Gratitude

I have a bunch of other posts in the wings, we’ve had a fairly busy October! This is one I felt was important to get out now, as I’m filling out the form to nominate my Ride Manager of the Year for PNER (Pacific Northwest Endurance Riders). An endurance season isn’t a solo endeavor, and […]

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Drops of summer

With the overdue fall rains coming home this weekend in force, I ducked out of work early to soak up the last drops of summer. I was supposed to have a dressage lesson but scheduling conflicts got in the way, though Tarma and I ended up have a stellar time together. I hauled the trailer […]

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Groundwork never ends

Tarma was so soft and engaged when I went out into the pasture after work today, and I wanted to stay with this calm, open energy. Instead of working at speed in the round pen, we stayed grounded and worked on some ETS obstacles. After our last dressage lesson we really struggled with opening and […]

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Slide Into September

I’ve been a bit mum as August faded into September. I had some things to sort out after Midnight Rider, in addition to Tarma’s mandatory post 50 miler rest period. A few post-MR things to note, now that the hubbub has passed: WHEW. I did not expect the pacing rabbit hole on a Monday night. […]

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There’s a wall

I cantered Tarma into a wall during our last dressage lesson, but it was still considered improvement. Or, as my dressage trainer said, “Pleasently surprising”, which I’m totally putting on my resume now. I’m not entirely sure where I picked up my “I can’t canter in the arena” anxiety but man does it being up […]

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Book Review: On The Hoof

During the course of my first office job, I wrote several chapters of a book that will never see the light of day. It’s titled “Through the horse’s ears” and was pure escapist prose, where the heroine proceeds onto her equine based adventure with utter surety and smoothness. Seriously, I reread this a few years […]

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Benny At Bat

Happy Second Birthday Benny!!!!!! With the thick of endurance season upon us, I’m actually riding Tarma less than I do in the winter. She gets the standard week or two off after each race, and then a few tune up rides before the next event. This leaves me with lots of free time, and also […]

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Conditioning Check In

Once again, I’m bouncing back and forth between posting straight to Facebook and here on the space I actually pay for. Folks don’t always follow a link to a blog, but they usually take a few moments to read a full FB post. I value the blog as a much better way to search and […]

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Gear Checkpoint, Par Deux

My gear has changed quite a bit since my last check in, and heading into endurance training season it’s a good time to dig into what I’m using this year. My previous gear did manage to get us through the Cross State Ride (not well, as it turned out), a full summer of adventures and […]

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Missed connection

The reason I always ask “what am I doing that isn’t right” when Tarma’s not responding the way I’ve come to expect it’s cause it’s pretty much always a me problem. Yesterday was a good example. Tarma actually came up to me in the pasture instead of waiting for me to hike out to her, […]

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