Horses, Canters, Smiles and Sponges???

Well life has been so busy lately, that I have not been on the blog for a while, but we have had things going on! The last two weekends we were in Stanley riding. The first weekend it was Pam and Summer, Kathleen and Caddy, and Spirit and I. We did 18 miles at an average of just over 5 mph (please correct me Lynn/Pam if I have the mph wrong...I am going by memory). That is the longest ride I've done yet at any consistent speed, with the most cantering and 2 pointing for me also, and when I was done, I told Lynn I felt like I'd been broken in, but what a great ride!

Spirit and I following our 18 miles.

Kathleen and Caddy, and Lynn helping to make sure Caddy's heart rate came down-which it did.This was the first time Caddy and Kathleen did a distance like that too. They did amazing-took it all in stride, had some nice canters too, as Caddy is realizing she can, and they had fun! (but we were tired)

The following weekend (last weekend) we went again, this time it was Lynn on Spirit, Kathleen and Caddy, and Wind and I. I think when I have ridden so far in Stanley it has been on a different horse each time! (but those oppourtunities and experiences have been so good for me) Tammy was kind enough to offer me Wind to ride, as she has also been busy lately. I have not been on Wind a lot, so I was thinking that by the first 5 miles I would be figuring him out, or I'd be ready to get off, and I actually told Todd that before we started.

Well I did the first trip around our loop, and I was nearly as tired then after only 4 plus miles, as I had been the weekend before after 18 miles! My problem was that the stirrups although they were as short as they can go, are still too long, so it was a lot of extra work. I really didn't know how I was going to make it another time around. Lynn in her wisdom, suggested we try sponges under my feet, so Todd being the awesome ground crew that he is, ran off and found 2 nice sponges and 2 small bungee cords, and I was set to try again. I had never cantered on Wind before either, and because I was having a hard time keeping my feet in the stirrups with any kind of weight in them, I didn't feel overly comfortable with it before the sponges. 

Well those sponges made a world of difference! They allowed me to ride and be comfortable, to comfortably trot and even canter, and it was nothing to be scared of at all. Wind was just great, with the sponges I felt great, Lynn and Spirit had fun cantering and riding, and Kathleen and Caddy were just incredible to watch with some nice canters in there too, and the biggest smile I have seen in a while! I finished that ride not feeling too physically tired at all compared to the weekend before, and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable rides I have had yet!

The end of a great ride!

-I just have to add that when we were done, Kathleen took care of cooling Caddy down, got all of her things gathered and put away, and then while we were all getting our things gathered up, I looked and saw her sitting in the truck all buckled up and ready to roll. I asked her what she was doing and she replied, " Well we are ready to go aren't we?" I laughed and said that we would be soon, but not quite yet because the horses were still tied to the side of the trailer eating- we hadn't even loaded them yet. :) She had to laugh too and said, "Yeah I'm really tired!" Yes we had a couple of great rides over the past two weekends!