Camping and other sorts of things

Today we got our group together for our first outing of the year. Mira and crew (meaning- Pony/Rem/and Willard ) will be heading to The Spring Horse Trials at the Ark in about a month and now that I have rejoined USEA (have yet to upgrade her to FULL and rejoin USEF but hey who doesn't love broke eventers who procrastinate) I can send my entry off and get EXCITED! I mean who doesn't get excited to start their season? Who do you know that goes, "ugh, here we go again? I gotta train to go jump some big solid dangerous potentially life threatening fences and I just don't wanna do it." If you do know someone who says that please recommend they take up Knitting. SERIOUSLY? I am PUMPED! I just don't know how you couldn't be?

So to start I have been really working hard on Mira's canter transitions and despite her chagrin we are progressing. Slowly. And we have been practicing being slower over fences (if you know my mare she is a good jumper...she jumps like a firecracker smacked her in the rump right before takeoff ) and for myself to be quieter in the tack (although some of the girls on my team from school have watched me jump and are amazed at how quiet I am...I totally have them snowed lol) all to make us look as if we are "floating on a cloud" at the apex of the jump. Who am I kidding? I'm just trying to stay on most days.

And if the weather holds we are going to school some cross-country this weekend. I know I'll be riding a hot tamale but I as I tell my students there is not a word to describe that feeling of jumping a big table when your horse stretches his body to get to the other side. If there ever was a "though shalt fly without wings" moment that would be it. Adrenaline aside, it's the closest thing to flying without wings. It's times like that, that make me marvel at why more people don't try our sport. I mean who wouldn't want to run at breakneck speed at a solid obstacle on a 1000+lb animal who may or may not listen when you ask them to stop. Its my kinda fun.

Now lets add the element of camping in there. In the past on our awesome horse trial camping escapades we have been trapped in trucks because we were missing pieces to the tent, stuck in terrible thunderstorms holding down the tent corners, setting up on rocks not realizing we have done so and waking up feeling as if someone has punched us over and over in the back and sides, and freaking out because we were convinced something was outside the tent and going to get us. We have decided despite these shortcomings that it wasn't "that bad"  to camp again. What this means is sometime in the next three weeks I have to FIND the damn tent, set it up to make sure the pieces are all there, and then figure out if I can get it taken down again (which usually involves a lot of cursing and band aids from trapping fingers in varying parts of the tent). Then we have to get to said event early enough that we are not phishshlapping eachother in the dark while we have way too many "cooks in the kitchen" setting the thing...in the dark...at 9pm

So if your out and about and end up at the Ark look for Shamrock Eventing. Miss Airheart and I will be running Prelim/Training. Maggie Hitron and Willpower (a Shamrock Eventing Adoptee) will be either doing the P/T or Preliminary, Kellie Driscoll and Remmington will be doing the Training/Novice and finally the cutest pony in the world Long Run's Ransom and Catherine Germer will be doing his first recognized HT at Beginner Novice (shameless plug here- Ransom is for sale and there is not a cuter/sweeter/ more perfect pony in the world).

signing off
~Mandy