Circles

December 7, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

There are days when I’m on top of everything, I have a good handle on the life stuff. Work out, eat mostly ok, get the kid out the door and the dog happy, do my work, take care of my horse, listen to my son’s day, share some funny TikToks with my husband. Then there’s […]

Office Rant

November 15, 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

Even before the pandemic hit, I had a certain level of flexibility, and I do want to state upfront that I’m grateful for the privilege of such flexibility. I’m not blind to the fact so many people suffer a whole range of stress and ailments from either preforming a job that has to be done […]

Winter’s Work

November 7, 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

When the Dark Months hit and the desire to ride is hit by the short dark days and icky weather, and adventure season is over, I pause and take stock. I bounce back and forth between giving Tarma a month or so off to breathe and recover and be a horse, and doing just enough […]

Wrong Turns

October 24, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

Some rides I can’t wait to get home after taking care of Tarma, shower and share the photos for all my friends to see. Other rides never get shared, for reasons ranging from a tad too short to too much time passing and life happenings. Others, like yesterday’s, I’m compelled to share, but only after […]

Trust

October 12, 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

I had plans for this week, oh so many plans. But the Universe said, “Ha ha, take a break!” Tarma’s coming off her first endurance ride, so I gave her last week off. We did some ground work and I lunged her a few times, but I didn’t ride until Monday. On Sunday I drove […]

Shifting Focus

October 4, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

Before every big trip or event, I try to carve out some quiet space to tinker with something and visualize the path ahead. Usually this is done around packing, though last week I hauled out my saddle and futzed with my saddle bags after noticing how jangly they were at speed. I set the Wintec […]

Money On The Line

September 23, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

Way back when the nights were still frosty, I hauled Tarma solo up to Tacoma and we more or less calmly puttered through a 15 mile intro ride. Just over a month later, we rode 24 miles on our last day with the Cross State Ride, and Tarma had three weeks off for a badly […]

Double D Update

September 15, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

I love my trailer. I adore having it parked in front of my house, so I can tinker with it endlessly. I appreciate falling asleep to the sounds of Tarma eating from her hay net, and waking up to her screaming because she needs to pee and dislikes having to do so on the Hi […]

Know Better, Aim for Better

September 12, 2022.Reading time 15 minutes.

Despite what felt like the entire Pacific Northwest being on fire, my friends and I still managed to snatch an enjoyable weekend together over in Sisters, at their first Equine Trail Sports event. The smoke was almost as bad as the same weekend last year, leading to headaches and shorter tempers, though we were able […]

Dog and Pony Show

September 2, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

Sometimes Tarma just can’t with me, and really makes me work to be with her and be a good person for her to deal with. Other times everything just flows. Still other times a lot goes right and some things are just like, “Really, mare? Please, sort yourself out.” Yesterday was the latter! It was […]