Take Aways

The worst part of a horse event is the packing up and going home. That's when I wish that I had an entourage. I got everything ready and then Karen helped me load Carmen on the trailer. She was resistant at first. It was hard to blame her-there were three handsome studs in the barn so why would she want to leave? I took the pressure off of loading and spent a couple minutes leading her around and then we headed back to the trailer. With a couple taps of the crop she hopped on and we hit the road.

She was as good as good getting off. Even with Irish calling his head off. Poor Irish- he was so happy to see her he didn't know what to do. I let them both out into the field and Carmen trotted off quite happily. Irish stayed within 5 feet of her the whole time.

We took Monday off. Well by 'off' I mean that Carmen loafed around and relaxed. I went to work and then my fitness class. Tuesday I relaxed by grooming the horses and finishing putting stuff away.

Wednesday was my Birthday. It was a great day - there was Chocolate cake at work and after I got Carmen ready to ride while Ed cooked supper. The flies had started and Carmen was quite restless in the barn. I corrected her and told her to stand she was
I CAN'T! THE FLIES ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY! 

Up in the ring she was quite chilled. After some good ground work I took a deep breath, repeated what I needed to remember and got on.

Here's what I learned- it's a lot easier to be calm at home. However, it was breezy and stuff was blowing around. When I felt Carmen get tense I practiced my calm demeanour and I learned another thing- it actually can work for me even without Johanna on the ground. We went into every part of the ring and practiced our transitions. Because she's in heat she was not so sure about the moving forward- I stayed calm and clear and did not get too strong in my aids. It took pretty much 2 minutes and the discussion of moving forward was gone. Plus she figured out that there are less flies when you trot then when you walk.

We were even able to keep trotting a circle when a big raven landed in the ring. Carmen hates crows and ravens- they freak her out. Except this time. This time it was an ear flick and done.

To be honest I don't know how long I was riding. I totally lost track of time and then realized I was hungry. Carmen was easy and relaxed in the barn and happy to get her supper too.

In the barn I saw that the barn swallows had returned. I was happy to see me and while he peered at me from the rafters I said 'welcome back. I was worried about you'. Yes I love my barn swallows.  On the way back to the house I saw that the magnolia that I had put on Steele's grave was blooming.

I ate the delicious support that Ed had cooked and then spoke with my children.

It was a good day.

yes, I know that my helmet is loose. I need a new one
But I still like this photo of us. :)