Quickie

So I'm back from Twin Rivers, and I can say with great confidence that that was one of the best things I've done for me and Reveille. It was hot and dusty and tiring, but it was a LOT of fun, and it was EXTREMELY educational. I have a much better idea of what's going to be needed from us both, skill- and fitness-wise, as well as confidence-wise. This is going to be hugely helpful in my prep work.

I kept Facebook updated with pictures and comments; I'll put those here too in a while. For now, here's a quick recap:

Tuesday: Boise -> Winnemucca. Winners casino/hotel. KR won money gambling; I ate, read, and slept.

Wednesday: Winnemucca -> Twin Rivers. Sam the horse lame, Brego the horse healthy but dirty. Stalls cleaned, horses walked, hotel settled into.

Thursday: Stalls cleaned, horses walked, horse ridden, horse bathed, horses walked, stalls cleaned, walked Novice XC twice, scoped BN jumps twice, walked back and forth to dressage several times, horses walked.

Friday: Scribed for Vicky Stashuk-Matisi, who is super-awesome. Her rubber stamp comment is "needs to be rounder in connection, needs more activity." Duly noted! Everyone from our barn did great in dressage, especially KR -- she had the ride of the day, albeit not the score of the day. Her horse gave her the finger five minutes before entering at A (last ride of the day, poor horse and poor KR), and so she had a tough ride. She rode with great patience, humor, and persistence, and the judge rewarded her as much as possible. Well ridden, KR.

Saturday: Ran around site a lot, stalls cleaned, watched and took pictures of barn mates showjumping. Fun! Hot. Office was begging for volunteers for the next day, threatening no XC until late if they didn't get jump judges. That was my cue.

Sunday: Jump judged from dawn until the bitter end. Had a great view of the whole course except the top water, but I could crane my neck for that even. No wrecks at my fences, not even any stops. No, the stops and wrecks came at other people's fences. :/ Interesting variety in skill/knowledge/ability of jump judges through the day. After spending all day out on course, jumped right into minivan to start motoring toward home. Twin Rivers -> Reno.

Monday: Reno -> Boise. Wish I could have stayed longer; we stayed at Circus Circus. My comment upon arriving at 11 PM and upon KR's announcement that she was going to gamble for a while: "Once I go in that room, I am not coming out until morning." And so it was. Comfy bed, nice shower, zzzzzz. So happy to get home to pets and home and friends.

Tuesday: Worked from home, then met the Sprinkler Bandit for lunch and halter handoff, then went and puttered around the barn for hours. New nameplate is on halter, Rev ridden. She was a little bratty, but that's to be expected. She worked out of a lot of it, and we'll keep going.

Today (Wednesday): TOC, in theory. We'll ride if it's a go, and I won't have high expectations. Just work on transitions and getting an effective warmup and getting her forward and not bucky or head tossy in the ring. Note to self: she's objecting to leg cues for canter; bump with seatbone instead. If it's a no-go due to weather, we'll ride anyway, working on transitions, etc.



That's all I have for now. I have a Favorites post planned, so stay tuned. And pictures, albeit crappy cell phone pictures.