August- an exciting month

 August will be a month to remember and cherish. After much disappointment with Brisk not recovering enough to be ridden, a long couple of months of limited riding and long, hard talks and budgeting as a family we decided to purchase Wren. Sophia is overjoyed. We decided to have him vetted on August 2nd. The vet was able to do the pre-purchase exam on August 7th and when he checked out okay we signed the bill of sale on August 12th. Nine years ago my mother died. I think Grandma Barb was looking down on Sophia that day and had a part in all this happening. We also brought home Otto on August 12th eight years ago and he turned out to be a very special cat.

Sophia met with the person who has been leasing Brisk, had her saddle fitted on him and took a lesson from the person who has been training him the week of August 13th. We then moved him to our barn on August 20th. Sophia rode him in a clinic with Pheobe the very next day. So far he is adjusting well. He has made some friends in the field and seems to be happy. He truly has the best personality. He stands for the vet, farrier and dentist. He is calm and good mannered. He isn't super easy to ride. Sophia is trying to figure him out. He doesn't like it when riders ride with their hands so he is going to teach Sophia to use her legs and butt to move him, which is how dressage works. Sophia says easy is boring so this is a match made in heaven. He also likes to jump and Sophia was able to jump him in her pony club lesson. He is a big mover. He took a one stride jump in just a bounce but he is honest and tries his best. She is in love. Everyone at the barn remarks on how handsome he is and how tall he is. He is 16'3 but has a super long neck and face so he looks even bigger.

Sophia rode Nicki, one of her heart horses in a lesson before we brought Wren to the barn. That is always a treat.

 

So now that I got all that out let me tell you how we started the month. Steve and I went to Philly to take Nick out for his birthday. Mari joined us. It was great spending the day with Nick. We went to lunch, then hung out at a park and then back at his house. It was a great day.

Sophia was in another ad for IEA. This one was from when she competed at Nationals too. She finishes up this video montage. 

The end of the month was back to school time. Steve started about a week and a half before Sophia. Sophia has a pretty chill fall schedule. She is doing two classes at the high school, both chorus classes, and then doing two online college classes, English and Stress Management. This means she has plenty of time to be at the barn, both working and riding.

Our pets are all doing well. Both cats really love Loki but Otto is smitten. He follows Loki around.

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.