Camping Trip

Last weekend we took our trailer on its first camping trip!  We headed up to South Carolina to Broxton Bridge Plantation where I rode Mow in an Endurance Ride.  I drove up on Friday morning with a friend and her horse and then Matthew joined us Friday evening.  Here is our campsite all set up.  Everything worked pretty well except that we definitely need some stairs to get up to the goose!

 

And Mow in his pen.

 

Mow and I finally moved up a distance for our ride and completed a 50 mile race this weekend.  This was the longest that I have every ridden in one day and I think that I was more tired than him! 

 

Here we are at the finish.  It took us 6 hours and 55 minutes to complete (not including the mandatory "holds" or rest breaks) and we ended up placing 10th out of about 25 riders.  Needless to say, I am very proud of both of us!

Halloween and Trailer Progress

This year when I told Matthew who I thought we should dress up as for Halloween he said "As you wish!"  So here we are, dressed as the Dread Pirate Roberts and Princess Buttercup from the Princess Bride. We went to a dance two weeks ago and another one last night and had a great time at both.

 

 

We've also done a little more work on the horse trailer in preparation for our camping trip next weekend (for real this time!).  We put in the last cupboard a few weeks ago and added the countertop this weekend.  We think it turned out really well!

 

We still need to build a custom cabinet for this awkward corner, but that probably won't happen for a while.  Until then we will just use it for storage.

 

And, after five attempts, Lowes finally sent us the correct piece for the sink cabinet and we were able to install some trays on the false drawer front.  The original drawer front had a big ugly knot in it and when we asked for a replacement they sent us the wrong size twice and an even uglier one once.  We also had to get a replacement for one of the cabinet doors due to a knot hole.  Needless to say, we will not be buying any more of these cabinets!

Dressage Show

Last weekend Mow and I competed in our first ever dressage show!  We have been taking dressage lessons for about two years now and I finally felt ready to take him to a local show.  He exceeded my expectations and we actually won two out of the three classes we entered!  Here we are warming up before the first class.

My trainer, Heather, lives nearby so she was able to come and coach.

 

Here we are during our first class, an introductory level dressage test.  (Basically, a set pattern that everyone rides and you are graded on each movement).

 

The tests are ridden in a standard-sized space that is marked off with these white fences. Someone can "call" the test for you, but these we very simple patterns so I just memorized them.

This photo is from the end of our second class (another test).  Dressage tests start and end with a salute to the judge, who is at the end of the arena.

 

Mow and I competed in one other class where we rode with other riders and were judged on our equitation (riding ability) with no set pattern.  Here we are with our ribbons, I'm one proud lady!  Next time we will be moving up a level...

Special Olympics

I spent last weekend in Gainsville, GA at the Special Olympics with a local horse therapy group called Horsin' Around.  They borrowed a horse trailer but did not have access to a truck so I volunteered to haul their horses for the five hour drive. This was my first experience with therapy horses and their riders but it was wonderful!  The kids (actually, the athletes) really enjoyed showing off their horse skills and earning ribbons and medals.  We're already planning next year's trip!

 

All of the volunteers with the three athletes and two horses.  Many family members also came to cheer them on. (And many other volunteers helped to get them here)

 

Emily riding Zantana.  She earned a gold and a silver medal!

 

Joseph with Prince.  He earned a gold medal, a silver medal, and a fourth place ribbon!

 

Ralph earned a bronze medal and a fourth place ribbon on Prince!  Safety is always number one for therapy horses so each rider has at least one, if not more, volunteers with them in case they need help.

So many smiles, such a good weekend!

Anniversary Dinner

We celebrated our four year anniversary a little early this year (on Monday) due to both of our travel plans but it was as delicious as ever!  I can't believe it has already been four years...

The Last of the Garden Goodies

The garden has been winding down for the season although I'm still getting some okra and a few green beans.  My mom grew some popcorn for me this year and I picked it up while I was visiting. It is called Strawberry popcorn, for obvious reasons, and the seeds look almost like pomegranates once they are shelled.

 

Not only is it beautiful, it is also delicious!  Next year I hope to have room to grow more popcorn in my garden.

 

My mom also gave me some of her extra tomatoes and here they are with the last of the tomatoes from my garden.   All of these buckets turned into 92 cups of tomato juice!  And I turned that juice into six more batches of spaghetti sauce for the freezer, yum!

 

And finally, here is a flower that I rescued from a rental house called a spider lily.  It blooms every fall and is one of my favorites!

Horse Trailer Work

We were supposed to go camping in our new trailer this weekend but the iffy weather made us move our trip to next weekend.  In preparation for camping we have been madly tweaking and customizing the horse area as well as the camper area.  Last weekend we put up the backsplash on the kitchenette.  It was a true test of our measuring skills to get all of the outlet and cupboard cutouts the exact size and in the correct place!

 

Luckily, it all worked out.  We had to remove two of the top cupboards in order to put the backsplash up but that allowed us to reinstall the cupboards correctly.

 

After we reinstalled the cupboards we added a shelf for the microwave, an LED light strip under the shelf, and a kickplate on the bottom cupboards.  We also installed a piece of plywood as a temporary countertop until we can get exact measurements for the real one.  It's starting to look pretty fancy!  We will be adding one more upper cupboard on the right and then the counter top will match up with the other side of the fridge.

 

In the goose area, I made new curtains (they are horse fabric, hard to see in this pic) and new valences. Some day I plan to make a quilt bedspread out of my show ribbons but who knows when I'll get around to that. We will also be closing in the "nose" of the goose (the far end) in order to make a cabinet to store clothes.

 

We spent this weekend working on the horse area.  We removed all of the rubber floor mats, finished sanding down the metal floor, and then painted it with some protective epoxy.  Having a corrosion engineer around sure comes in handy!  Here Matthew paints on the primer.

 

And then the top coat: a nice plain gray color.  The paint was very odorous and slightly toxic so Matthew used his respirator for both coats and I stayed out of the way.

 

After the paint dried we replaced the mats and put everything back together.  Previously we added an extra set of hooks to the tack area and Matthew's coworkers did some welding work on the saddle rack for me.  Today I added a piece of pipe insulation under the wall to keep hay and other debris from sliding under the panels.