It is a very odd day not to go fast. I like fast. I love cantering. Fancy likes to go fast only when she decides. Amazingly, we just had fun weaving around obstacles and playing with body position, hindquarter yields, forequarter yields, backing and leg cues. Fast was not in our playbook today! I got a new plastic bag from the grocery store.. Why don’t I attach it to my Horsemanship stick today? I didn’t tear any holes in it and tied it only with one handle. It was big…

What the heck is this pain, my brain asked. My stomach and rib muscles started hurting last Monday. As would anyone, I immediately thought Stage 4 cancer. It couldn’t be from riding. I’ve been riding Fancy nearly every day except for about a week of horrible hot humid air. We had a clinic with Jenny and Tony Vaught on Saturday. I got two riding days before that to prepare. On that last day of riding, she didn’t argue with me when I asked her to canter. She has argued from…

Fancy has been on trails with people other than myself.  However, she is not an experienced trail horse by any means.  I greatly wanted our first ride to be with the perfect trail horse, Lucky Star.  Tonight, we got our wish. Hope and I rode our wonderful horses at the scene of our many past trail ride adventures, James A Reed Park.  The Park was excited to have the two adventurers return, one with the untested horse, Fancy.  What would the story be tonight? The start! Such a beauty! Lucky Star has been dealing with…

Day four showing had just started. Riders were doing the reining pattern. The rest of us were intently watching. "I have to identify the Junior horses", the anonymous person announced when she walked into our group, "I have to put a "J" on the hip. (Junior horses (five and under) get to be ridden with two hands with a snaffle bridle. All horses six years and older have to be ridden with one hand on the reins. This is our last year with two hands and the snaffle bit. Fancy…

Show day two sunrise was upon us. Ha! Way too early for me to arise. I had given Fancy a ton of hay last night. She will not starve if I don't get there at 6:00 am. I pray that Fancy would not lay down all night. Let her be sparkle-clean. I slept on. At the magical time of 7:00 am, I was out the door. I had tried on a pair of amazing pants last night and sat down, like on a saddle. Hmmm, there was some tightness in…

Home to Ava, Missouri Day (200 Miles, 3 - 4 hour drive) Hay stuffed in hay bags. Two square bales in the trailer. Tack, supplements, buckets, and brushes packed. Now to get Fancy. Fancy had to load in the trailer with two hay bales stacked out of her way but not where she could eat a bale. Of course, she protested for about six seconds. I led her in, tied her up, and shut the partition. She has a hay bag hanging in front of her and hay on the…