October 2017

October came and went very quickly.  It primarily revolved around horses. What else is new?  Sophia competed in two shows this month. She was scheduled to compete in an away show but it got canceled due to rain.  She competed in the Hunter/Jumper Show at the barn in only one division because Navajo's owner was riding him in the jumper ring.

She also competed in the dressage series. She rode Roxy which isn't really a great dressage horse but Sophia handled her well and did the test well. Roxy tripped once and kept star gazing so the points didn't reflect how well she rode the test. Dressage is about the horse and rider connection so the score was appropriate.

Sophia also went on a trial ride with her 4-H group. It was it Gettysburg. They learned some history as they rode the trail. She loved it.

She rode her favorite pony Ella this month. Ella is being transitioned back to the owner who donated her to the barn a couple years ago. Sophia wanted to have one last ride on her. She was naughty as usual. She cow kicked but Sophia is so used to her antics she handled it no problem.

Steve and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on October 18th. He got me beautiful flowers. 

Halloween at the barn involved dressing Navajo as Thing 2 and Sophia as Thing 1. Sophia was Thing 2 in third grade with Taylor acting as Thing 1. She had even competed in a pairs class with her riding buddy Emily as Thing 1 and Thing 2.made a matching tutu for Navajo. She worked on this with very little help. This might have been the cutest Thing 1 and Thing 2 pair.  

Halloween night Sophia was a jockey again. Gracie even got in on the fun. Sophia went trick or treating with her friends Naomi and Maya. 

Our pets are all doing wonderfully. Gracie is really settling in to our house. 

And that's a wrap

September Update

Fall brought some changes to us. One of the biggest changes was Sophia starting middle school. She is loving it so far. She likes switching classes and the variety of teachers and subjects she is studying. She had wanted Family and Consumer Science (Home Ec) and she has it this first semester.

Middle School Orientation

Sophia participated in a color run at the school. She had a blast. She also joined the after school Girls on the Run program.





















Another big change was bringing Steve's mothers dog, Gracie, to live with us. She is almost fourteen years old and could not just give her away. Steve's sister found an awesome rescue that takes in older dogs but we decided to give it a try at our house. All the animals seem to be adjusting well.

The fall brings back the show series at the barn. That along with the Labor Day In-House show and the away MOHSS show we were quite busy. Sometimes I feel like we live at the barn. So glad Sophia has found her passion.

We had a party at the pool for the show team. The water was cold but the kids had a blast.

In house show

CHC Fall Show Series- September show

MOHSS September Show

 Sophia also gave a presentation as part of her 4-H Horse requirement. She created the slide show and did an awesome 15 minute presentation. She is so comfortable in her own skin. She shines when talking about horses.

August update

Another month gone. Summer has passed far too quickly.  We got a lot of rain this month and August was cooler than normal which meant we did not spend as much time at the pool as we would have liked to.

Sophia volunteered at the county fair with her 4-H group. She worked in the petting zoo portion mainly with the chicks and ducklings. She was great.  She held the animals while people petted them. She was polite to all the kids (and adults) that came by.

Sophia and Navajo competed in the MOHSS again. They worked well together. She took home two second places, three third and one fourth place. Her friends even convinced her to put in braids and ribbons in for the show. They did this for their coach, Catherine. Perhaps the ribbons brought them all good luck.  I tripped over a fence at the beginning of the show. I got three pretty deep puncture wounds. No fun.  I went to urgent care after the show where they cleaned them out (ouch) and bandaged it up.  Could have been worse.

We got together for the day with some of Sophia's China sisters.  The family from Maine did not make it down, another family got sick. So four of the six families were together for some bowling and dinner. The kids had a blast playing together.

Sophia competed in a jumper night at the barn. One class was a no-whining class. The parents had to ride with a glass filled with wine. The person who ended up with the most wine in their glass at the end of the night won a basket of wine. Steve competed and did a great job. He didn't win but had a blast. Navajo is such a good horse.

We attended a Girl Scout event for the solar eclipse. They had fun activities and we saw the eclipse through our glasses.  It was very cool.

Sophia worked very hard all summer at pony pal camp. She earned "pony bucks" which buy her lessons. She is such a hard worker. She was awarded the volunteer of the summer award for all her work. The instructor said she is always attentive, finds stuff to do during down time, engages the campers and has a positive attitude. We are so proud of her. She was one of three volunteers who one this award. Pretty impressive!

Her long time coach and instructor, Angel is moving away. We will miss her so much. She has been working with Sophia for years. Over the last year they had a semi-private weekly lesson with Angel. She is going to be missed. 

One of Sophia's favorite horses, Maverick, got sick in August. They weren't sure if he was going to make it. But Maverick is a fighter. He came through and will now be enjoying retirement.  Maverick was one of the two horses which caught an equine herpes virus in 2005 but lived. At least five horse died from the virus. We are told that he leaned against his stall and slowly moved about never laying down. If a horse with the virus laid down they could not get back to a standing position. He fought then and went on to be a beloved school horse. He taught so many children how to ride. Sophia showed with him for about a year. He is an amazing horse. So glad he pulled through again.

Until next month.