Welcome to my world!

Welcome to my world!  I am not on Facebook, so I wanted to have a way to track and keep my progress.  A lot of people have asked how I am and how riding is going and so, this blog will do all of that for me. 

Our ultimate goal is to make it to the Tevis Cup and complete it.  Tevis is the most difficult 100 mile endurance race in the world. Here is a great link to watch for inside information about it: http://www.hrtv.com/videos/inside-information-tevis-cup/

I did my first race last year.  Well, I should say...I did my first LD (limited distance--which is 25 miles) ride last June.  People who really do endurance don't appreciate those that only do 25s or 30s then say they do endurance...it simply just doesn't count until you do 50s and up.  I did the Renegade and Rendezvous in Naches, Washington (the hardest race for the Pacific Northwest) and made top 10! 

 

That's me on Cahlua out on our first race.  I leased her for 6 months last year.  After that...I realized this sport was certainly for me.  So, I needed my own horse...my very own partner so I could start working towards my goal this year.  I have never owned a horse.  Horses have always been a passion for me, but I have never had the privilege of owning.

 

I am married to this amazing man.  I am so lucky to have him, I could not imagine life without him.  He is extremely tolerant for not having the "horse gene" and went ahead and bought me my very first horse this year to help me achieve my dreams and goals. 

 

This is my new girl, Renata.  I have owned her now for 2 months.  We spent the first 6 weeks getting to know each other in the arena.  And now, we are in full blown conditioning season.  Today we rode out by ourselves.  She is learning to trust me, and I am learning to trust her.  We have a long ways to go before we really click with each other and form a solid team.  But today was a great day in moving in that direction.

This was us today out in Alpine.  I have to take my new pup along with me because my Golden who is my very seasoned trail dog has a mildly torn ACL and is out for the season.  This is my new trail buddy, his name is Sydney.  He is  doing pretty well, but he doesn't listen as well as my big dog. I wish my Golden was better so he could teach this guy.  Oh well, Sydney is smart...he will and is learning quickly on his own.

I asked Renata to go through a river for me today.  At the deepest part, it was up to her chest.  I had to lift up my feet so they wouldn't get wet.  Her and I have been through some deep water crossings but only when she was following other horses through.  Today I asked her to do it on her own.  There was much protest, snorting, some bucking...and much patience on my part.  After 45 minutes of asking...I finally got off and led her down to the water (which was pretty steep and scary, I might add.  There wasn't any bank of any sort...just a trail that dumped her right into it.  I realize I was asking quite a lot.) But she did it!  And on the way home she didn't even bat an eye when we went through it a second time.  These are the little victories that will help us become a team and trust each other.

 

So proud of my girl!!  She is a smart mare and super willing to try new things.  I still can't believe she really belongs to me!  I am a pretty lucky and blessed girl.

Can't wait to see what she looks like at the end of our season when she is all muscled up.  Such a pretty girl.

 

Anyways, before we can enter to do the Tevis Cup,  we have to complete six 50 mile races.  So, we have a few years before it becomes a reality.  We will be doing our first 50 miler down in Klickitat county this season.  Cheer us on and wish us luck!  I will be updating weekly.