Snow Rides

The holidays are behind us and it's now time to buckle down, get through winter, and plan for spring. Brego has been enjoying his daily turnout in the snow, cantering and playing with the old mare. I swear he prefers to canter around the pasture instead of trot. He's even schooled himself over logs and a nice bank, up and down. I think training him in eventing has given him the confidence to move at speed over this crazy terrain.

I haven't been riding as much as planned because of all the holiday rush. My mom did fly in from Virginia and, for the first time in my life, asked to ride. Brego packed her out to see the giant boulder sitting in the middle of the woods. Most likely deposited by a glacier, this rock is about 15 feet high and very impressive.

Then today we went for a two hour trail ride through the back woods. Brego did very well in the ice and snow and was able to cross the frozen brooks on his giant swamp feet and not break the ice. My poor Thoroughbred, with her tiny feet and zero survival instinct, was not so lucky. Brego did well and it was nice to ride him on the buckle after watching him literally explode around his pasture. High today was warm in the mid 20s. I finally found a temperature where I would not ride: 4 F above zero. If it burns my lungs to breath while tacking up, there is no way I am going to ask Brego to work. In those cases, it's not worth the money to rent the indoor across the street just to walk around, so I miss out on a ride. If it's that cold (and not windy) during the weekend, I can at least hack in the woods for free.

In other eventing news, Kingsbury Hill, the location where we rode our first recognized event, is not hosting any events this year due to finances. I am totally bummed about this because it was the closest event and we obviously do well there. Now, aside from UNH, all the closest events are two to three hours away. Feels like Texas... :( I am going to have to do some serious thinking about which to enter because I have limited time off work, very limited money, and would really like to qualify for the AECs so I need to do well. I don't want to blow a $500 entry fee and come in last and then have to spend more money to try again.

Sorry for the randomness of this post... it's a little reminiscent of how my riding has been going. :) I hope to add more structure soon.