Playing Catch up...

Wow! It's been three days since I blogged. ACK! And trust me on this one, it's probably a good thing I missed yesterday. I was on a bit of a tear...yesterday was not the best of days. NOT however, where the Syd was concerned, but everything else was kind of crappy. Well, not kind of, definitely. But I digress...

My mission today is to get caught up and get caught up quickly. So here goes...
Sunday, Syd and I both got the day off. I didn't come anywhere near the barn. I really needed that. It's hard sometimes. I love what I do; I truly do! However, sometimes, because I work and ride in the same place, and because my pleasure is also my job, the lines get very blurred. There are days when it threatens to consume and overtake me. I am usually at the barn/my store six days a week, eight hours a day. That's why it is vitally important, but also very hard, for me to get out of here at least one day a week, and with this heat?! AY YI YI! Sunday was a much needed break.

Yesterday was conditioning day. Bubba and Gena, at the advice of Karen O'Connor, just purchased an aerator to help condition the footing in the cross country field and make it not so unwielding and hard, which is horrible for the horses legs. Yesterday I got to feel the difference. If I stayed on the track that had been aerated, I had a very forward, almost "horse show" forward horse, with a lot of spring to his stride. If I strayed off the track, no more forward. It was truly amazing the difference the aerator made. I'm a believer! Other than that conditioning day is what it is. Both of us were pretty darn sweaty when we were done. The humidity was so high, I thought I would have been better served if I'd had gills!

Today was kind of a mix between conditioning, just doing more of my "dressage" work in my jumping saddle and throwing in a few little fences in just for good measure. I need a jumping lesson desperately. Gena was sick last week, so I missed one. Until then, I am really focusing on that stupid right leg of mine staying out of the way, and fixing my tendency to lean. Leaning is bad.

The thing I noticed most today, I really didn't notice until I got back into the store and watched the helmet cam video of Hawley Bennett Awad from the Rebecca Farms event (which by the way, I'm posting a link to here because it is so cool!) I noticed that I am hardly talking to my horse anymore. And by "talking" I literally mean verbally communicating with Syd. I used to talk to him all the time...Recently, I think I've become silent. I'm not sure why this has happened. It's not that I'm not telling Syd, "Good Boy!" or being rewarding, I'm just not verbalizing as much. It sort of bothers me. Makes me feel like our relationship is suffering. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I just know it doesn't feel right, and it doesn't feel like ME. When have you EVER know ME to NOT be verbal. So, that's what we'll work on tomorrow...Until then...The road to the AEC's gets shorter by the day...

Almost forgot the link! Here it is...

http://useventing.com/blog/?p=18530