Shifting Focus

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 […]

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Soulscape

In the series of books I’m named for (The God Stalker Chronicles, by PC Hodgell), a major plot point is something called “the soulscape”. This is a weird dimension the reflects an individual’s soul, such as a garden, a walled keep, something that sits at the deepest level of the character’s psyche, and the race […]

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Now and Then, Trailer Edition

I started to write this while sitting at a truckstop waiting for my best friend caravan down to the Oregon Horse Center with me. For the first time ever we will have almost matching trailers, which differ only in the details. In the span of three years of actually owning horses I’ve gone from a […]

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The Future of Trucks

While I am not currently an active member of AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference), I do keep on eye on their social media, as I’m toying with the idea of trying endurance again in a year or two with Tarma. A few days ago a member posted asking about electric trucks, specifically for hauling horses, […]

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Over the mountains, once again

At long last, I was able to join the wonderful group of folks my trainer gathers around for the last horse camping trip of the season, for me at least, probably. I was the last rig out of Sheep Springs today! There were highlights and campfires and lessons learned, things I need to tweak, though […]

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When’s the next one?

First off, my mantra for the weekend was “Thank you Sarah”, as this trip wouldn’t have been possible without her along. She was also totally game for hopping on a horse she’d never met before for a five mile trail ride, just so I wouldn’t have to ride out alone in a brand new spot. […]

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All settled in

I’m writing this particular dispatch from my new reclining camp chair (snapped up from Costco), three quarters of the way through a can of 14 Hands wine. Tarma slurps her dinner in her corral next to me, and my belly is full of my friend’s excellent Shepard’s pie. The puppy is sleeping in the kennel […]

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The weekend that happened anyway

Sometimes the universe tosses signs your way that say clearly “Do not do the thing.” Sometimes you gotta give the universe the middle finger, do some slightly sketchy electrical work, and do the thing anyway. Despite several Gremlins and a momentary defeat, a friend and I managed to load up my trailer and her husband’s […]

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Doldrums

A few weeks ago my best friends and I had a breathtakingly beautiful ride up and down the lower portion of the Deschutes River. There was a half hour stretch of my personal Haven, riding along with no hands on the reins, taking in the huge views of river of and sky. Those moments are […]

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This is how legends are made

I have recently, reluctantly, discovered TikTok, and this blog title is the name of a popular song on The TikTok. It also sums up today’s ride, Tarma and I’s first solo adventure. I heard my best friend’s voice in my head, “Just ride the horse!” I’ll let the photos and videos speak for themselves. My […]

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