April 2019

April was about horses. As the weather started getting warmer the horse activities started picking up. When looking back at pictures for this month I am not sure what else we did. All I have is pictures of horses, with the exception of the visit from Linda. Let me start there.

Linda, Chuck and the girls came down to visit. Linda spent Sunday with Tracie and my brother while we were at a horse rally. We were able to spend time at dinner with Linda and the girls. We also spend a little time together on Monday after Linda and Stephanie went on a college tour.

The biggest horse event was Pony Club Dressage Rally. Sophia took a clinic earlier this year and the instructor said that she could likely qualify for National Championships held in North Carolina if she continued riding this well. That was all she needed to hear. Her eyes were set on the prize. She took a horse named Lucy to the rally and got well over the qualifying score for Nationals. She scored 67.12 in Training 1 and a 75.17 in Training 2. She tied for the highest Training Level test 2 score. She also rode her first musical freestyle and got second place. It was an amazing day. 

Going to a rally for the first time was intense. She had to bring containers filled with water for Lucy, a bunch of supplies and was responsible for herself and her horse the entire day. She was on a team with three other girls from her club. The team had a stable manager to help them. They started the day with inspections. The girls and horse were inspected for safety and cleanliness. The standards are all very high. Her team took home a second place for horse management. Parents can not talk, never mind help, the girls at a rally. This teaches independence and responsibility. What an incredible experience. It was a long day. We were on the road at 4:30 in morning and not done until around 5:30 PM. 

Sophia participated in the dressage show at her first barn. She rode a horse named Pablo. He is not trained in dressage but they had fun. (I don't remember her scores)

Sophia had her first cross county experience at the new barn. She LOVED it. Cross country is riding out in a field on different terrains and jumping over natural barriers. She rode Bonsai. They both did great. 

I finished a knitting project! 

And our animals are enjoying the warmer weather.