March

First XC Outing of 2010

Posted on March 24, 2010

Aaaah, finally! After all of the snow and then all the additional rain, we were beginning to wonder if we’d EVER be able to ride outside again! However, the day finally came – we’ve had beautiful weather this last week, with the temperatures topping out in the mid 70′s and it has allowed a good deal of the mud to dry out. The footing is still a bit soft, but good enough for us to go out and jump a few fences in the boarder field. I took Leo, as I was anxious to see how he’d be… he has gone cross country last fall but I haven’t jumped him XC myself in several years! So it was nice to be back out on him and have a little gallop around and hop over some logs. We just did a few tiny courses and hopped over the ditch a couple of times, but Leo was totally laid back and easy going about all of it – you’d have thought he’d done it yesterday! Phyllis really likes him and if he’s not sold and I have the money to compete him, it shouldn’t be hard to go out at training a few times and then move him up to preliminary.

It was such a beautiful day today and so nice to be out going cross country again! Gemini didnt get to jump today, but we finally got to do some flatwork in the outdoor ring and then went out for a peaceful hack around the property as the sun began to go down. Every day here at Windchase is pretty amazing, but there are a few random ones that are just even better.

Out with the snow, in with the rain?

Posted on March 15, 2010

A week ago

The weather has turned to more typical late winter, early springtime Virginia weather. Amidst the sunny fresh days where all seems perfect in the world, we get slammed with the dreary overcast, rainy and miserably damp weather. We had a few beautiful days this past week that really did a number on all of the snow that was still hanging around, and anything that was left after that soon got washed away with the three days of steady rain that has supplied us with another 3″ of precipitation! I’m not sure where all this water can go! The field look like they are trying to turn into ponds and the lake is trying not to flood over and we found a new river crossing along the driveway. Despite that, though, it’s amazing what a difference just a week can make in the appearance of this place! Last week it was a wintery depressing brown and now suddenly green grass is sprouting everywhere and the property is taking on a whole new color! It’s such an amazing transformation… something you definitely don’t get to see in Colorado!

After the rain

So the horses have been stuck inside with no turn out, but that hasn’t stopped us from having some pretty good rides. I finally got up the nerves to take some lessons with Gemini and we had flat lessons with both Jineen and then Phyllis, with positive results from both. I wasn’t too far off

with my riding and apparently it wasn’t as bad as I thought (or Gemini is really just that happy to be back at Windchase and is a totally different horse now!) and with a little bit of fixing we should be back in good form. We got in a great school over fences today, and it felt great to be jumping him again, as I really haven’t jumped him much in recent months, and hardly at all since leaving last fall. We did more than I expected to but Gemini acted very professional about it and behaved as if he’d jumped just a few days ago! Again, we’ll need a bit of work before we’re back to jumping preliminary courses but it’s good to know we haven’t completely lost or forgotten everything we learned before and can still ride around nicely!

Sibling Rivalry

Posted on March 11, 2010

Gemini and Leo are very good brothers. They’ve spent a lot of time together over the last couple of months, their rooms are next to each other and they go out to play together and they travelled across the country together. Now that they live in Virginia, their rooms are still next to each other and they still go out to play together, and even though they go out with a bunch of other playmates, they still prefer to hang out together.

They also like to play games. Leo pulled one of his shoes off right after arriving. Fortunately, the farrier was out the next day so we were able to fix the problem without any fuss. But, of course, not to be outdone, Gemini thought he would pull a shoe as well! Unfortunately, he had to wait several days before the farrier could put his back on, which meant he was stuck inside his stall while Leo got to go outside. Poor Gem didn’t think that one through all the way! He was so upset about it that when I was bringing Leo in to tack him up and ride him, Gem was making snarky faces and kicking at the stall walls. He further displayed his little tantrum by reaching over and pulling Leo’s blankets off of his stall door. He left his own blankets alone, but found it quite fun to grab his brothers blankets and throw them all over the barn aisle!

Fair enough though, Leo has been getting a lot of attention. This whole Windchase thing is all routine for Gem, who already lived here for quite some time. It’s a whole new thing for Leo, and everyone wants to see what he is all about! He had dressage lessons with Jineen and dressage lessons with Phyllis, getting positive feedback from both. And, of course, they wanted to see him jump too, so he had his first jumping lesson with Phyllis, which Leo found to be great fun. I had forgotten how much fun he is to jump and how easy the bigger fences feel on him! Let’s just say that everybody is pretty impressed with him. The concensus seems to be ‘too bad he’s 12 yrs old and not 6!’. Oh well, Leo is just that much wiser.

But I’m not excluding Gemini either – once he got his shoes taken care of and I was able to ride him a few more times and attempt to get his schooling marginally decent enough to be presented to Jineen, then I signed up for a lesson with him. Fearing the worst and thus being pleasantly surprised, it wasn’t too bad and felt good to get Gemini back on the right track again. We’re a bit rusty and need to work out a few kinks to get back to where we were when we left, but not all hope has been lost and we weren’t too far off. Give us a couple of weeks and we’ll be back in top form, for sure! Gem needs a bit more work with his flatwork before proceeding to the jumping, but it should all work out!

So despite their games and tantrums, the boys are super happy about being at Windchase! There is just something about this place that is pleasant for the horses, and they have both really mellowed out and changed their attitudes towards life and their daily work. Gemini has shown Leo all the cool places to hang out in the turnout field and Leo is even starting to make a couple of new friends out there. And to top it all off, the snow has virtually all melted and the weather has been sunshine and nearly 70 degrees – can’t complain a bit!

The Snow Melts and the Horses Settle

Posted on March 7, 2010

Week 1 back at Windchase has come and gone uneventfully! The weather has turned and the sun is starting to shine and the snow is melting in bucketloads, forming huge marshy swamplands out in the fields and enormous puddles of water and mud everywhere else. It’s enough to pull your shoes right off! Or your horses shoes, as the case would be, as Gem and Leo have both participated in the new fashion trend of missing shoes.

The horses have settled in unbelievably well, both appearing very happy to be in the Bubble and anxious to get to work. Leo has put in some very pleasing dressage work this past week and once Gemini gets his shoe put back on I’m sure he will follow suit! I also hope we get the chance to start over some fences in the next week, as I feel that phase has particularly been neglected over the past couple of months!

Nothing much is different around here and it’s amazing how quickly you can fall back into the routine of things. I feel like I have a fresh motivation to ride and am setting a higher standard for myself. Now we shall just wait and see what life brings us!

Eastern Migration 2010: Part Deux

Posted on March 7, 2010

I’m sorry to inform you all that my relationship with Interstate 70 has come to a close. Despite I-70 trying to apologize today for its beligerant behaviour of last night, we have agreed to go our separate ways. I-70 will continue to support drivers on an east-west national basis, and I’ll just settle for a comfy Little House on Kidwell Rd. No hard feelings on either side. I-70 historically moves on rather quickly, so I’ve heard…. usually an average of 65-70 miles per hour.

It was a rather uneventful day today as we knocked out the final miles in Ohio. A little snow in Pennsylvania taunted us as we drove down the PA turnpike, who, I might add, has roads that pretty closely rival Indianas. And on top of it, I’m paying to drive on them? Yeesh. What’s the world coming to?
But not to sound too cliche or anything, but as we turned off the turnpike and crossed into Maryland, inching our way closer to our destination, the sky cleared and the sun shone through and the last 100 miles of our long journey was smooth sailing. Now begins the unpacking adventure. I knew I should have labeled boxes better when I packed them!

Oh, and by the way, those of you back in Colorado…. in case you were wondering where all of the snow went? It’s out here. In big huge piles. Come and get it.

Eastern Migration 2010

Posted on March 7, 2010

So I have finally comitted to a long term relationship. With Interstate 70. A 3 day relationship. Now I realize you may not think that 3 days really qualifies as a long term relationship but come on, you’ve got to admit that it’s an awfully long time to commit to one highway. We get along pretty well, a little bumpy here and there. We have our disagreements to, especially when it comes to Kansas. I find Kansas to be dull and boring and I-70 just carries on and on. But not all relationships are meant to last, and the way I-70 acted today, threatening to detain me on my journey and make me go much slower than I’d like, well, the end of our relationship is near, I can tell you that much!

Kansas… oh Kansas. As previously mentioned, I find Kansas to be dull and boring. And not only because it’s the middle of winter and Kansas is as dry and brown as a bowl of oatmeal. I’ve travelled through Kansas in the summer and still can’t find anything interesting to look at. Long, straight, flat and, well, boring! Now I’m sorry if any of my readers are fans of Kansas – if you are, please, stand up and defend the state! In fact, I challenge you! Because honestly, I don’t think there’s much hope for a state that advertises “the largest prairie dog in the world” and the “5-legged real live steer” to draw in tourism. Sorry Kansas, you have nothing to offer! Once you crack a grin at the sign for ‘Kanorado’ round about mile marker one, all you’ve got to look forward to is a bunch of dry prairie and a plethora of pro-life-stop-abortion-thank-your-mother-for-giving-birth-to-you signs.
Now, I must admit, there was one billboard that caught my eye. Granted, it doesn’t take much in the dry wasteland of Kansas for anything to catch your eye, but this particular billboard prompted a good ten or fifteen minute consideration, which almost helps the miles pass by a little quicker. (Almost.) Anyway, here it is, brightly standing out amongst the prairie, a hot pink billboard sign with the words “Baby doll, will you marry me? Love, Nathan.” Hmmmm. Can you see where I’m going with this? First of all, is this for real, or some subtle ad for a bridal shop or something of the like? But no, there was no corporate name or sign of any store or product on the billboard. Just the words. So ok, this is for real. Which leads me to thinking – is this really all that romantic? What type of woman wants to be proposed to on a billboard? I can see it now… there you are, driving along the desolate highway in Kansas with your boyfriend when suddenly you are blinded by a hot pink billboard. And “Baby doll” Puh-lease. I now feel sorry for any guy named Nathan who happens to drive down I-70 with his girlfriend. Boy are they going to get the wrong idea! But seriously, where has the romanticism gone? When do marriage proposals have to be so public and obnoxious? I get the whole proposal on a scoreboard at a ball game thing.. I mean, that could really appeal to a true sports afficiando. But are there really any billboard fanatics out there who are so obsessed with billboards that their dream marriage proposal be plastered up on one? Nah. Didn’t think so. Then again, it was in Kansas…..

So after virtually an entire day of dragging our wheels along the interstate of rural Kansas we crossed into Missouri. I actually don’t have much beef with Missouri. We got great gas mileage because their highway is full of rollercoaster moments, where you can cruise down the hill as fast as the trailer will push you and then use the momentum to coast halfway up the next hill. This benefit however, is just about balanced out by the fact that Missouri can’t name their roads. Really, whats up with “Road U” and “JJ” ?? Can you be any less creative? I can see all kinds of problems when stopping for directions! “Oh sure, man, just take the Y road to the U road till you get to M-E.” I guess that’s Missouri’s idea of romanticism, whereas Kansas just threw it up on a billboard……

What I do like about traveling through the midwest is that it’s very productive. You can travel through three entire states in one day, where as the whole of Kansas takes pretty much an entire day. (Yes, sorry, I’m still ragging on Kansas. Someone defend it quick!) Missouri doesn’t take too long (thank god, or I’d get lost with those damn road names) and Illinois is a piece of cake. Driving through Illinois reminds me of those cartoons where the backdrop just continually repeats itself. But unlike Kansas, at lease Illinois has trees and is a third the size.

Which then brings me to Indiana. Oh, Indiana. You are right up there with Kansas! But only because your roads SUCK. I’m thinking Indiana’s Department of Transportation neglected to attend Roadmaking 101. That or they don’t know how to identify a pothole. Or a crack in the road. Or a bump in the road for that matter. Or they are so bad at attempting to repair said cracks or bumps that they just make it worse. Either way, driving through Indiana is worse than turbelence on an airplane. It’s downright brain rattling, and my horses whole heartedly agree! Thank god it only lasts a few hours.

I havent been able to see much of Ohio so far. Not long after crossing the state line and driving through that beautiful outrageously blue archway, Ohio decided to succumb to the pressures of the weather gods and hide itself underneath a blanket of fog and snow. Which led to the aforementioned argument with I-70 and will result in the untimely end of our relationship. But at least things appear normal in Ohio underneath all that blowing snow. Well ok, unless you count the strange annoying-airport-terminal voice in the Truckers station announcing to professional driver 137 that shower 8 was now available. Too bad most truckers are freakishly ugly and sketchy looking. Can you imagine if you had a fleet of truckers that looked like sexy models, all stopping at a truckers station for showers? Now that would be a place to hang out for an afternoon. I mean, who wouldn’t want to check out professional driver number 69 heading off to his shower? I blame my relationship with I-70 for putting these images in your head. After 2 days with the big 7-0 I’m not really thinking very clearly apparently.

I’m off to bed for now, to catch up on some much needed Z’s that were held captive from me last night in the very sketchy Kansas City hotel. (How many rips on Kansas so far, anyone counting?) I’ve never before taken a shower and considered at the time what would happen if the ceiling fell down on me. I mean, that would be so weird! But sadly was a very possible possibility in this instance. Makes you wonder, doesnt it? Thought so.