Why I Ride, Six-Word Essay

G is for Missed It By THAT Much. Tomorrow is my G post. Couldn’t figure a way to wedge it in here. Blogging A To Z


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I ride because I can’t not.

Katie and Rachel have great stories.
Why I Ride by Katie Wood
Why I Ride by Rachel Wamble

My writing has an [origin story].
My riding has no origin story.
My riding career trajectory is simple.

A city kid at summer camp.
Moved to the suburbs. Rode regularly.
Never occurred to me to stop.

I ride because I can’t not.
~~~
Six-Word Memoirs
Six Word Stories
[Brevity is the soul of wit]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Foto Friday: Instagram March 2017

F is for Foto Friday, by happy accident. If you are joining me from Blogging A To Z, welcome! Since the blog is already daily, with topics for each day [About: Schedule], there is no specific A To Z theme. I may even skip a few letters. Gasp. Clutch the pearls. The goal for this year is less crazy, more visiting. [Ze State of Ze Blog 2014]

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March Instagram from @rodneyssaga.

 

March 2017

Previous [Instagram February 2017]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Lots of Lessons

Driving Thursday

E is for Education. If you are joining me from Blogging A To Z, welcome! Since the blog is already daily, with topics for each day [About: Schedule], there is no specific A To Z theme. I may even skip a few letters. Gasp. Clutch the pearls. The goal for this year is less crazy, more visiting. [Ze State of Ze Blog 2014]

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Our driving education continues. We both had lessons.

Combined Driving, Greg

This is what happens when the driver is heavy on the brakes.


Saddle Seat, Katherine

Speaking of brakes …

… Snippy legit ran off in my last lesson.

It really wasn’t too bad. By the time I realized, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ and started to react, he thankfully dropped out of it. I suspect it was more disconcerting to watch than to experience.

I was more apprehensive about an incident earlier in the lesson. We were trotting. I was requesting an extended trot. Instead of complying, Snippy [earlier lesson, photo] slowed to a walk, then stopped. We were right next to the gate, so it could have been an innocent momentum dump.

However, as he ground to a stop in front of me, I had a flash of all the things that could go wrong from here. Greg and I have been told repeatedly that you get in less trouble driving when the horse is moving forward. Back and/or up are not things you want to think about (I feel superstitious even typing this). So, I took one look at the stationary horse butt in front of me and said, ‘No sir. You will resume trotting immediately.’

Later, while he was zooming along, I had a moment to think, ‘At least he’s going forward.’

Of course, that was then. Now my brain is obsessing over the minor incidents – that I totally handled – in an otherwise stellar lesson. There are times when I hate my brain.

Forward. Forward. Forward.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Winter Tournament Results 2017

Saddle Seat Wednesday

D is for Delight. If you are joining me from Blogging A To Z, welcome! Since the blog is already daily, with topics for each day [About: Schedule], there is no specific A To Z theme. I may even skip a few letters. Gasp. Clutch the pearls. The goal for this year is less crazy, more visiting. [Ze State of Ze Blog 2014]

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Color me delighted. Banquet haul was 60% as expected, 40% better than expected. [Awards Weekend]. High marks for utility of loot [What Makes You].

Advance Horsemanship WTC Adult: Fourth Place, white ribbon
Advanced Equitation WTC Adult (Pattern): Third Place, yellow ribbon
Surprise! Pleasure Horse or Pony WTC Adult: Tied for Champion, tricolor, hot/cold travel cup (yellow cellophane), & ASB decal
Academy Driving: Champion, tricolor & t-shirt
Surprise! Tied for High-Point SSF Adult: gift certificate (festive bag)

Some day I might get tired of ribbons. Today is not that day.

2017 shows [#1&#2, #3]
[List of Winter Tournament posts]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Milton’s Contract

C is for contract. If you are joining me from Blogging A To Z, welcome! Since the blog is already daily, with topics for each day [About: Schedule], there is no specific A To Z theme. I may even skip a few letters. Gasp. Clutch the pearls. The goal for this year is less crazy, more visiting. [Ze State of Ze Blog 2014]

~~~
We have done – if I may say so – an outstanding job acclimatizing Milton to harness. He accepts pressure on the breastcollar, the crupper under his tail, the shafts bagging on his sides, all of it.

However.

The time has come to readdress the horse underneath. I don’t want to imagine Milton having a snit fit [Hitched], with Greg sitting in the cart. A little more broke, if you please. (I know broke isn’t the PC term, but you know what I mean.) Less ground-driving at a walk and trot in harness, more trotting and cantering with a saddle on the lunge.

Greg will be doing most of the lunging work. I don’t have the level-headedness for it. I figure, Well, they’ll stop galloping about eventually. Plus, he did all the lunge work with Previous Horse and that worked out, at least as far as installing a ridable WTC. Whatever else we may or may not have done after was between me and Caesar [Defense].

After the first work session under the new paradigm, Milton stood in the barn wondering how his contract had gotten unilaterally renegotiated.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Rodney Channels His Inner Brat

B is for Brat. If you are joining me from Blogging A To Z, welcome! Since the blog is already daily, with topics for each day [About: Schedule], there is no specific A To Z theme. I may even skip a few letters. Gasp. Clutch the pearls. The goal for this year is less crazy, more visiting. [Ze State of Ze Blog 2014]

~~~
To reward Rodney for being good the previous day (we recreated a tiny bit of our lesson [Dressage]. Yay!), I decided to have him stand at the side of the ring while Milton worked, We’ve done this before. It counts as saddle time, but is not mentally taxing.

Rodney was awful.

He was being driven mad, mad it tell you, by a few early spring flies. I don’t think he had all four feet on the ground for a minute straight. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. In between, he wiggled. He shifted. Stomp. Stomp. He tried to drift back to the barn. Wiggle. Shift. Stomp. Drift.

And yet, he did all of this without an ounce of tension. No head flinging. No teeth grinding. He didn’t get nervous. He didn’t tune me out. He knew exactly what I was asking. He responded with Don’t wannnnnnna. Ain’t gonnnnnna.

I have never been so simultaneously annoyed at and pleased with a horse in my life.

The next morning, Rodney barged past me into the stall just under Milton’s nose [Daily Routine]. I had to yell loudly to stop Milton from following. (Loudly enough that Greg heard me from the house.) If those two were to get in the stall at the same time, it would be frogs in a blender.

I tied Milton up, went in the stall, and chased Rodney out with prejudice. I wanted to be crystal clear that he was not to behave this way again. He did not run out of the stall screaming that the sky was falling. Instead, he sashayed out with a look that said, Well, ya can’t blame a horse for trying.

Who is this horse?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott