One in the saddle, one on the ground
Whew, what a week! I feel I got the mild version of a trip to the AERC National Championships, not that it’s a bad thing. A heck of a lot happened, but folks are healing and horses look fantastic from all accounts, so it was a successful trip for many including us. Packing for this […]
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I had a much different post drafted last week, before the Tevis 2024 ride got underway. It was a much more navel gazey post, mostly focused on my own goals and process. I happen to know at least one of the riders involved in the incidents I’ll be including below, so I’m going to attempt […]
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The transition back to the home front after an endurance ride is often the bumpiest part, life narrows to the essentials at ride camp and opens back up to the pressing needs of every day life once the rig is parked in the driveway again. The lure of a long, hot shower and the comfortable […]
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I do enjoy being an active AERC member for many reasons, chief among them the subscription to Endurance News. There was a recent interview with several successful endurance riders regarding horse nutrition, a topic I am currently struggling with. Puzzling out what Tarma needs in terms of nutrition to be a solid endurance horse for […]
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Well, for a ride that wasn’t even on my radar until about mid-April, our first expedition to Still Prineville definitely qualified as endurance! I’m super happy with where Tarma and I are at, in how well we’re flowing together. We’re at the spot where I can decide two weeks before a ride to enter, and […]
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I was at my happiest today in a gravel parking lot. We were in our way home from a fantastic weekend at the Grizzly Mountain Ride, and we’d stopped at the rest area on the Deschutes River in Warm Springs. This area is my favorite of all my road trips, I swear there’s magic in […]
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I realized in the shower yesterday I’ve never really written in depth about Tarma’s quirks, her likes and dislikes, what makes her tick and what hits her ick. With the spring crazies in full flag, it’s a good time to lunge before riding and capture some of what makes up a Tarma. A solid case […]
Read MoreI’m going to write my own version of the vents from last summer’s Santiam Cascade ride. I was a volunteer and eyewitness for both events mentioned in the protest, as written up in the March copy of Endurance News. I find myself in a difficult and not flattering spot, though I hope my words have […]
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I track Tarma’s progress so carefully, but I’ve yet again fallen into the classic mistake of ignoring the rider. In my case, I’ve let winter slow me down rather too much. Yes, we logged more than 1000 miles last year, including 200 competition miles (enough to nab 6th place Heavyweight in the PNW region!!!!), but […]
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January was a bit of a wild month here, trapped in our homes for almost a week due to an ice storm. These level of storms are becoming more regular even in the Willamette Valley, this is the third since we’ve been in our home where we’ve lost power or been stuck for more than […]
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On the loose 