Grayson and David went out of town this weekend to the NCQHA convention, and so saturday morning I woke up early and went out to feed the horses. They were all glad to see me, making faces as though they hadn't eaten in weeks, although judging by their bellies it wouldn't kill them to miss a meal or two. Once I had everyone taken care of, fed, hay, ice pulled from the waterers etc. I left and headed out to Hillsborough for my job interview.
Blue Skies of Maple View Farm is a small 10 acre facility with just twelve horses. It has large fields, two rings and a round pen, and all the horses are furry, fat and happy. Debbie and I got to talking and ending up talking and brainstorming ideas for about an hour and a half. Basically I have a job now! I'm super excited to get started. I really think we are going to work well together. I will be teaching some low level lessons and probably doing a bit of riding as well.
Over the summer I may have an opportunity to work at the summer camp for half the day as well. The job pays well, so I'm ready to just get started! I'm also going to start teaching a few lessons out of Grayson's farm. There are some 4H kids who would like to learn how to ride, and one girl who keeps her horse and pony in the field with the yellow pony that wants to improve since its her last show season before she leaves for college.
On Saturday I went out to the barn after my interview to see Janene - surprisingly it was the first time since we'd been back that I had seen her. After lunging Ritter for a bit we went back inside as the Weigands began doing the barn. Dazzle was the last to be brought in, but before Julie could catch her she started flipping out and galloping like crazy around the field. After a few rounds without control she came around the corner where the shed is and slipped and fell. She ended up crashing through the fence line, thrashing for what seemed like an eternity and then freed herself and trotted off.
My heart was in my throat thinking she was going to be dead lame walking on three legs or worse, but from where I was standing she looked okay. I quickly walked in her direction and grabbed Emma's lead rope so that I could catch her, and within a few minutes I had her walking calmly as the adrenaline started to wear off. I wanted to make sure she continued to walk because I knew there was a possibility that as soon as that she came down from the adrenaline she could show some serious issues. It seemed like she just had a few scratches, but my thought is better safe than sorry.
Of course we called Grayson right away and let her relay the news to the horse's owner. The girl chose not to come back out to the barn (??) as she had just arrived home so Grayson asked us to take care of the horse. Once the horse was totally calm we brought her into the barn and found the betadine scrub and some Corona ointment. Then we found some of Rebecca's standing wraps and I wrapped the mare's back legs. Overall we were out there about an hour and a half longer than I thought we would be, but that was okay. Never a dull moment in the life of horses.
After that ordeal Janene and I decided to go out to dinner and grab a beer to catch up. It was really nice to be able to spend that time with her after so many months away. We had pizza and beer at Mellow Mushroom and talked about life. It was definitely a good way to relax after the drama with Dazzle!
The rest of the weekend was rather uneventful. I'm slowly working on getting the pony back into shape, although with my schedule and the weather its been hard. Once I start class in the spring my schedule will be much more open and predictable. I will be able to ride all three on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays, and depending on my schedule week to week I may be able to substitute one or two of each pony's rides to Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I will have my own mare, the yellow pony, and also Emma to ride daily so that will keep things interesting. I will also have a few to ride each week at my new job, and a few other projects in the making.
Since I know I don't have to complain too much more to emphasize how unhappy I am with 8-5 in a cubicle I have been toying with the idea of not doing a winter term next year. I don't need an extra class, and though I had originally thought about going abroad for a fourth time (can you believe I have been able to have 3 amazing abroad experiences?) I am now thinking that financially it doesn't make sense since I won't have any credits to fill. I have already gone abroad to study way more than the average college student, even the average Elon student, and I know that after college everyone says that you won't have the same opportunities. I know that. But I also think it applies to other areas of life, so I have been toying with an idea in my head of something that I could really benefit from. Since it has been years since I have been able to take lessons consistently (I read everything I can get my hands on, and I apply that knowledge to any horse I can swing a leg over) I was thinking about looking for a working student position where I could go with my horse and work and train intensively.
My friend Christine mentioned that her trainer, an international event rider and trainer, might take me on as a working student. Christine has worked for her before, trained with her for years, and will take me to meet her this weekend! I would, I'm sure, still have to pay board on the horse, which is slightly higher than Grayson's but in return I would be training with an amazing rider and trainer, and she would help me bring the mare along. Hopefully an experience like this will also make my mare more valuable and more marketable for when it comes time for me to sell her. Should this mare be what I hope she could be, I'm going to hold on to her and see what I am really able to do. Who knows when I'll have another chance like this.
This afternoon after work I went out to the barn to see the ponies, and I just stood in the pasture with pony's nose in my hands and reflected. I'm facing some huge changes in my life in the next few weeks, and by the looks of it 2011 could be my year. There are so many different things going on and my days are always going to be full, but I'm definitely going to be happy about that. I'm about to start taking new classes, implement unique programs with 3 very different horses, work a part time job riding/teaching, and on top of it all run a business and be actively involved in my sorority and social life. I have no doubt that I will be busy all the time, especially when I officially start the P90X program, but each of these things is so important to me that I can't sacrifice them. I have so much opportunity in front of me that I just can't wait to get started. My new horse is hopefully going to arrive Saturday. The shipper is set to pick her up around 7 or 8am, which means she will arrive here in NC around 8 or 9pm. I'm beyond excited to play with her and get to know her! She doesn't have a name yet but I will try to name her quickly. Any ideas are welcome!
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