I haven't posted since the spring -- boo! And so much has happened since then! In addition to giving lessons at the barn where I keep my horses, I'm also now the head instructor at a Western barn south of town. I started that gig in July and it's really taking off. I'm basically just teaching dressage fundamentals in a Western saddle. I have two lovely school horses to work with: Yeller, a very elderly palomino with a crazy sway back, who takes care of the little beginners (but still has a lope in him!), and Mojo, a nicely-put-together, solid little paint who does it all, from toting around beginners to becoming a zippy little sports car for the more advanced folks. I am very proud of a recent creation of mine: I sewed a fluffy bed pillow to the underside of a Western saddle blanket to fill in the gap in Yeller's extreme swayback. I think he'll be a lot more comfortable now that the saddle won't be bridging.
J., the awesome grad student who had been leasing Dakota, had a sudden opportunity to study in Australia, so in addition to Clair I'm riding Dakota full time as well. Dakota is schooling all of second level, and Clair is schooling all of third level. Clair threw out a crazy double spook in early June and dumped me hard. I fell with my full weight on the back of my left ilium, and boy did it hurt. Luckily I didn't fracture my pelvis. I did pass out later in the day and fell face forward onto my jaw, knocking it sideways out of alignment for a few days. But I was back in the saddle after a week! The injury did slow me down a bit, riding-wise, for part of the summer. I'm still stiff and sore but better every day.
Clair's trot half pass is just super these days. I also have a reliable, decent medium trot. At third level they want extended, so we'll just have to see how we score. Canter half pass is starting to come. The canter overall is becoming highly collectible. On the lunge she's offering pirouette canter. I've decided to push my third-level score attempt to a show in the spring. We might be able to squeak our scores this fall, but I'd like to feel solid. The next Suzanne & Gwen clinic will likely be in early October.
My husband and I successfully sold our last flip and bought the next one in mid-June. We've been working on it like mad and hope to have it on the market in 3-4 weeks. Hard work, but so fulfilling!
