PARIS Bound!

I'm sitting on the plane writing this, waiting for my flight to take off in approximately 30 minutes 😁! Sorry for the absence, I was in Florida for a week, got back yesterday, saw limerick yesterday afternoon and this morning, and have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

As soon as I got home yesterday, I ran to my house and changed to head to the farm! It's freezingggg at home, so I bundled up and had pretty low expectations for my ride. After all, limerick did get a full week off and much of it was spent in his stall thanks to crappy weather! We walked, trotted, and cantered both ways before calling it a day. He actually surpassed my expectations and was basically perfect for the ride! We had some sticky transitions, but he totally held it together, wasn't spooky, and wasn't bursting with energy. He was actually kinda lazy.. Then, we went outside and tried to explore a bit, which was cut short when Lim kept sinking into the ground and had trouble picking up his feet.

Today, I got up early, had breakfast with Hill, and then headed out to the farm. I really just wanted to spend time with the pony and didn't have much of a plan for the ride. Did I forget to mention that it was 25 DEGREES outside?? YEAH, it was. Not fun and certainly not very motivating, so we explored a bit outside and trotted a couple of laps around the indoor. Then I gave him bunches of hugs and kisses before heading home to finish packing!!

I'll be back on the 21st. Meanwhile, Lim will be in full training with E, so I'll have a lovely pony when I return :) I'll try to update with some pictures from the trip while I'm still there!

Merry Christmas Eve!!

Limerick and I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas Eve/Happy Holidays and to thank you for following our journey thus far :) 

Today started out right with a relaxing and fun ride. It was just me and E at the barn, so it was pretty chill and I didn't have to worry about avoiding tons of people in the indoor. We schooled transitions, got a great round trot, and even managed quite a few lovely walk-canter transitions. He was still sticky  about them today, but not nearly as bad as he can be. I carried a dressage whip and wore spurs, both of which I had to use... he seemed happy and had his ears forward for most of the ride, which I consider a victory in itself! Then we headed outside for a quick cool down and hack in the foggy and grey morning. Limmers was adorable today and super loving, which was obviously his christmas present to me <3

After that, I did non-horsey things like go to church and have dinner with the fam. Tomorrow, I might get to see Lim in the morning and then will be driving around all day, visiting various family members. Wednesday, we leave for Florida, so I won't see the pony again until January :((

UPDATE: My little sister just started a blog about our cat, Rue! If you have some time, take a second to check it out... he's pretty adorable :) First he's sour, then he's sweet

I leave you with some pictures from today:

With my little sister <3

He didn't understand the point of standing in front of the mirror... 

GORGEOUS morning... NOT

The best view in the world

Huerston says hi!

treats?!?!

Foggy morning at the farm

Not a horse, a mule

My kitty, Ruecifer

In Which Limerick Gets a Butt Kicking.

I have days where I'm feeling braver than normal and have no interest in putting up with Limerick's crap. Today was one such day! Hillary had a lesson, which I filmed, and then went to get tacked up. We started out with a fun hack around the property and Limmer-face was a saint, despite the scary noises of the nearby construction site. I went in with the intention of having a really good and productive ride, which I did :)

However, that does not mean it was easy in any way, shape, or form... he certainly made me work for it. We started out with the same old stuff, trotting around and doing small circles to keep his attention. My plan was to trot and maybe canter some cross-rails, which had to change when I realized how sticky he was going to be about his canter transitions. He pulled the exact same move he's been using the past couple of days, AKA running trot instead of actually transitioning.

Luckily (but not so lucky for him), something in me snapped and I was suddenly incredibly sick of it. I took off my spurs (didn't want to get too aggressive with them), grabbed a whip, and got down to business. Let's just say I used it judiciously enough that he was much more responsive for the rest of the ride... like Shelley said in one of her comments, I was a little bit of an evil dictator, but he more than deserved it. I'm sick of him being lazy, sick of him not moving off my leg, sick of having to wallop him with my leg, and sick of that stupid-bouncy-running trot!!!!!!

All that said, I felt extremely accomplished and proud of myself afterwards- probably the best I've felt after a ride in a while. I needed to finally stand up to him and letting him stop pulling me around, but I wish that I had made this kind of progress in my lesson. Do any of you ever feel like you don't ride your best in lessons? Sometimes figuring things out on my own helps me more than anything else... I've also decided that I LOVE this bit for us, I just have to remember to keep my hands low and quiet to avoid pissing him off. Hill was nice enough (even after a crappy day) to record most of my ride, so here you go!

Also, here are some screen shots from the vid: 

He's "listening," his ears are not pinned!

Yet another ride into the sunset

As the title suggests, Kimmie and I once again rode right before/during sunset, and we got some lovely pictures. We started off in the ring, since Limerick's canter hasn't been super predictable lately and I didn't feel comfortable out in the field. He was awesome once again, and I randomly decided to try riding without spurs. WHEW, was that hard work! He is a ton of horse to keep moving without any sort of aid other than your leg, but it's good for me to ride without them sometimes. We did all of the normal stuff, all while watching Kimmie and Jazz go around bareback and in just a halter, jumping and being total badasses. I want to be her someday :) We ended the ride by going out into the field and watching the sun go down... it was freezing but so worth it!

Tomorrow I'm probably going to have to ride by myself, because Collyn, Liz, and Kimmie are all going out of town this weekend :( I also have a Chemistry test on Monday, and Thanksgiving break next week, so pony time will be limited starting tomorrow (I'll still make time to ride this weekend, but it won't be that exciting). Side note: Limmers had his teeth done today. They were sharp but not too bad, according to the pony dentist! 

Pony Love <3

Limerick and Jazz, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

sunset

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Collyn, Liz, Kimmie, and I went out to dinner for Liz's 21st birthday! It was my first 21st birthday experience (I'm 19) and a total blast :)

Sorry for the crappy iPhone picture... I've come to the conclusion that Mexican restaurants are by far the best place to celebrate a 21st birthday! They come complete with shots, sombreros, and ice cream 

City Boy Visits the Farm

I wish I could say that said boy was mine, but sadly he belongs to one of my best friends, Brie. Brie's boyfriend, D, is originally from NY, goes to school in D.C., wants to be a politician, and oddly enough, loves horses. He gets really cute and snuggly with them and kept taking pictures of Limerick. He's also not scared in the least, even around Lim, who is definitely an imposing horse. Can you say perfect?! Brie had also never met Limerick, so they both came out to the barn today while I was riding and then we went to dinner, which was a ton of fun... I love it when D is in town. I basically just WTC both ways and then called it a day, since I was kind of pressed for time and didn't want to push Lim too hard after how hard he worked yesterday. He was a perfect gentleman for our guests, aside from the obnoxious pawing when he wasn't inhaling enough peppermints for his liking. He managed to convince D that I obviously don't feed him and he never gets treats... he is such a suck up and has completely mastered the lovey-dovey adorable snuggle thing that you just can't say no to.

Not horse related, but every night this week has featured a sunset like this! 

In other news, I get to go to KHP again tomorrow to stay with Hillary and some other girls from my home barn :) I'm grooming for Hill on Saturday, taking pictures, and just soaking in the eventing atmosphere. I can't wait to actually compete in one myself! She and Hue are going to kick ass and take names, and I'll have some great pictures to show off their awesomeness.