I Can't Believe I Forgot the Dang Camera!

While driving home I can write amazing blogs in my head, but the minute I sit down to actually write the darn things all those wonderful words evaporate, and I am left with this white page and wondering where to start. So let's start on Saturday. We actually took the horses out for a ride. It was a spectacular day and I am so glad we (Dave pushed me a little - good man.) went. I was apprehensive 'cause I hadn't ridden since the Dave Ellis clinic the weekend before Thanksgiving. I have this tendency to freak myself out when I have to do something that scares me, and for some reason riding scares me. It's more than just the fact that I've hit the ground a few times, and that's one of the things/reasons that is compelling me to take lessons. I'm not taking them just to learn to ride, but as an exploration into why I am not confident in my ability. Can my trainer be my shrink? Is it because I now know that I do NOT bounce? Perhaps it's because I understand that I am indeed mortal? I don't think so, falling off doesn't scare me. I mean, I don't want to fall off, but it's something else, something I can almost see, almost touch, but it's just out of my reach, barely beyond the horizon. I think it's me. Getting in my own way. Making up unreal scenarios in my mind. Something just outside my comfort zone that makes me uncomfortable. The longer the space between, in my case, rides the more uncomfortable I am. But what's really weird, is I like being uncomfortable. I seek out things that take me into that uncomfortable zone. I have this darn horse don't I? I take classes, I go to clinics and seminars, and I am defiantly uncomfortable in those settings. But I still like to do them! So back to Saturday...I'm feeling a little uncomfortable 'cause I haven't ridden in a while and the horses have been cooped up in their paddocks for a few days, so I just KNOW they're fresh. To boost my confidence, I watch my Parelli "Safe Ride" DVD just to reinforce some stuff before I go down and get the wild beast. It was a good review, and it gave me something to focus on, and it also provided me with a way to measure JJ's "freshness". So, I go out to his paddock and he nickers at me (Awww). I put his halter on, and I take him out to groom him, clean his feet and just kinda check his mood. His mood was "okay, hurry up 'cause I know I get a cookie when you're done doin' all this stuff to me :). Yep, that's my wild beast of a horse. He politely walks down to the round pen with me. I take him through the "pre-ride" tests as per the DVD, and he's a perfect gentleman. No Problamo. Now Miss Sassy on the other hand, tries walking over Dave. Then proceeds to rear, buck, pull him around, run off...you get the picture. That my Friends is the difference between an Arab mare and a Paint gelding. He got a big kiss on the nose just for bein' him!!! Dave took Sassy into the round pen and lunged her (going in a circle around him) on a 12' line. Now, as I have mentioned before, she's an Arabian. She's built for en dur ance (the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity), so I'm thinkin' in her present state of mind, that maybe running her in a circle might not be the best idea, but I don't say THAT out loud. He lunges her for a few minutes then takes her off the lunge line and lunges her at liberty in the round pen. He did pretty good. She hadn't been run like that for a while (Thank God) and she was ready to quit. I did the rest of the pre-ride test and she was pretty calm by the time we loaded her on to the trailer. So, short story long...We get to the staging area at Ft Ord, get the horses saddled and off we go. About 10 minutes into the ride I realized that I FORGOT THE DANG CAMERA! The horses were great, the dogs were fun, it was an absolutely perfect Monterey day. Dave packed a picnic lunch (aren't I lucky?) and we ate lunch on the top of this ridge where we could see for miles down the Salinas Valley and also across the bay to Santa Cruz! (I can't believe I forget the camera!!!) It was PERFECT. The horses were really good despite all of the mountain bikers. Oh, a shout out to all the mountain bikers we saw, you guys were great!!! Thanks so much!! (You know who you are and you know what I mean!) We were out for about 3 - 3 1/2 hours and I'm still walkin a little bowlegged, but it was well worth it. I hope we go next weekend. But Dave wants to go to Garland Ranch and ride. Oh God, here comes that uncomfortable feeling again. I hope I remember my camera!