July 2023

 July was an exciting month. It started off with a trip to the World Equestrian Center in Ohio. Sophia had been planning to take Brisk, who is a small horse to compete in the Pony Cup finals but with him being sidelined she had to make other plans. She took Robin's Thoroughbred Makeover Project horse, Seany, who is NOT a small horse. They had a show that ran alongside the Pony Cup which Chloe and Gretchen also did. We had a blast. The venue was nice, rings beautiful, shops great but the best part was the ride up Starbucks. The girls and their horses went there daily. Sophia and Seany's scores improved every day. They pinned junior, young rider and adults separately so she got a lot of 1st place ribbons as a young rider. 

I went to the RID conference. I presented with Betty, which was a first time for me presenting at a national level. We had a storm come through which was pretty severe. All the time I was at the conference Sophia and Gretchen were taking care of the horses, cats, dogs and goats at the barn while twelve of the Pony Club riders went to Nationals. Sophia and G worked hard and got to ride horses all week. The storm that blew through Baltimore hit them hard. They were without power for over 24 hours which means they were getting water from the pond by the bucket full to be sure the outside horses had water (automatic waterers don't work without power.)

Maybe the highlight of the month for Sophia was trying out Kate M's horse Wren who we found out (on July 17th) is up for sale. We were NEVER planning on purchasing a horse but with Brisk still not doing well and Sophia totally out of options that could continue her dressage training we considered this. Steve and Sophia went to see him on July 27th. Sophia was able to get on him and in a few minutes adjust her riding to they way he needs to be ridden. Kate and the person who has been leasing him were impressed. We were not able to sit down and have a family conversation about this for days with me being at the conference and Sophia barn sitting so no decisions were made in July. So I will leave things there.

Our furry family is all doing well, enjoying the box from Chewy that FedEx must thrown on our doorstep.

June 2023

 June started off with a fun long-weekend trip for me. I went to the beach with the Curly Girls. We had a blast at the beach, going out to eat, shopping and even knitting. We stayed at Robin's place. Can't wait to do it again.

Sophia is featured on an ad for IEA. This photo was taken at the National Finals competition in Tryon in April. 

Sophia was a stable manager for her friends at the Pony Club show jump rally.

Sophia competed at Ride For Life again this year. This year she wasn't sure who she would ride with Brisk being out. She took Strider who recently was pulled out of retirement for another rider. He did amazing with Sophia. Sophia needed a qualifying score that day to perform the musical freestyle at the exhibition on Saturday night. No pressure! She pulled it off. She rode Strider to the Grease Musical she had done with Nicki. You could see how much he loved the music. He came alive for it.

But the best part of this Ride for Life show is the fundraising that goes along with it. Sophia has been the top youth fundraiser all four years she has competed in the show. But this year was out of this world. She raised over $2,225 for breast cancer research. So proud of this girl! The last picture here shows Sophia standing with the founder of Ride for Life. They have done this show for 20 years and raised over a million dollars for breast cancer research. This is the last year the show will have the fundraiser portion. I am so glad Sophia raised so much through the years for this cause. 

We went up to Binghamton to visit Aiden and Lindsey. Nick and Mari came up for the weekend too. Sophia stayed at home because she had to work. We had a blast together celebrating Lindsey's graduation from college.

Our pets are all doing well, though not all pictured.

May update

May had many more highs than lows. But as I am writing this post in August I know the impact of the low. The horse Sophia has been leasing the for almost 18 months had some strange longing steps with his hind legs in Sophia's lesson at the beginning of May. He had just came back from the IEA National Competition and he was fine there. They originally thought it might be an injury but when he didn't heal they tested him and he tested positive for EPM which horses get from eating opossum feces with parasites in it. The parasite causes neurological issues and is expensive to treat. While some horses make a complete recovery many don't. He is being treated aggressively but not going to ever return to work. This is devastating for him, his owner and Sophia. 

Sophia has been riding different horses. She enjoyed riding Chuckie and her friend Gretchen was kind enough to have Sophia share her horse Grizzly with her so Sophia could compete in the dressage rally. Sophia has good friends.

Suzie and Ellie were in town and we were able to enjoy an evening together. Lots of catching up and laughing over dinner.

Sheep and Wool festival was a blast. The weather was awesome. I bought enough yarn to keep me busy for years. Heck I will have yarn in my stash from what I bought last year not to mention the shawl kit I bought during the online festival during Covid.

Sophia had her spring concert.

And went to prom. She went with her friend group. Sophia didn't last long, she isn't into the crowd scene but had a blast getting ready with her very good friend, Ava.

Stephanie graduated from George Washington University and I was honored to go to see her college commencement cerermony.

One Sunday in May neighbors told Steve they had been hearing a fawn call out for help all day. Steve knew well enough to leave them in hopes of their mom returning. However when it had gone on for over 10 hours we went in to rescue it. Turns out there were two. One looked okay. That fawn was walking around but there was another who was weak and just laying there bleating. We found a rescue who could take them in. When we did they said the tinier one was dehydrated and wouldn't have made it much longer. We made a donation to the rescue for their care and hope they made it.

I am trying container gardening this year. I am using grow bags based on Aiden's recommendations. 

Our pets. Mr. Twinkletoes got this gift from Sheep and Wool festival!