June is one of my favorite months! It is the best time of the year to get out on the trail. Some think fall is better but not me. Does June make me a little goofy?
Maybe....
This Saturday I began my riding day with Lilly down in the round pen. I have been watching Julie Goodnight on RFD-TV teaching other riders circle work and wanted to try some of it out. Well. My brumby did everything I asked her to, but her face was so sour the whole time it was like she had just eaten a peck of lemons. I filmed a long sequence of my working with her, only to delete it in horror.
Bill also worked with Willie in the round pen. Then he decided that Willie was ready for his first trail ride under saddle.
This was a very big deal. Because if something went wrong, it could potentially be a major setback in Willie's training process. The last thing he needed was a bad experience when his training has been going so well.
But Bill is a guy who likes challenge and adventure. So out we went. We figured with Lilly around, her mellow trail personality (unlike her demeanor in the ring) would be an excellent example for the new guy.
We were right. Lilly was perfect. But there were a few learning edges. First the neighbor's dog, Fox, ran out onto the trail like a little brown rocket barking up a maelstrom. Then, while cantering for the first time up the Short Trail, Willie thought a few airy little bucks were appropriate, probably because he is young and fresh and doesn't know any better. Bill expertly nipped this behavior in the bud. All was recorded on Bill's GoPro helmet cam:
Just click here to see it all!
Sunday I was back out on the trail with Lilly. We headed for the River Trail because it was such a gorgeous day and I love seeing the water sparkling in the sunshine. The bugs were so obnoxious! To get to the river, the trail is pretty steep. Lilly was extremely reluctant to go down the path to the river. At first I thought she was just being stubborn. But then I theorized that her feet hurt. Those darn feet! They are very hard to please!
I hate to see my brumby in any kind of pain, even a small amount. I got off of her and walked for a while. It doesn't seem very kind to ride a horse whose feet hurt. (The next day while I was at work, Bill put shoes on her. Relief.)
Although taking pictures in the saddle is fun and easy, from the ground I can get some good stuff too. And now that I have this handy dandy funky little tripod thing, I can mount the camera just about anywhere. As I walked along with Lilly, I paused quite a few times to take some pictures using this new tool.
I never said the pictures were of high quality! Here's the real question: Do I care if I look like a dorky goofball all the time? Answer:
Hardly ever.
GO TEAM SUMMERTIME!
3 comments:
Ooh, I LOVE that tripod!! Where did you get it?? It would come in handy for me considering I run a big instagram account and I'm running out of horse photos and no one wants to take them, hahaha!
My boy develops a grumpy face when we are in a ring too!
I love your tripod pics! Too funny! How many tries to get it lined up right, so you were in the pic ? :))))
We went out on Sunday too, and we had vicious bugs swarming us, trying to fly clear up my nose!!! ~ and the trail went alongside a popular route for "Sunday Drives" ~ so every noisy motorcycle in 6 counties went by us!!! ARHGHGHG!
Fabulous!! Dorky silly people make the world a better place.
And Apache is the same way about doing arena work. She is so sour and unhappy. I feel the same way, too, so we rarely ever spend time there. We're trail buddies after all ;)
Lisa
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