What goes up must come down

I just got back from another two day ride and it was an amazing, amusing, hellish, fantastic two days.  It was a relaxing morning at the stable because we only had five guests on the ride and three staff, so Steph and I could take our time getting the horses ready. It is interesting learning about how to properly pad all of the horses.  We use a combination of saddle pads with areas cut out in them to relieve pressure and gel, or riser pads to keep each horse from getting rubs from their saddles. For this ride, two of the riders worked in the horse racing industry who came with their little sister who also had quite a bit of riding experience. The other two people on the ride were a pair of ladies in their late thirties who had a good bit of riding experience though they were a bit snobbish.

 I was riding Query for this two day.  He is a twenty-something year old big dark gelding (I know… it is shocking that I am not riding a gray).  He has amazingly high withers and a short stride at the walk.  He was a great change compared to Snowy and he gave me some good time to relax while riding.  He would leap into his canter and loved to go, but I could ride him on a loose rein and he followed nicely.  Of course I didn’t end up riding him the whole time. 

He isn't the best in pictues...

The first day started out uneventfully.  We made it over the two hour ride hill and to the Dungeon (a hut in the woods where we go for our lunch break) with only a shoe coming loose on one horse and a bit of a backup on a canter (someone was worried about other horses running up on her horse, so she held her horse back more... I still can’t understand the logic behind this, but we worked it out for the rest of the ride but having me ride behind this guest and keeping my horse quite far behind her so the rest of the guests could still get a good canter in).  Lunch break was the typical lunch break with less banter than normal.  Both Steph and I had headaches. 

At some point after lunch, Steph’s horse, Lawson, threw a shoe and Dolly, a chestnut mare with a guest on her came down on a rock and was walking slightly off.  So, I had the guest who was on Dollie get on my horse, Query.  Michael (our boss) had Steph get on his horse, Raff, and he got on the slightly lame mare, and somehow I ended up on the horse who was missing his shoe.  Lawson does not do well in the back, he thinks he needs to lead every ride, so I am in the front on a horse who is walking full speed ahead while limping. When we got onto a hard road, I got off Lawson and led him to save his foot.  I still have no idea how I ended up walking Steph’s horse while she rode Michael’s.  I found it highly amusing. 

Luckily when we got to Camp Howqua and we left Lawson there and Michael walked over to Riverhouse to meet us.  I rode Dolly to Riverhouse with Steph and the guests and on the short ride Steph and I glared at each other and were quite grumpy.  At the RiverHouse, we got to relax with nibblies (quite yummy ones), wine and beer.  Sarah talked with us a bit while we were taking a dip in the pool and she was her typical spunky self.  it was our job to cook dinner again.  Steph decided that she needs to improve her cooking skills, so I get to put salads into bowls and set the table while she cooks the meet out on the barbie.  I really like this division of labor, I get to snack and stay cool while she gets critiqued by guests about her cooking skills.  Of course our feast was amazing and our snobby guests were complaining… “didn’t you know that the wine glass should go just above the knife on the dinner table”… umm, no… we never do wine with dinner… Near ten at night after we had dinner and desert and we already cleaned  we heard a “could I have a clean wine glass”… they were all dirty (including the one you have been drinking out of and I am unsure why it is no longer up to your standard) so we offered them Champaign glasses because we were exhausted and had to get up early the next morning… but they replied, “that is a Champaign glass… I need a wine glass.  Could you wash this one then doll…” uuuugh.  Snobs. Don’t call me Doll… I don’t make enough money for people like you to call me doll.  Bite me, but of course I washed the glass and plotted about sticking a burr under their saddle blanket or letting a snake loose in their room.  

Luckily this morning I woke up in a much better mood than I went to sleep in.  Entertainingly we got assigned a room that just had one large bed in it.  Sally was quite entertained when she told Steph and I about our room, “I know we always joke about you two being a couple, but would you mind sharing a bed?”  (don’t worry mom, Steph and I are not a couple.. I like men, but we spend way too much time together due to working and living together… living in the middle of nowhere without a car… I really hope I meet some men over my trip to Sydney this week). Of course I don’t care, it is better than sharing a tent. So despite sharing a bed and dreaming of being attacked by ants and despite snobby guests, I woke up in a great mood. Breakfast was a breeze and other than the snobs, all of the guests were great! For breakfast Steph made great bacon, burn sausage, eggs (that neither one of us know if they were good or bad because we avoided them),  fried tomatos toast (not burnt), jam, butter, cereal, yogurt, and fruit.

While Steph cleaned up in the kitchen, I caught and fed the horses and started saddling.  When I opened my saddle bag, there was a small gecko peering out at me. The adorable, silly little thing wanted to come along with me. The guests were kind enough to come out and critique while I was grooming and saddling, but they were hesitant to help.  Over the night, another horse lost a shoe (poor Raff)… so we need to trade him in for another. As we are almost ready to ride out, one guest asked if we could put a fleece seat saver on her saddle for her… sure… fine… no problem (we are only already a little bit late and your horse needs his saddle put on perfectly or it will rub him). Steph attempted to help her, but lost her patience so I took over.  The rider started waving the fleece thing and the horse of course spooked quite dramatically, set back, and broke the twine he was tied to.  So, I was chasing the horse around, had to take ten minutes to desensitize the horse to the sight of this thing, then attach it.  Of course the saddle moved and had to be reset on the horse…  grrrr.

Jump!

 In the end we got to Camp Howqua with everyone in one piece.  I took everyone for a long, jarring trot to get rid of my grumpiness.  Nothing like a trot to make me feel better.  When we got to the camp, Steph jumped on Mr. T and I switched to Snowy who Michael caught and saddle for us to replace the shoeless horses.  I have no idea how I always get on Snowy, but I am most certainly not complaining… I love my little gelding. For the rest of the ride, things were less stressful.  I was riding my little hotrod of a horse and loving every moment of it. Who cares how snobby guests can be when I am cantering little Snowy.  His stride is short, but extendable and collectable and he reins on a dime.  His training is still coming along.  The one race rider dropped a pair of goggles that live on his helmet and I stopped Snowy from a strong canter and picked them up.  When I got back on, he circled rather than jumping around like normal.  Fantastic change! Poor Steph still hasn’t had a chance to ride my little horse… and he has already been deemed my project. 

I am mildly obsessed with this horse

We had lunch at the winery and it was my first time there, so I got to do the wine tasting.  It was actually fun and I learned that I like white wines a lot better than reds.  I found that I enjoy wine and I really like watered chardonnay (yummy oak flavor; yummy tree and grapes).  So after lunch and a glass of wine, we relaxed riders rode our horses back to the stable.  It was an uneventful (let me say relaxed yet again) ride back to the barn. 

Tonight I am planning our trip to Sydney.  I am super excited to go explore Sydney for a few days.  Our amazing landlord left us snacks for the trip and told us not to pay rent for next week and instead use it for vacation fun.  He really is an amazing man.  All of our adopted families here are amazing.  I love it here so much. 

If any of you want to visit while I am here, please feel free to.  We have a lovely place to stay and there are a number of awesome outdoor activities around here. 

Snowy has an adorable face!