To Camp or not To Camp

Despite the scary storms we had Saturday night, I managed to make it out to the barn for a ride on Sunday afternoon. The arena was pretty sloppy so we worked for about 20 minutes in the grass dressage arena. I focused on keeping my elbows bent and arms at my sides. It really is amazing how positively horses respond (even green horses) when you make a positive change to your position. Once I felt balanced and comfortable, I asked for a little more forward motion, and Kwik responded with a nice springy trot that was energetic and connected but not zoomy. Yes! Afterwards we worked on our walk-trot transitions. We haven't really done much of this, and our first couple of attempts were pretty comical. Eventually we went from lurching into the trot to nice smooth(ish) transitions. We ended with a short hack down the Dogwood loop trail. I was feeling adventurous so we changed up our route and wandered down the longer loop. Kwik was perfect, and I felt pretty accomplished when we got back to the barn. We have a lesson with Ann on Tuesday evening, and the plan is to work on the flat for a bit and throw in some gymnastics at the end. I'm already excited!



Happy Trails

I actually have a little dilema. Each year, SA, a trainer I worked with when I had Finn, organizes a spring trail ride/camping weekend at Hard Labor Creek State Park. This year's ride is coming up at the end of the month, and yours truly got an invite. It has always been on my riding bucket list to go on an overnight trail ride, and I'm dying to go. I'm just not sure I should go. Kwik has been a rockstar lately, both on the trails and in the arena, and he's morphed back into the cool customer I met last fall. We've been on off-site rides before, and my gut tells me he'll be just fine if we stick to the walk-only low-key rides. My "take everything one step at a time" plan dictates that we should keep on keeping on at the Ashland trails, arrange some off-site day rides throughout the summer, and make plans to join the group for the fall campout. Plus, the only trail ride that he was not a perfect gentleman for was with this particular group. Some of the horses just aren't as rock steady as Annie and Sierra, Kwik's recent trail buddies.

Hard Labor is about a 30 minute haul from the farm, and from what the gals tell me, the trails are nice and inviting. I certainly don't want to push my luck, and there will be another opportunity for a campout in the fall. If the ride was scheduled for later in the summer, I wouldn't hesitate to sign up. I don't want to miss out, but I also want to make smart decisions. What to do?!?!?!