The title of this post makes it pretty clear that I saw Tim yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks :) I'm halfway through finals and have a reprieve until Monday, so I of course booked it out to the barn and had a fantastic ride. Tim wasn't even that good (he almost dumped me), it was chilly and raining, but I still couldn't keep a smile off my face.
It's finally starting to hit me that I'm running out of chances to ride at CVF... I'm taking Tim home on Wednesday and that will most likely be my last chance to ride at the farm I've come to call home. It's nothing especially fancy and I've often wished for an indoor/trainer, but it's also easily one of the prettiest properties I've ever ridden on. 100+ acres really just can't be beat, not to mention the breathtaking views. I'm going to miss it so much :( So begins our little photo homage to my favorite place in the entire world. I'm gonna get my real camera out next week so I have pictures of the entire farm, but for now, enjoy a ton of iPhone photos!
Tim says 'uhhh this is dumb, mom. Let's go back to the barn now'
No words.
He's not actually this sun bleached.. I just really liked the effect
Haven't seen Tim since Friday, haven't ridden since last Saturday. Yippee for papers, tests, and rain! However, summer is so close I can taste it... just have to survive finals first. Anywho, happy Mother's Day!
Yes, I'm terrible! Sadly, I don't have much to update you all on, though. Tim is good, which matters more than anything else! He is sound, fat, and happy with his life. He has also shed most of his winter coat, which makes me very happy because I HATE hair.
Unfortunately, due to stupid school stuff and 4 upper level bio classes, my riding this semester has been slightly inconsistent. Sometimes I go 2 weeks without even seeing him, let alone riding. I'm also lucky if I get to ride more than 2 days in a row... god, I cannot wait for summer. I also have a new boy in my life, a job with the school photographer, and sorority stuff, meaning I'm busier than ever and never get to see my poor pony :( Not like I think he actually cares... just means more food/napping for ol' Timmers.
However, on the rare occasion that I do get to ride, Tim has been pretty consistently good. The biggest news of the past 4 months was probably our lesson with former Olympian, Dorothy Crowell. Let me just say that she is AWESOME. If you live anywhere near KY or have the chance to lesson/clinic with her, I 100% totally recommend it. Tim and I were kind of between a rock and a hard place before our one lesson with her, and she literally breathed new life into our partnership. I'm serious, the woman is a miracle worker. She got on him and decisively told me within 5 seconds that he is painfully behind my leg, which I sorta knew, I just wasn't sure how to fix. She then proceeded to do her sensitization test on him and showed me how to do it, which has made the biggest impact on my rides! No more constantly nagging him with my leg just to keep him moving. No more sliding to a stop and feeling like I'm about to get pitched over his head. Best thing that ever happened to us, hands down. We were planning on jumping that day but ended up spending most of the time on flatwork, so this short little video is all we got:
Since then, I have been practicing all that she taught me and making some pretty good progress in terms of getting Tim moving forward and actually using himself. I cannot wait to have another lesson with her!
The last big news is that my B.O. made the tough decision to sell CVF, which means that we'll be boarding somewhere else for senior year :( I'm still kind of in denial about this fact and I'm sure many tears will be shed the last time Kimmie, Kristen, and I ride there. It's one of my favorite places in the world and I'll miss it dearly!
