On Monday I almost didn’t go to the barn. I had a lot to do, and was feeling stressed. But… it was an absolutely perfect fall day – sunny but cool. I was so so so close to bailing (even had a text composed to Jean) but I rallied, told myself, “work will wait” and got in the car.
And I’m so glad I did. Jean and I were out on the trails by 9:15. Steen and Schooley were in fine form – both relaxed but energetic. We headed out the east side of Cathi’s land and briefly (unintentionally) trespassed on someone’s long, sloped driveway. On the way back down Schooley showed Steen how to settle into a relaxed, collected trot that doesn’t involve crow-hopping, snorting or spinning in circles.
From there we headed up the B road that passes between Cathi’s land and Jim’s land. When we reached a gate, we detoured onto the strip around a corn-field to the west and discovered a lovely new loop that I’m definitely going to add to my repertoire. The field is quite sloped but has a generous grassy margin all the way around. Jean and I circled the entire thing, scaring up both an owl and a red-tail hawk from the tall, encircling trees. On the way back up the hill we let the boys go, and they treated us to a lovely little lope back to the road.
Immediately after the run, Steen showed signs of settling right back down. But then we entered familiar territory and things deteriorated. He was quite prancy on the way home, but I was feeling too elated to mind.
We returned to the barn with huge smiles on our faces, and I gave Steen lots of extra rubs and pets. I have no photos to add to this post, but nevertheless it’s not a ride I will soon forget.