OK, well! It's been an eventful two days! And exhausting, which is why I'm just now posting. Tuesday morning, we got up, took care of the horses and then went to breakfast as usual. Here's a pic of our dining hall . . .
Then we saddled up the horses and rode up to the big arena which is just above the gymkhana field to play some horse games. We divided up into two teams and the first game was the 1s had to stay on the rail going clockwise while the 2s went counterclockwise around the inside, but close enough to each other to high five the person you passed. Then we wove in and out of each horse we went by and finally we played a game where you held hands with your partner wherever you went and Richard called out the gait you had to be in. I had a death grip on Ann Marie and almost killed her because I was so determined not to let go of her hand that I almost pulled her off her horse and she almost got drug with one foot in the stirrup. Anyway, we came in third. Tom (one of Richard's interns) and Karen - a really good rider from Missouri came in first. Here are some photos of us in the arena . . .
After that we came in for lunch and then Richard used Fame for the afternoon "project." He went all the way through from getting a feel for him through loping him for the first time. It was fantastic to watch. Here are some photos of that . . .
After that, Karen B. and I went into town to the Von's. Here's a picture of Karen B . . .
When we got back, we hung out and had a glass of wine with our roomies . . .
Then we went to dinner, saddled up again and rode back to the big arena for more games. Only this time it didn't go so well. We had been warming up our horses and done a little loping and then we were playing a game where Richard would call our number and we had to trot off to one end of the arena and lope in a circle, picking up the correct lead, then, when he said, trot off to the other end, making a figure 8, and lope in the other direction picking up the correct lead. I was in the middle of the second circle when I heard a lot of commotion at the other end of the arena. Turns out Leslie's horse Mijo had buggered out, did a huge rodeo buck and launched her. She laid on the ground for a long time. Tom went back to camp to get the Suburban, during which time she was able to get up, and they took her back to the dorm. By the time the rest of us rode home, she'd decided it was a good idea to go to the emergency room. They checked her out, did CT scans of her head, neck and spine and determined that she hadn't broken anything - this time. She'd actually fractured two vertebrae 8 weeks ago when the same thing happened. Ugh! OK - well, that was Tuesday. Gotta go to feed and get breakfast. I'll try to blog Wednesday at lunch. In the meantime, here's a pic of my great Thacher horse, Badger . . .
Then we saddled up the horses and rode up to the big arena which is just above the gymkhana field to play some horse games. We divided up into two teams and the first game was the 1s had to stay on the rail going clockwise while the 2s went counterclockwise around the inside, but close enough to each other to high five the person you passed. Then we wove in and out of each horse we went by and finally we played a game where you held hands with your partner wherever you went and Richard called out the gait you had to be in. I had a death grip on Ann Marie and almost killed her because I was so determined not to let go of her hand that I almost pulled her off her horse and she almost got drug with one foot in the stirrup. Anyway, we came in third. Tom (one of Richard's interns) and Karen - a really good rider from Missouri came in first. Here are some photos of us in the arena . . .
After that we came in for lunch and then Richard used Fame for the afternoon "project." He went all the way through from getting a feel for him through loping him for the first time. It was fantastic to watch. Here are some photos of that . . .
After that, Karen B. and I went into town to the Von's. Here's a picture of Karen B . . .
When we got back, we hung out and had a glass of wine with our roomies . . .
Then we went to dinner, saddled up again and rode back to the big arena for more games. Only this time it didn't go so well. We had been warming up our horses and done a little loping and then we were playing a game where Richard would call our number and we had to trot off to one end of the arena and lope in a circle, picking up the correct lead, then, when he said, trot off to the other end, making a figure 8, and lope in the other direction picking up the correct lead. I was in the middle of the second circle when I heard a lot of commotion at the other end of the arena. Turns out Leslie's horse Mijo had buggered out, did a huge rodeo buck and launched her. She laid on the ground for a long time. Tom went back to camp to get the Suburban, during which time she was able to get up, and they took her back to the dorm. By the time the rest of us rode home, she'd decided it was a good idea to go to the emergency room. They checked her out, did CT scans of her head, neck and spine and determined that she hadn't broken anything - this time. She'd actually fractured two vertebrae 8 weeks ago when the same thing happened. Ugh! OK - well, that was Tuesday. Gotta go to feed and get breakfast. I'll try to blog Wednesday at lunch. In the meantime, here's a pic of my great Thacher horse, Badger . . .
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