Moving the Goal Posts, Virtual Tevis, 98 Miles and Holding, 73 Days

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. UNESCO: World Teachers’ Day.
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I’ve decided not to count Rodney’s miles at Full Circle Horse Park, at least not all of them. We did just over 5 & 1/2 miles in two trips.

Originally, the goal was to walk around the edges of the cross-country field, racking up the miles. While we did some wandering about, the two days turned into much more of XC jump schools. Which is awesome! but doesn’t feel as if should count toward a virtual trail ride, at least not the jumping bits.

The other option is to Count! Every! Step! which is what we did last year. Rodney finished just under the wire and Milton needed the extended deadline to finish. This year, we got our miles in early. It’s a lot easier to be a purist when one is over 90 miles with weeks to go.

We will finish next week, one way or another. Rodney has already done 2 & 1/4 make-up miles, so using the every step method, he would be done. Barring rain or other calamities (crosses fingers), we should be able to get to up 103 or 105 miles by next weekend and declare victory. Dragging this out for one more week is ridiculous enough. Not doing that for two weeks.

Leaving those miles in Milton’s total. 1) He’s already finished. 2) He spent the time at Full Circle walking about watching Rodney, a much more trail-esque activity. 3) He did 7 of the miles with Rodney this week, so he’s over 100 miles no matter how you count.

Did I do this because it gave me another week of VT posting? No. I’m enough of a curmudgeon that I would have done so anyway, provided we had the time. Do I object that doing this gave me another week of VT posting? Also no.

Tortoise Power!

Where are we virtually?

Milestone. Rodney.

Map. Close enough to the end that I stopped.

Data Dump – Rodney

Tuesday, September 28 – 1.82 miles, 45 minutes
Wednesday, September 29 – 1.64 miles, 54 minutes
Thursday, September 30 – 2 miles, 51 minutes
Friday, October 1 – 2.03 miles, 54 minutes
Saturday, October 2 – .93, 25 minutes. Storm arrived. Rode solo. Rodney was a star about it.
Sunday, October 3 – .63 miles, 20 minutes. Muddy footing. That’s all the complaining I could listen to.
Monday, October 3 – .71 miles, 18 minutes. The radar lies!

Distance this week – 9 & 3/4 miles
Time this week – 4.5 hours
Rides this week – 7 days

Total distance – somewhere between 93 – 98 miles. VT results page has us at 98.93 miles.
Total time – xx hours. Too confusing to calculate.
Total rides – 54 days
Total calendar – 73 days

Pace, time to go one mile – 27:16 m/m, per VT results page

Numbers rounded off for ease of reporting. May not add up as given.

My Links
Last week [Milton Reaches The Imaginary Finish Line, 100 Miles and 91 Miles, 66 Days]
[VT Archives]

Official Links
Tevis Cup: Virtual Tevis 2021
RunSignUp: 2021 Tevis Cup – Virtual Western States Trail – 100 Miles in 100 Days
RunSignUp: VT results

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Looking For Lessons

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. “The Term of the Court begins, by law, on the first Monday in October.” SCOTUS: The Supreme Court at Work.
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Another entry in the ongoing series detailing my failing efforts to achieve the seemingly simple task of finding a riding lesson.

Barn 1. No. Spoke with boarder of barn. No lesson program currently. Had I considered … named barns that had already crossed me off their list. Encouraging. Not.

Barn 2. No. Stopped by barn. Trainer out of town. Was told boarders only. Judging by spiffiness of barn and monogrammed tack trunks of boarders, I posit a train-and-show boarding barn rather than a we-feed-your-horse, do what you will boarding barn.

Barn 3. Yes, but. Stopped by barn. Well-established lesson program. Full. Sigh.

I have submitted my name for the waiting list. They operate month to month. So, I have to wait at least a month, have someone decide not to continue, & have my name bubble to the top of the waiting list. Not holding my breath.

Filling out the form was fun. Parent Name. Not applicable. School Attending. Not Applicable. Prior Experience. Used to show there. Yes, the last time I was at that barn, I was showing Previous Horse. That was good for a nostalgic sniffle.

Barn 4. No. Lesson program for kids only. This is a change since Covid. Maybe due to having fewer people at barn? Got this secondhand from Barn 1 boarder. Seemed knowledgeable enough that I see no reason to doubt the info.

Running out of places to check. Several more barns in the area, but many/most of the rest are similar to Barn 2, i.e. one trainer with a handful of horses. They may achieve great things, but I am not their business model.

Plus, I’m not just looking for a horse to ride. I have horses to ride. I’m looking for a steady, reliable, schoolie who will calmly trot cross-rails while I hyperventilate. The sort of horse who unflappably lugs small children around for a living.

Sam. With jumps.

Plus, plus, I am ultimately looking for two kinds of lessons. One set with school horses and another set for me & the Gorgeous Dork. Willing to go to different places for each. Same place would be nice. Any place would be nice.

This go-round was all about school horse lessons. I need to get back to working on the other as well. Am out of juice at the moment.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Spider Web

Riding, Pasture Life

Awareness of the outside world. World Postcard Day. Of related interest, Smithsonian: National Postal Museum Is Sharing Secrets from Around the World! Emery, 2015.
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Whenever I ride or walk around the field, I have to spend the first lap with my hand in the air. That way the spiderwebs glom onto my arm instead of my face. The perils of being in the lead. Unless the lead is a pony and you are on a horse. (You know who your are!)

Different web with occupant [here].

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

More Mushroom

Pasture Life

Awareness of the outside world. UN: International Translation Day. Translators have one of those thankless jobs. The better they are at the job, the less they are noticed. Kudos to them.
~~~

This one was sturdier than the last batch. Still there a day later. [Mini Mushrooms]

Down The Rabbit Hole

“Only eight species of fungus commonly grow on horse manure.” Garden Guides: How to Identify Fungus That Grows on Horse Manure, Terry, 2017.

“Mushrooms growing in horse manure are typically toxic or psychoactive.” Fun in the Yard: What Kind Of Mushrooms Grow In Horse Manure, Thomas.

Science Daily
New antibiotic in mushroom that grows on horse dung
Date: November 7, 2014 Source: ETH Zurich
“Summary: A new protein with antibiotic properties has been found in a mushroom that grows on horse dung. Researchers are now exploring the various potential applications.”

Mushroom World: Mushroom Identification Basics

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Rodney’s Ridiculous Feet

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. Fat Bear Week starts today. Check out the contenders and cast your vote.
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Just when we thought Rodney’s footwear could not get any more absurd, I give you …

… socks.

When I took his boots off the day before, he had rubs on his right front heels. I think the fit changes as his feet grow/get trimmed. That would make sense.

Did we do this with Mathilda? Yes, we did. She was a geriatric mare with lameness issues. I don’t know what Rodney’s excuse is. [Fine]

Do the socks look ratty? Yes, they do. Using discarded husband sox. Therefore the sox have holes. Goal is to cushion the heels. Therefore, the holes are to the front.

Has Rodney achieved a fabulous retirement without the effort of stupendous career? Yes. Yes, he has.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine