Oh, The Fun We Are Having!

I have a had lots of fun this past month with Sully and the family.
-Asher & Doug graduated to ‘Recommended Black Belt’ – they will test in August for their 1st Degree! (pic of them with a classmate that just got her Black Belt)
-I grabbed Sully for a ride Easter Sunday afternoon with Roberta and her youngster Demi for a good 7 miles in a new place to test out the shoes before Fleetwood. Other than some serious concerns over the geese at one point in the beginning, he did very well.
-Skyler had her first experience dealing with a very opinionated Flicka during the lesson and thus it took most of the hour to get the ‘umph’ to work her into the trot. Once she did all was well and she was happy again! (notice the less than thrilled look on her face prior)

Sully has a way about him that makes folks laugh … demanding he get loving too if you happen to pet another horse (in cute ways, not obnoxious head-butting ones), and then snoozing away while you groom him. I swear, he lives to be groomed – He really enjoyed the night I brought Skyler out to help and he had two hands working on him! He gets a ton of it normally, but especially now as he is still shedding, and how muddy he likes to make himself… 😛

Amanda caught of pic of me cleaning him up at Fleetwood

I decided to go to an organized fundraiser ride at Fleetwood/Massies Mill since my original plans for attending No Frills changed. I’m so glad we got a chance to go – really pretty views, great people, and tough trails! We left Friday after lunch, getting everyone on the trailers just as the sprinkling started here. We drove through most of the really bad stuff on the short 1.25 hour trip and arrived in camp just after another downpour and got setup before any more rain. We opted not to ride as the weather was being a bit crazy with rain and wind on and off, so the three of us just hung out playing games and eating snacks till dinner and the ride meeting and the boys happily ate down the grass in their pens. Jill and Dixie arrived just before dinner to add to our little party.
Friday night yielded very little sleep, as the wind was on and off nuts all night! The boys all handled it well and Sully had tucked himself behind the trailer when I went out to check on a noise at 3 or 4 am (pen was set up off the back).
Saturday started out chilly, I left camp in a t-shirt and light jacket, which not too long after ended up tied around my waist as it warmed up quickly, and I even ended up with a little sunburn on my arms. The four of us headed out together, but Jill & I would head off at faster speeds here and there and we’d eventually regroup. Sully was great on trail…just a little bit of a butt-head at the lunch stop wanting to get back to Draco & Neville too eagerly. He was much better than Fort Valley with his reaction to wanting to be with Cheyenne, so there is improvement there! I had put his crupper back on loosely to just get him used to it again, but found I really needed it and tightened it down later… He was less than thrilled when it would engage, but didn’t try to toss me over it! It was a tough 15miles – good spots to move out, but some steep climbs that weren’t rocky so the footing was actually tougher to get up. I grabbed his mane and let him do what he needed to get up them. He handled it all well, and only had trouble in the rocky creek bed when it came to the shoes (he was slipping more). By about 12 miles he finally had lost the desire to chase Jill & Dixie when they headed off by themselves at a canter, but he still had more to give if I asked for it. The saddle pad and his sweat patterns looked great (no more shoulder shims since his topline filled in), he didn’t show any soreness or swelling, and drank and ate well. Amanda suggested I adjust my stirrups a bit longer and I had very little knee pain on this ride <yay!>

I’m already working on when I can return to this ride as there is a spring/April and Fall/Oct ride each year!

Next up – Eastern Shore ride over Mother’s Day weekend!