Hi Darlin’,
Off to another early start this morning, but was ready in plenty of time. Then on my way to get on the bus I was confronted by three of the organizers here and told if I did one more thing that upset anyone, they’d throw me off the ride. Seriously? I wasn’t doing anything other people weren’t doing, just that I was doing it more often because I had more work to do with Flash! And if all these other horses are all so well behaved, why would a couple of spins and back-ups and canters bother them so much? So now there’s nothing I can do except put Flash on an extremely tight rein for the duration, which feels like I’m bench-pressing 100 lbs for hours on end. This morning was a particularly long ride, over 16 miles before lunch, though we had one water stop. I managed to keep Flash bottled up, though he was still full of energy (I don’t know how he’s not more tired!), but it was hard work. A lot of the other participants helped me, though, by riding beside me and chatting with me, offering me some moral support, which I really appreciated. I did my best to just stay out of the way of everyone else, just in case, and it seemed to work today. For the short hop from lunch to camp (under four miles), I mostly stayed with Augie and Wayne again, but Flash did a much better job today, even though I had to hold him in. I did my Snowy River for a few of the folks that were really helpful to me at lunch today, it’s rewarding to know I have some people on my side, even if the organizers are so dang uptight. Wendy took a great picture of me in all my western regalia, I may use it as my profile pic for awhile. We reached camp before 4:00, and there was a good sized pond deep enough to go horse swimming, so I stripped down Flash, got on my water sandals, and headed down there. It only took a minute to get Flash in the water, and he did some actual swimming! It was a great way to end the day. Well, almost end it. I decided to take Lola down to the pond, albeit on her leash, and threw her Kong Wubba a few times, before I was informed there was an alligator on that side of the pond. I found it hard to imagine that an alligator would still be around with a couple dozen horses stomping and swimming and people in the water, it’s not like the pond was THAT big, but I had gone over on the other side away from everyone to stay out of their way, which was apparently the last place it was sighted, so I had to get Lola out of the water, so not much fun for her again today. I can’t wait to get back to a normal routine, instead of walking around on eggshells all the time, worried about someone getting upset with something I do all the time. Anyway, the day is over, just one more day, then the parade in Fort Pierce on Saturday, and possibly beach riding after that, with a night at the beach park there. Then back to Dupuis, where I fully intend to CRASH FOR DAYS! I’m glad I’ve been getting good nights of sleep, getting to bed really early, though I’m a tiny bit later tonight and I still have to take my shower and wash my hair, but I’m still getting enough to keep from getting overly tired. But that could be the adrenaline, we’ll see how much of a crash I experience once I stop! Anyway, time for that shower and bed, so good night, babe! Love you!
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