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Everywhere I go lately, there are slogans and advertisements stating summer is almost over, rumors of course and greatly exaggerated. What a falacy! Summer, the season, ends September 22; summer, the event, ends on Labor Day, which is, at this writing, four days away. Truly, we must take some time to enjoy the season's parting gifts;
Taking a foot massage in the soft sand
Our daughter was glowing when I picked her up today, dirty smudges across her face, dirty clothing, muddy boots, but so thrilled with another day at the camp. Amazing to see such high spirits knowing what this particular camp entails though, because the instructor had given me a run down of the day’s expectations before signing up. This was no "fun" time per se, rather a very physical time at best.
The early mornings at
Her favorite horse "Snuggles",
though it will not allow a saddle upon it's back
Duties throughout the day continue with raking out the indoor riding ring, or watering it down when it’s too dusty, taking written quizzes, eating a well deserved packed lunch with a rest time attached, then back to watering the animals after a second afternoon riding lesson, and much more. This afternoon the girls rode bareback and braided the horse's manes after the grooming. I guess that's just a girl thing though right, colorful elastics and all.
Tomorrow each student will make their very own lead to keep from rope with steel hooks on the end, to use on their horses when ushering them from their stalls for either grooming, or saddling up. I teased my daughter, telling her she could use it at home for her pup. wink...
Each day, new tasks are assigned and supposedly tomorrow, the girls all learn about horse shoeing and cleaning hooves. Lucky them! Actually, I love this lady’s philosophy, that of teaching her students of the huge responsibility attached to owning and boarding horses. They aren’t just a pleasure thing; they are a lot of work and carry a huge time committment each day, and a rather large financial expense just to maintain them! Observing each gal’s face at the end of the day near pickup time around
Next week, all the university students are going back to school. Here in the east, very few students seem to continue with their day jobs while back attending classes. The instructor will no longer have her hired help each day, so if horse camp gives courage to our daughter, she wants to request to work one afternoon a week in exchange for her continued lessons in the winter time. If she takes the lead on something such as this, taking time with the horses for more familiarity, I’ll be a great cheerleader! This is good!
Too wet to ride in the outdoor paddock the past two daysHowever, though this all sounds terrific, last night both girls had their second official riding lesson, after the horse camp students were excused. Since it was too wet in the outdoor paddock, the indoor riding area was used for the lesson.
Both girls did their usual routine, beginning with fetching their own horse for the lesson, grooming it, tacking it up, placing the saddle on (little one needs assistance still for these), eventually once mounted on the animals, the lessons began. The older daughter had become very confident with her first day at horse camp and no longer needed to be hooked to the instructor's lead for guidance. The younger daughter, still hooked to the lead was progressing well, trotting along with correct body posture and movements, but something suddenly spooked her horse, sending it on a quick lunge with a few great steps rushing forward. Try as she might, our young gal was hurled forward abrutply on the horse, losing her reigns with her instictive grabbing onto the horse's mane, but still couldn't adjust to stay there, thereby tilting too far to the right, sending her tumbling to the ground with quite a good thud.
I think my heart was in my throat and my voice was lost as it all happened in a split second, but my own body movements were thrust into high gear. I was not so concerned she had taken a fall as I was being ensured she was out of the horse's clearance. It was still attached to the lead, the instructor having pulled it to the side, but too close for my comfort with a possible kicking to my baby. Stunned as she was though, my gal stood up and wasn't sure she wanted to continue the lesson of course, but the instructor and I were on the same page with this situation, convincing her she had to get back on straight away.
The indoor riding ring
Walking along rather than trotting, not long after, the horse was once again spooked. The same thing happened again, though this time, our gal sat up straight and tall, leaning backwards on the horse and yanked the reigns - hard. All was well, good girl, brave girl! If anything, both girls were much more attentive to their horse's movements, posture so much better, and no more ho hum riding look on their face was present for the rest of the lesson.
By next lesson, this horse she was supposed to
have originally, should be ready again once it's hoove is mended
Last night she was nursing a sore hip and backside, yet today she escorted me to the barn to see the horses and acted like nothing had happened. Eager to have her next lesson, I sometimes wonder how these little ones can be so very brave. Big sister though got the jitters after the fall scene, but after another day at horse camp, she too has become much more attentive, oozes contentment and seems just fine. The instructor forewarned them when she was just a student herself, she was told that unless you fell off one hundred times, you would never be a good rider. Imagine!
Back loving the horses today
NO honk, honk, beep, beep on these roads here!
Being that most farmers are cash croppers, this farmer wasn’t from the general locale, so he has to haul his goods a bit of a distance. I think though, most folks around here don’t mind much at all. I on the other hand, just happen to have my handy dandy camera, loving taking a snap at whatever might interest me during my days on the road.
Passing the tractor, a scenic picture taken from the outer rearview mirror.
Today was the exciting and long awaited day, held on merely with baited breath all week long for both girls, as they mentally prepared for their first riding lesson. They read reference and novel books on horses, met our neighbor’s breeds at the fence and chatted with them (maybe sneaked an apple to them again??), and fessed up to viewing the films; "Dreamer" and "Felicity" for the umpteenth time, dreaming it was them on the horse. Not only was this day the first riding lesson, it was also the "first" ride on a horse for both. I know, I know, they are so deprived, not even having a ride on a pony in their youthful years before today. But, the opportunity hadn't presented itself, so in our defense, we plead not guilty. The drive to the stables wasn’t as far as we had anticipated; therefore we were incredibly early, sitting a bit inside the vehicle until closer to our time. Actually it turned out the riding stables are only ten minutes at the most from our house which was terrific!
The riding instructor and I had spoken on the telephone and instantly I knew I’d like her. She is a very lovely English woman with thirty plus years of teaching experience. When we’d arrived, she had just been inside her home adjacent to the barns having a bite to eat, because her day camp registrants for the week had only left moments before we arrived, leaving her a quick few moments to run in and take a tasty bite. Therefore it was great to have her walk up the rest of the drive with us to the barns, having brief introductions, and then she began chatting along with the girls as they prepared for their big day. Students are categorized with letters from A to E, “E” being the earliest beginner, so both girls were in this category.
Her horse for the time was "Misty"
A tour was given around the sections within the stables, then horses assigned. The youngest girl’s horse/pony (just a little guy) had filing done on its hooves, much too short, causing soreness, so a substitute was available for her usage. I could see the excitement building as they toured the barns to view some thirty horses, and then were both thrust into everything straight away; perfect to give the first overall impression, that a horse is much more than just an instant riding buddy. I was only able to take two brief pictures, then realized the camera flash was spooking the horses, so that came to an abrupt halt.
Now to get the younger one's horse!
Brushing began as soon as the tying down was learned. Saddling up and placing the bridle into the mouth on each girls’ horse was a lesson in itself, and then equestrian helmets were borrowed from the riding stash before moving outdoors to the front paddock area. There is also an indoor paddock in the center of the barns, a riding ring allowing lessons and horse riding/jumping to occur all year long.
My horse is "Rocky" and I love him!
I could tell immediately the teacher was well experienced and sensed limitations early with each child she taught, her instruction for instance included perfect expectations for each girl’s ability, giving them confidence over their fears and nervousness, persuading them to take the lead for walking their own horses outside, across the driveway, and into the ring. There their first mounting into the saddle was completed, courtesy of a rubbermaid stair step. That was a tricky one. *wink*
Mounting the horse wasn't as easy as she thought
A lesson on reign handling
Once hoisted up high on their saddles, they still had their reigns in hand from the walk, so instructions on how to hold them were given, saddle positioning taught, stirrup footing checked, and bridle do’s and don’ts were enforced as the instructor gently and ever so patiently, took a lead in her own hands, also hooked up to both horses, and gave the girls a most pleasurable first experience lesson ever could have imagined! She not only taught them to ride gracefully with the importance of posture, obviously having an actual ride on the horse, but they also learned to stand/sit/stand/sit in as they began to trot about with big smiles plastered all over their faces.
Whoa there Rocky boy!
Somehow in the course of the initial lesson, the instructor spoke of one horse being a boarder there, with its owner attending her horse camp this week. Our eldest had a huge desire to attend something like a horse day camp but none seemed to be in our local area, so we thought. It just so happens that one gal registered has bowed out for the camp beginning next week, so now our older daughter will be filling up the void taking the last spot of the season. The camp runs from
I love trotting!
For us, this is real life at its very best, the core of separating the ever dreamy horse riding assumptions, to a hard knock comparison of actually having to get down and dirty, touching and doing everything herself for the general care and maintenance of the animal, including cleaning out the stalls each day, for one truly, educational tribute to a genuine and smashingly great, real life in the barn learning experience… If it were her own horse, she would know the time investment necessary for its care, so during horse camp, this is the method taught and instilled, along of course, with the riding.
Once camp girls learn well, the instructor chooses some of the older ones to work for her in exchange for riding lessons. Her general pricing for lessons are the least expensive I've ever heard of, a wee fraction from those back home. Perhaps its the just the country life here, not so many city slicker folks around sending pricing sky high when yearning for their latest thrill, not sure. Supply and demand likely wins in the end with the country folk taking the lead in this area here. The bartering stuff though, this is where the best part begins....smile.
Horse whisperer
Stay tuned…
The lab wasn't as sure, but began instinctively to pad it round and round, making a nest to lay on. Just as our old dog Sparkie loved the straw to sleep on, always warm and comfy, we knew this was a great addition for them for the winter ahead. Dry and warm, they happily are now "nesting". No birds allowed in those nests though!
We love afternoon siestas, or "quiet hours" in the afternoon hours when the sun is hottest. After the brick saga, an afternoon of boot shopping, and the excitement of the dogs with their new treat, it was time for settling down for a lull.
Ahead of schedule, the imposed deadline for completing the brick moving to the new storage area is complete, as I type this at 
Pushing our bodies to extremes, all hands on deck, thankfully we awoke to an overcast sky to shield us from the sun’s rays today. However, even with the cloudy skies protecting us, the summer heat still reigned true, eventually creating situations with heavily dripping sweaty brows.
More tools of the trade were discovered, and came in handy to haul bricks, allowing our youngest helper to pitch in, becoming more productive with the team efforts, as well as blending in with the natural rhythm of everyone else's developing strategic assemblies.
New tools of the trade discovered
Feeling proud of herself, little helpers are very productive today
The condition of these bricks was interesting, dried mud caked on, requiring a broom swished across each row as we uncovered them. Filthy is a mild description that comes to mind.
Everyone was assigned a position, rotations happening when necessary. With a break in the weather for the most part, we decided to continue until all was complete. The evening is now free without more work. And work we did, resulting with the grand finale of muscles screaming for mercy, as we officially wind down, laughing and celebrating over the end of the brick saga. We did it! Ahead of schedule too!
My claim to fame today is having touched each and every single brick the past few days, from all three palettes, as I was the assigned “loader” for wheelbarrow and wagon, sweeper of the bricks, castle stacker of the piles to avoid more stooping over for the loading motions, motivation 101 mama, and cheerleader extraordinaire.
Loader of the bricks
Complete!
Great work team!!!
Mama Toad
Baby Toad ??
