Oh, what fun! Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so ends the 2010 April Fool's day joke. Good memories.
For those of you who were excited to purchase a book about Brego, I salute you and your complete vote of confidence, not only in my writing abilities, but in Brego's ability to win Rolex AND inspire the single greatest actor of our time (after Harrison Ford, pre 1998 of course).
All in good fun, of course, and remember, I do this every year. You have been warned.
Anyway, in real life, Brego and I are gearing up nicely for a pretty low key, but hopefully successful season. We've been meeting our 4 rides a week goal and Brego's fitness continues to impress me. I always though taking four months off over the winter would wreck a horse, but he bounces back every spring better and better. He is still a bit shaggy, so until I get to body clip him and tame that wicked mohawk, he will remain under wraps. He needs to be presentable for his public, after all.
The big ado is that there is a schooling dressage show at the end of April. Which in itself is not a big deal, since we are very realistic about our dressage potential, but this is a special show because it's being hosted by my fox hunt. So a lot of my good friends from the hunt will be there. And as they watch us go around, amid the jeers and jokes, they just might remember that it was Brego that bounced them off the trail or took that wall in such glorious form, so I want him to do well. You know, to show my hunt. Why? Because.
Anyway, after the dressage show, we will have a break while we school fences and get ready for the Groton House summer classic and a two-phase derby. I am looking forward to jumping again, but I am most looking forward to cross country. We've gotten so much rain recently, we've been hacking on roads and the fairgrounds and I can't wait to get out and just ride.
Other highlights include our first solo conditioning set of the season and Brego did very well by himself. He's a brave boy.
So far, he's been foot perfect barefoot. We've managed to master his over-winter protocol to keep his feet concave and hard. If you recall, this time last year, Brego was foot sore over rocks. Last week, I did my trot and canter sets on a gravel road because it was the driest place to ride. Not a smooth gravel road, a road with rocks. Brego never took an off step. The secret to our success this year was frequent stalling at night to give his feet a chance to dry out and, no foolin', a heat gun. A heat gun, as opposed to a hair drier, is quick and relatively quiet. You can see his feet drying out as you watch and you get a real thorough dry. Drying his feet kept them from "splating" even in very wet conditions. I am a convert to the heat gun, it has really made a difference this year.
Once I get the big man presentable, we will be back to posting pictures. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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