Flashback: June 1992

I found this picture the other day of me and my first horse, Scooter. We went to the Springhill NIHJA horse show and did very well. We got three 1st place ribbons in Novice Adult Hunter and were Champion of the division.
I was thrilled, especially since we cantered through part of an evergreen tree during the flat class. But that also means that a) there may have only been about 3 other riders in the division or, b) the other riders were terrible if I could canter through a bush and still place first, or c) the judge was far-sighted since I did it pretty much right in front of the judge's box.


Now move forward to September 1993 and we have...Tanya and Great Scott! This was the Morton Grove NIHJA horse show. I showed there and Patti and Grace did as well. First is the picture of Tanya, who never showed without her lipstick. And then there's me again with little Sarah behind me riding Tuxedo, that sly pinto pony.


We didn't do as well at Morton Grove. I remember chipping every fence in one of my O/F classes and someone said that the announcer said, "chip, chip, chip" every time I did it. I don't think that was true, but it still embarrassed the hell out of me.

Lil' britches

I know I've named this the "Mom's Riding Club" blog, and you can't have that if there are no Lil' Britches running around!

Here is my daughter and Jen's daughter, who "ride" together on Tuesday nights. I say "ride" because my daughter is just learning to walk and steer. Jen's daughter is already cantering!

Here comes trouble!

One ride in, 2,495 to go...

My good ol' field boots, only about 16 years old, have finally kicked the bucket — so to speak. They are semi-custom and ran about $800 in the early 90s. If you do the math, and figure that I have ridden in them an average of 3 days per week for those 16 years, I've only worn them 2,496 times! What other piece of apparel, or any other item for that matter, have you gotten that much use out of?
Even though the cost-per-ride on those boots is probably negative, and since I'm no longer the 20-something, single, carefree, selfish woman that I was then, I've been kinda sorta thinking about more affordable options to new field boots.
I finally lost the fantasy that I was going to get back to showing, so I really don't need field boots anymore. And I am very, very limited on budget, ie $0.00, this summer so I've been nursing along my boots, enjoying the custom venting in both ankles which are really just huge holes in the aged leather. (These holes horrify Jen to no end.)
Recently, Dory got some swwwwanky custom half-chaps from "Erma" who seems to have outfitted trainer Carole Corwin's entourage two times over. And with good reason, her chaps are HOT.
As they say, God brings you what you need, and Erma mentioned to Dory that she had a pair of chaps already crafted and gave Dory the measurements, should she know anyone who might need a pair and fit those dimensions. I got all excited and Dory measured me. I was really lucky...the measurements were dead on, except for the calf that was minimally larger.
Now these chaps are sold for $250-$300 depending on customization and this pair Erma was only charging $40! There's no tassle, braiding, fringe or silver conchs which is OK by me. Twas a deal I couldn't walk away from. I only knew that they were black/tan and Dory thought they were hot. So I took a gamble and got them sight unseen.



Now I just need to sew up the hole in the crotch of my 8-year-old, second-hand breeches...

Tails from the Trail - Friday, June 27

9.1 - 9.3 - 8.9 - 9.1 - 9.1

"If Dory had stuck the landing, she would have gotten much higher scores," man announcer said.
"Yes, I do agree, but her legs were bent during the 180-degree Schwing from Grace's neck," woman announcer added, "that just might have been enough to keep her out of contention for Beijing..."
Meanwhile a little, brown-and-black chipmunk covered his mouth and snickered in the bushes...

Dory and I had a great ride on a beautiful day with a little excitement sprinkled in by a PVDB Schwing Dismount by Dory in Independence Grove. It was Dory's first attempt at the Schwing, which is considered by some to be a higher-level-of-difficulty move.
The crowd, a friendly Mexican family of five, with their eyes as big as saucers and mouths agape, gasped as Dory schwung through the air around the front of Grace.
"Wooo, hoooo!" exclaimed Dory, "I'm OK!"
The crowd was visibly relieved. The chipmunk was still snickering.