Then and Now

From this: 

March 2001
Estrella Mtn NATRC
photo by Cristy Cumberworth

To this:

January 2014
Bumble Bee 25
photo by Susan Kordish

Coming up on 14 years of a lot of blood, sweat, tears, miles, and above all, learning. May my capacity to learn never cease, and the wisdom provided by horses keep coming.

TOA Blog Hop: Worth 1k Words

Worth 1k Words.

Let's share our favorite photos of our stud muffins.  No limit.

Oooohhh, boy...you asked for it...an excuse to plaster all of my fave photos in one place. Some will have been seen before, others may be new. Obviously, the pony garners the most of these...but with 18+ years of photo-taking together, we've gotten some keepers. (This doesn't even count all of our show-ring days, all of which are hard copies that haven't been scanned yet.)

first LD, Man Against Horse 25 2006

second LD, in which she is still pulling on me into the first check

bittersweet...our last competition (and the
one that decided her retirement)
photo by Laura Bovee

my favorite ride photo ever, Valley of the Sun 2009

ignore my position...she has much better jumping form than I do

such a stinker...this is why we didn't use
snaffle bits at ridesphoto by Jane Grey Photography

first distance ride, First of Spring NATRC 2002
photo by Jane Grey Photography

playing in the Salt River

playing in the wash at Catalina

one of my favorite ear-cam shots...playing in the pines in Flagstaff

Man Against Horse 50 2009 -- best ride accomplishment ever

war mare face

Las Cienegas LD -- I love the going away shot

she's not big on cuddles usually, so I love that her ears are up
and she's actually happy about it

first back-to-back LD, day two...thrilled with how perky she was!

love all ear-cam shots...so attentive and alert

first 50! I'm a dork and she's like 'whatever'
photo by Laura Bovee

And I've done enough rides and gotten enough good pics of her that I feel Liberty qualifies to be included here as well...

love this...another one of my favorite ride
photos
Bumble Bee 25 2014
photo by Susan Kordish

the precursor to the above awesome photo,
I'm gabbing and she's hydrating
photo by Susan Kordish

majestic view, dorky green horse, silly rider
and granted, I had my stirrups a hole too short (green horse
security thing) but dang, she's tall and I'm short
photo by Susan Kordish

another favorite going-away shot
photo by Susan Kordish

our first ride together and we kinda look
like we know what we're doing
(after she spent the prior several minutes
balking at the photographer)
Prescott Chaparral 30 2013
photo by Susan Kordish

an interesting side profile shot...this mare has the most
interesting face...and yes, while the photographer is below us,
my feet are that high up on her sides
photo by Susan Kordish

Libby's first ride, Gina riding...doing her
trademark "thing" of air-pawing whenever
she's impatient

more ear-cam!

forcing cuddles and how-to-take-a-selfie on her

dork mare (mid-shake)

love it...can actually drop my reins on the crew bag and she
stays put!

being a twerp...post-ride, 30 miles wasn't enough...digging to
China and sticking her tongue out about being yelled at

cover girls

Not too long after we started distance riding, one of Mimi's and my ride photos was the cover page for the Long Riders Gear (now Riding Warehouse) catalog. I think it was one of the 2003 catalogs, since the photo was from 2002.

We were both babies then...Mimi was 9, I was 16. I chuckle a bit that yes, at one time, I actually started with basic black tack. (As I gaze now at my current tack hooks loaded with all things purple and orange and colorful... :))

Looking back, it makes me smile...I had us loaded down for a safari expedition with bags and packs...all for one 20-mile NATRC ride. This was only our second ride...we were both still learning. (Witness Ashley riding in paddock boots and Mimi pulling to go faster...well, at least one of us learned, since someone still likes to pull at opportune moments.)

That was the Helen Logan River Romp ride, held in Santa Ynez, CA...still one of the prettiest rides I've done.

I was so glad I found this the other day during my magazine sorting. All sorts of happy memories.

start as you mean to continue

If you follow the "start as you mean to continue" logic as applied to New Years and the rest of the year, I had a very good start. Since it was basically one long extended weekend (although I did work on Friday), I managed to actually do all of my favorite things and set myself up well for the upcoming year. (Hopefully.)

On New Year's Day, Artemis and I day-tripped down to Catalina State Park just north of Tucson to visit with friends Lucy and Patrick, who were once again spending their holiday in the "warm" desert. Only, y'know, snow happened.

This year's trip didn't involve the pony or camping for me, but we had a fun day of hiking and letting the dogs play. L&P have Finn-the-poodle, whom Artemis met last year, and now they have Spike, who is Artemis's full, 8-month-younger brother.

It was like a terrier cage match o' fun.

"Really, Mom? Make him stop."
This is payback, since you're usually the one
bugging other dogs.

Snow on the Catalinas

Terrier twinsies!
(Artemis is on the left.)

First experience in the snow...and the cold-
weather wimp didn't freeze.

Snow is a novelty.

Hiking with the dogs...a whole 3.5 miles in an
hour and half, which is what happens when half
the hike is the terriers jumping on each other.

As I mentioned already, I did work on Friday...and work in the form of boot fitting and troubleshooting on Saturday morning.

And Sunday saw the first saddle time of 2015. And it was even trail time. Mimi was having a very good day (her bad days seem to be the ones where it is cloudy, overcast, cold, and damp...as long as the sun is out, she's good to go), and we did 4.5 miles out at Usery Mtn Park with some barn friends.

She was so happy to be out again. And so was I.

"All dressed up...do I get to go?"

my favorite view

still some dusting of snow on the Superstitions

perfect day

"*My* sloppy. *Mine.*"

And the crowning touch was this morning, when I woke up before 4AM to go out for a morning run. (Which is what you do when you live 30 minutes in any direction from the closest trails.)

Not fast...but one party was on the Injured Reserve list, and one
party (myself) was doing the first run back post head cold.
I tell myself it's tapering for the upcoming race this weekend.

The (mostly) full moon was still up and shining (which was good since I forgot my headlamp and had to use my phone flashlight...fail), and it was so quiet and peaceful. I brought Artemis, so she could get her morning exercise, and she did wonderful...she's really turning into a Good Trail Dog.

With that wraps my extended New Years weekend...hope everybody else had a safe, fun weekend and is looking forward to whatever 2015 brings. (Please let it be good.)