I have been busy! The Humboldt County Writer’s Anthology submissions are due very soon. This year’s theme is ‘Fire’. I have been working on my piece. It of course has to do with horses. I am happy to report that also this month, I went to my first horsemanship clinic (that I rode in). I managed to do some writing while at the clinic. In the evenings, I had a camper all to myself, so the environment was conducive.
The horsemanship clinic was taught by Craig Cameron. I took my daughter’s horse, and as I have been politely describing our weekend: She wasn’t the horse I wanted (to bring), but she was the horse I needed. I also did myself a disservice by riding her around the grounds the night before in the setup I made for my other horse. Between Lola’s spookiness, the different reins and bit, and my rustiness, things started out badly. By default, I tend to ride Lola with a “hot seat”, but I totally forgot about that fact. Then, when half-halts were not working (because my seat was saying go go go!), I forgot what to do after that. Yikes!
We had some really great rides too though. I think we had the coolest doubling at the fence. Lola really likes turning on a dime. Craig was awesome, and I am so glad I got to meet and ride with him. The other riders were all very nice too.
We have also been making a new round pen in the field at the stables I board at. When we first got the pen set up with the corral panels, I was driving my quad back after dumping some manure. I was smiling from ear to ear, feeling on top of the world. And then the manure trailer fell off my quad. The hitch broke. What a let down!
Here’s another one: I was driving back from my 3-day riding-with-a-legend weekend, and as I was pulling into the driveway, the truck wouldn’t shift to park! I had to use the restroom, had a horse to unload, and was exhausted after 3 hours of mountainous driving (after 3 days of intensive riding). Turns out some bolts were about ready to fall out. It was a pretty cheap fix, but still . . .
As I am reminded in the most immediate ways, “two steps forward, one step back”. My quad is fixed by the way.
Stevie Lou Díaz 