Endurance Riding

Today was an insanely frustrating day of training. I almost ended up in tears. I don’t know what happened or what went wrong because Asali was fine when we started out – although she was willing to go out, she was quiet and mellow. Seemed like a day I could almost ride her bridle-less. But […]

After encountering some crazy drivers while riding on the road, I wrote to my local newspaper… below is a letter to the Editor that was printed in Tuesday’s paper: Dear Editor, I am writing because my mom and I were horseback riding on Coutolenc Road in Magalia two days ago and experienced what could have […]

I was in charge of getting the boys ready for school this morning and then dropping them off. I also had to pick them up from school, Declan at noon and then Jakob at 2:15. It’s not that I never do these things, because I do drop them off at school on days when I […]

Sunday was a full day with the horses. I rode Forest in the round pen, then later ponied him while I rode Asali. Our trainer, Sheri, came up to work with Beauty. I rode her in the arena for about 40 minutes under Sheri’s guidance, and then I took her out on the trail by […]

I worked my Appaloosa, Forest, in the round pen. Although I started him under saddle a little over a year ago, I don’t ride him more than twice a week (usually, I pony him), so he needs a lot more training learning to give to the bit. We did a lot of circles in the […]

If I ever thought I was sore from riding before, I was wrong. Today I woke up and I was sore like I’ve never been before. I hurt from my trapezius to my deltoid to my infraspinatus to my triceps. My latissimus dorsi aches, as does my gluteus maximus. My adductor longus muscle, gracilis muscle, […]

Wow! What an amazing ride we had today. Mom had been wanting to go down into the canyon, so last night we mapped it out on the GPS. We took Doon Grade Road to Coutolenc and then connected to Jordan Hill Road. Jordan Hill Road, like Doon Grade, is a dirt road. Off-road vehicles can […]

Today, Mom (and Sophie) joined Asali and I for our endurance training. Before we started out, Mom taught me how to wrap Asali’s legs. I decided that it would probably be a good idea to start using those polo wraps Mom got for Asali, to allow for extra leg protection on our long rides. Mom […]

I woke up feeling sore this morning. I couldn’t figure out why. Although Asali and I are doing longer rides than we normally do, my legs are pretty fit for riding. And yesterday, I did not dismount and walk for very long on our ride. We did approximately 9 miles, averaging a speed around 4.5 […]

Before I decided to train today, I sat down at my sewing machine and finished a quilt I had been working on for a friend and fellow horseman. He had been admitted to the ICU where I work. It is always difficult to see someone you knew as a healthy, active person fighting to recover […]