off. I could feel the energy coursing through body. Needless to say we only did some walking and trotting and then I got off and lunged him at liberty to let him blow off some steam. He is just so funny that he makes me laugh all the time. I was also pleased to see that even flying changes on his own are getting much better when he turns and spins or cuts across the arena. It was good to see him and feed him treats and his dinner. I rearranged his blankets so that he was all comfy and toasty.

Today is pretty much a lazy day. Last night I went to the movied with Greg, his brother and my roomate. We went back to his place and had a good time and I ended up crashing there. "G" has just been giving me grief lately and it's kinda stressing me out. So I havn't even taken a shower yet and am just playing on the computer and watchin TV. Somestimes it's good just to be lazy and chill. Well have a great day everyone. Hopefully will have a lot of funstories to share tomorrow after the barn party. I can't wait!

bad horsey mom

Let me just say that Maine is such a weird state to live in weather wise. We had another biggish storm Friday night. And now as I type this on a Sunday evening we are predicted to get between 10-18 inches. We have already gotten nearly a foot so far. The snow is coming down so fast that the plows can't even keep up with it. The barn owner called this morning and said that they were postponing the barn party until after Christmas because of the weather and the fact that it would be unsafe for people to drive in it, I totally agree with her decision. But that means one more day of not seeing my pony. I can just imagine him now all bundled in his blankets in the shelter with his buddies snoozing while the storm rages.

My roomate and I went over to Gregs house since he did not have his son today and while he watched football we played upstairs on the big screen with video games. It was actually really fun. We also brought all the dogs along for a little added excitement. We then watched a movie and braved the drive home which is usually 20 minutes but it took us about an hour!!! We drove slow and carefully and made it home safe and sound.

SO now we're getting ready to watch Home Alone and get in to the Christmas spirit. I did not go shopping yesterday so now I have to go after work sometime this week which is fine because I know what I need to get but it's just a matter of driving down there and getting it. Jusr wanted to check in tonight and let you all know that if you saw the weather report that I'm fine and so are the horses. I do plan to get to the barn before Christmas and bring Possum his treats as well. SO have a good nighe everyone and I'll check in later.

FRIDAY!!!!

I am so excited that it's Friday. That means the work week is ending and school vacation is starting. I have a very slow week next week due to school not being in session so I have some time to catch up and go through more curriculum. I'm trying to get myself motivated to ride this afternoon after work. I really should put in atleast a little ride before the big party Sunday. Oh and Sunday we're supposed to get more snow, just under a foot, oh joy! (Not).

I'm pissed because Possum has ripped his hood off his blanket and taken the rings with it and I have not yet fixed it. I feel like a bad horse mom since he has a strip of clipped hair under his neck. Granted it is growing in quickly and he is not shivering or anything, but still I bought the damn hood for a reason!!! I need to try and fix that tonight so he can have it on before we get any more snow.

My dogs are doing great and they are my best friends. They hang out on the couch with me in the afternoons and sleep with me at night. I even brought Jetta and Abby over to Greg's house the other night so that his son could visit with them. He fell in love and cried the night after because I couldn't come over with the dogs again. He's such a sweet kid. Speaking of Greg, things are still going strong. I find that the more time I spend with him the more and more I like him. I was talking to him the other day about my dream of going to a real cattle ranch out west and he said that he would love to do that as well. I almost fell out of my chair. "G" would have rather have had his right arm cut off then go to a ranch with me. SO I took it seriously and started to do some research. I am totally serious about this and am hoping to save some money so that I can go in the fall. Greg is all on board, imagine how fun that would be!!! He just keeps amazing me with he generosity and kindness. He may even come to the barn party on Sunday which would be totally cool that he would be taking an interest in what I love doing. But as I am always reminding mydrlf, take it slow girl, there's no rush.

Well that's about it on the horse and guy news. I will definately have more to write after Sunday. Saturday I have designated as Christmas shopping day since I have not even started. Money is just so tight and I am one of those girls that just hates shopping, unless it has anything to do with horses hehehe. So stay tuned I may have a new jumping record to share or maybe a good spill to admit, we'll see.

Hey All

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I've just been lazy about typing lately. I went to the barn Monday night with my roomie. The temps were in the 50's which is insane for this time of year. We've been getting snow, ice, rain and now warm weather. As I type this today it has currently snowed 6in and is very cold. Maine is just a crazy place to live in the winter. So Monday went well. I rode for about an hour and a half. We worked on some solid flat work and he was actually doing very well and was quite supple. I worked on some lateral work and shoulder ins which he did quite well. I then trotted a few jumps and he was OK. He and I both hate trotting jumps even though it's really good for us. We tried cantering some courses, but damn it all he turned into a speed demon again. It wasn't until almost the end of our ride that he started to calm down and steady up. At the end of the ride I put one of the jumps to 3'9" and he went right over it a few times, only rubbing it once and causing it to fall. When I was finished I let the barn owners daughter cool Possum out. She really likes to walk him around on his back, and he really seems to like her as well. It's really cute to see them together.

Possum also managed to rip his hood off and I found it in the woods up against the electric fence. Somwhow he ripped the rings out of the blanket so now Ihave to find a way to sew all three back on. I gave him a few treats after giving him his grain and turned him back out. It was nice to spend some time with him and work together.

This coming Sunday I am so excited because it is our annual holiday barn party with food, drinks, games and ofcourse the highj ump competition which I am totally psyched for. I have to tell you that it has always been my dream to jump 5ft. The highest that we have gone is 4'6" so I'm hoping that we can break a record on Sunday as long as my nerves don't get the best of me. Either way it's a good time with good friends and ofcourse horses.

As for the guy front, things are steadily marching on. "G" is still kinda stressing me out and really wants to get together, but really I think that I'm done. As for Greg we are just getting to be better and better friends as each day passes. We talk all the time and are each others cheering section when someone gets us down, such as the ex's. Oh and one last thing.......Last weekend I got my nose pierced. I have never had anything pierced in anything in my life including my ears so this was a big step. I have always thought that they were pretty cool and I just wanted a small stud. So here I am.........

Well that's about all. Been busy at work but it's been a good busy. Still need to START my Christmas shopping so that's my plan for this weekend besides the Christmas party ofcourse. Looking forward to spending some tigme with Greg as well this weekend. I just find him so attracting and such a good person. SO have a great rest of the week. I'll try harder to write again. I just finished cleaning the apartment from the mess all of the dogs have made with their toys and managed to vacuum so I'm pretty motivated right now. Have a good night.

Wednesday Ramblings

Well it's Wednesday, otherwise known as hump day. Not too much going on other than the crazy weather here in the northeast. It was in the single digitgs for temps this past weeekend and it is now 55 degrees outside. The weather is absolutely crazy!! I came home from work early to get some presentations ready for Friday for a visit from a large funding source that is coming to visit and learn more about our program, nothing like a little pressure or anything. My roomie has the day off and decided to go to the barn, even though it's raining cats and dogs. Greg is here at the funeral home fixing the water problem and cleaning up. It was good to see him. He called me earlier to talk about issues with his ex and the grief that she is putting him through. I'm glad that I can be such a good friend to him when he needs it. Saturday we might actually be going on a real date to L.L. Bean late in the night since it's open 24/7 and we thought it would be fun to go in the middle of the night, nothing like a little adventure. That's one of the things that I really like about him, he's up for almost anything.

As far as the horse front is concerned, I havn't done much since the beach this weekend. I hate to sound like an idiot, but really the weather has been frustrating me and I don't really feel like doing much. I did come home last night and cleaned the bathroom and washed my bedding. I never realize until I clean out the lint trap in the dryer how much hair my dogs really shed, it's quite a bit and really washing my bed once a week is a necessity. But I love my dogs and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, they are really my best friends and they come first, along with my horse and cat ofcourse!!

"G" also came by this afternoon to take the dogs for the day since he had the day off and I'm trying to get things done in terms of work. He was really happy to see them, but ofcourse it was a tense meeting since Greg was also here working downstairs at the house. They didn't see each other but ofcourse I didn't keep it a secret that they were both going to be here, I really have nothing to hide and right now I am just friends with them and they both know that.

Not much going on otherwise. Have a busy day tomorrow so far. We are expected to have quite a big snow and ice storm tomorrow and into Friday which is always nice when you have to drive for work in this crap. One of the things I found out when I started this job that we have snow days and if the weather is really bad then they will cancel work with pay which is really cool since I really hate driving in this crap even though I'm used to it and also have studded snow tires. The bulk of my driving in the week is on Friday so we'll see what the weather has to bring. Have a good day everyone and stay safe.

Riding and more Riding

Finally I have gotten my lazy ass to ride some more this weekend despite the literally freezing temps. Saturday my roomate and I went to the barn i nthe daylight and had a good ride in the indoor. There weren't that many people there so it was nice to not only get in some good flat work, but also worked on trotting and cantering some lines and courses. As always Possum was a speed demon, but eventually he settled down and we had some nice hunter rounds to the jumps. It was so cold atthe barn that by the time wer were ready to leave my ass was throughly frozen hahaha. It was a good time and I always love riding my horse and hangin with him.

Then Saturday night I went over to Gregs and we watched a movie and I ended up falling asleep. I woke up early Sunday to come home and shower and let the dogs out and then went to the barn to get ready to ride at the BEACH!!! Yes you heard me right. My old trainer called me and asked if I wanted to go to the beach Sunday, Hell Ya!!! She also had to do a demo at Cabella's because they were having a horse day and she as going to talk about camping with horses. So she picke dme up at 9AM and we drove the hour to the ocean. It was cold and snowing, but despite the weather it was still beautiful. It was low tide but the waves were crashing. I put Possum's quarter sheet on and away we went. I had such a blast. I quickly warmed up as we started riding. Possum was wonderful and full of energy. The footing was absolutely perfect and we basically had the entire beach to ourselves. We rode for a couple of miles and rode under the pier and then turned around and rode back. It was really so much fun. We opened the horses up once and Possum kicked the pants off her quarter horse hehehehe. Possum and I just have so much fun together. It's amazing the communication that can occur from simple body language and the exchange of energy. It's like we know whet each other is thinking. We even chased down a few sea gulls which is always fun.

Then we loaded up the horses and drove to Cabella's for the demo. It was still slightly snowing and we had a bit of a hard drawing a crowd. SO I put a bridle on Possum and got on bareback and rode to the front of the store. Immediately tons of people and kids came over to see and pat him. He took it all in stride and was basically falling asleep. Here we are in the middle of the city with cars and people and a trolly for transportation and we were camped right out near the huge moose statue. The Cabella's people even came out and took our picture for their newsletter which was cool. The demo went well and we loaded up the horses and my friend dropped Possum and I off at the barn. I had so much fun and my back was only marginally sore. I came home and took a hot shower and basically laid in bed for the rest of the night relaxing. The pic below I quickly snapped on my camera phone in the parking lot at the beach. You can see the snow coming down. It was really pretty.

Today it is now currently 5 degrees and I have no intention of going outside. I'm still a little chilled from yesterday even though I was dressed warm. So I had a nice horsey weekend and even got to spend some good time with Greg which was nice. I just ave so much fun with him and feel like we can talk to hours. SO I'm looking forward to a good work week and getting a lot done. Have a great day everyone.

Picture and Update Time!!

Happy Wednesday to everyone. I have started my day early getting to work just a little after 6AM! I've already been to the local highschool and given a presentation and am planning on leaving early today since I've been balls to the wall this week so far and it's only Wednesday. I have presentations an hr away all day tomorrow and then Friday is busy again until the afternoon. But work is good and I'm loving it. The Pics above are my dog Phin that I snapped when he was playing with my roomie's dog. Don't mess with him!!! He's my attack dog. He's my best friend and spent all last night spooning me, no really he was. He was sleeping on my side of the bed and I had to take the other side, he's the only one that I would do that for. Doesn't he look all cute and cuddly from the pics ?hehehehe.

My friend Greg's ex-wife is flipping out on him still. She's talking like he and I are going to move in with each other and I'm gonna take over the mother role of their son and oh yea Greg and I are going to have a kid together. Can we say what the fuck!!!!! This woman is deperate and lonely and rerally needs to mental health support. That's about all I;m gonna say about that.

Last night myt roomie and I went to the barn to have a nice ride and took all the dogs. The weather wasn't too cold and it was fun having the arena to ourselves. We blasted the music and went about our businessl Possum was great. I've really been trying to work on both of our endurances. I also did some jumping. Lots of trotting at first and then cantering some. He was a freakin speed demon and was charging towards the jumps at mach speed. No one can say that this horse does not like jumping. Then my roomie put some of the jumps up. She put one all the way up. I was feeling confident and said that I would jump it just once. It actually looked big but I thought it was only due to the fact that I just hadn't jumped in a while. He sailed over it with incredible power. Then when it was my roomie's turn she chickened out and put it down a hole. I couldn't help feel as we sailed over the jump that "I still got it!!!" I gave Possum lots of pats and let him cool out ending on that. After the ride we went and found a measuring tape and gosh darnet with it not all of 4'6" that we jumped, I guess it really was as big as it looked! My roomate is doing a lovel job modeling in front of the jump below.

As you can also see from the pic below Possum is getting a little bit of a belly even with having a trace clip you can see that he is not hurting for pounds. This is the incentive that I have to trim some off him and also from myself. I think it's almost time to get back into regular work, working up slowly to the level we were doing. But I did manage to make him match last night in all pink with his saddle pad and front polos. He looks really enthused in the pic too hahaha.

Nice Long Weekend

Had a pretty good long weekend with spending Thanksgiving in Boston with the family. It all went OK but I was glad to get out of the car with driving 6 hours with my parents and it just killed me, with them setting the speed control at exactly the speed limit of the highway. The drama continues with "G". He keeps professing his love to me, but really and I told him this I just have nothing else to give to him, the tank is empty. The other Greg and I are having fun hanging out. His ex wife now knows that we are hanging out as she went through his phone this morning while he was bringing their son to day care. His ex wife works out of their home and is waiting for her transfer to have another base to work out of. Greg was cool about it and told her that he liked me and we talk and have a good time but that neither one of us are in need of a relationship and just need to be friends right now. From what he tod me she took it well, but them proceded to blame Greg for why her new boyfriend won't talk to her now. Some people are so messed up.

I got out and rode Possum Saturday and it was fun. My back held up well and I worked on building up my endurance which has really been lacking since the broken back incident. It was good to see him and also extra good to have him trace clipped so I didn't have to stay for hours afterwards cooling him out. He really is such a good horse, I can go from riding him every day to once every week and he is still great for the most part. He doesn't offer to rear or buck.l He lets me know when he has extra energy and we work accordingly. I didn'[t really do much jumping since my body was in agony after not riding consistently.

Tonight I'm going back to the barn and gonna ride with my roomate under the lights in the indoor. Work has been really busy which is a good thing. I'm still really liking this job and so excited it's still working out.

Well don't really have much time to chat heing busy and all. I'll check in again tomorrow afternoon. I have a healthy relationships presentation tomorrow AM at a middle school so that should be interesting. You never know what kids that age are going to do.