Here is another crazy weekend where anxiety sets along with other mixed emotions set in. The girls have scheduled an endurance ride in Coldwater near Merritt. How did another trip pop up before I had any chance of catching up on my work. I did not do any renovation work since the last trip and the work was supposed to be done 3 weeks ago. Well I did catch up on a bunch of gardening and had a Woofer to lend a hand. We will hopefully have corn, beans, carrots, broccoli and squash as a staple for our diet. I still would like to plant more. I like to plant the salad garden. A head of lettuce cost $4 !!! I had a panic attack and told them I cannot go. That meant little Seren can’t go and will be staying home to watch me work. Well that’s not fair! I caved and decided I need to be at the trip.
This will be Ama’s first 50mile ride with mom; she is excited and scared for this adventure. Seren and I will do a 12 mile introduction endurance ride.
The truck had a stripped stud and I had another panic experience trying to fix it. I bought a replacement but could not take off the callipers to replace it. The nuts were too tight to remove. I managed to thread and tighten the old nut onto whats left of the damaged stud. Everything was pretty darn tight and felt it safe enough to travel.
We arrived in Coldwater in good time with great weather. We took the horses out for a 5 mile warm up ride. Everyone was healthy and feeling well. There was no cell service so no one was able to work and all our attention was focused on each other.
That first evening the we brought our horses to the vet check to evaluate their baseline condition. All of them past with a list of A’s. The outstanding grade went to Seren who the veterinarian commented, showed great enthusiasm, confidence and command of her horse, Jack.
The girls went the bed early. Mom and Ama had an early 5 am alarm for a 6 am start. It rained through the night and heavily at dawn but the precipitation settled by the time the girls got up.
Seren woke up at 7:30 to a lazy breakfast. We tacked up just as Mom and Ama came in after their first loop at 9:15 am. Their horses were doing well. They feed the animals and had some lasagna I cooked up that morning for lunch. Their 45 minute pit stop went by quick and were off again. Seren and I then got ready for our ride. We road off just after 10am.
Seren had a challenging start as a stallion at the start line gave Jack and jitters. It took him a mile or so to settle then we were good. To my surprise Seren trotted well on most of the ride. We were moving at a good pace without any trouble for the first 8 miles. Jack started to act up on the last quarter. He was going off trail and Seren had to circle him. He was walking everywhere but where Seren wanted him to go. I had to pony him for some distance before giving control back to Seren. Mom thought it may take us 6hours but we finished the 12.5 miles in 3.5hrs.
Just 2 months ago Seren had reservations about trotting, this weekend she had no reservations at all. I am impressed with her courage. Hoses are scary, especially so for a young girl who had been hurt by them. Seren was bucked off and flipped by a lead rope.
Ama had a great ride as well. She and mom finished 50miles at 4pm, about 10 hours and well within the cut off. How the heck does a 12 year old get the focus and determination to do one thing for 10 hours? While mom was sore in the ankles hips and back, Ama was bouncing around without any complaints. Being young is awesome!
Having horses require much resources, having horses for far away trail rides require even more. I tried to put aside how I will keep up with these demands and focus on the positives. The horses have given our children experiences and education like no other. My girls are constantly in a power struggle but are otherwise pretty well behaved and for the most part responsible. I am grateful for the experiences and learning we as parents have been able to offer them. Thanks a bunch to mom for leading the way.
Rough Canyon Ranch 