rollercoaster day:

Sometimes I think school days are easier than weekends: I get six hours of the day when relatively little is demanded of me except that I pretend to pay attention and don't attempt to overthrow the government, etc. I have yet to cover less than two hundred miles on the highway for a single weekend in 2011, and this weekend was no different (total highway miles: 808, miles in my truck: 459).

It has been an eventful weekend. Props to the Blackhawks for making my Saturday night with a lovely comeback. Can't wait to spend 227 more miles on the highway to play in the band at your game Tuesday. Sunday was an early AM departure (from a very, very icy driveway at Horseplay Farm) for Springpoint Farm in Durham. Aly is spending some time there for Ellie, a student of Caitlin's, to have fun with. If all goes well the Air Mare will stay there while I go to college and turn Neil into a 4 star event horse.... or an any star event horse. We'll take what we can get. Needless to say there were lots of tears and carrots involved, but it was quite obvious that she liked Ellie a lot and I know Caitlin, Gena and everybody at Springpoint will take really good care of her! She has the best stall in the barn, no neighbors and the first one in the door so she always knows what's up. From Gena: 'Aly was surprised and delighted when the door to the barn opened. Woke her up poor deah...but the hay and water was gladly accepted. What a sweetie.' And now I have an excuse to go down there for lessons all the time.

Speaking of lessons, I had an especially great one with today while we were down there. Baby black horse was a bit wild but he settled down when we brought his sister back to see him (somehow my two horses who hate each other became best friends in the trailer on the way down and were completely and obnoxiously inseparable). As usual what started out as a jump lesson turned into a flat lesson. I need to work on my contact as usual but it was different issues this time and that's always refreshing. By the end of the lesson we were really getting the hang of things (forward...FORWARD....) and I have a nice baseline to go from until I can get back down there. Some people are better at teaching me than others- the words click or the style or something, anyhow, after a Caitlin lesson I always feel like I should never ride with anybody else again ever. So I had lots to focus on for the drive home besides the fact that I was leaving my baby pony behind...

Lesson video shortly!