Today, back to living the semi-monastic lifestyle. It felt good, to resume the old routines. I first worked on The Gift of a Good Ride – it is coming along quickly because I know the subject matter well. The first chapter is going to provide the framework for the rest of the book.

I printed up a copy of When You Come to a Fork in the Road Pick it Up. I have to finish it. I will spend time working on both books rather than finish one and then do the other. Otherwise, one of the other will remain unfinished.

Yesterday evening Raudi knocked me over coming out of the gate and I fell backwards and smashed the back of my head against

the ground. For a short while I thought that I might have a concussion. I then thought not, but today my neck hurt. I did some body work after writing and it felt much better.

I spent the afternoon doing agility and riding the horses. This month’s agility course is very challenging – it definitely indicates to me what the horses do and don’t know. They all need work on turning on the forehand and hindquarters, and Tyra and Hrimmi need work on sidepassing. I am not one hundred percent sure what cues I should give them, so tonight I am going to read up on this.

The rides were the high point of my day. I first took Raudi out and ponied Tinni on the Lower Loop trail, Peaches Loop, and the Tin Can trail. I am pleased – Raudi came through the CTR in excellent condition, which really was my goal. I did well by having opted to ride her in the competitive pleasure division. And Tinni did a good job of keeping up with her. He didn’t stop once, and he moved out nicely when we cantered on Raudi’s Runway.

Pete next rode Hrimmi and I rode Tyra. I made an equally good decision in having decided not to ride Tyra in the CTR, and instead, do groundwork with her. She’s agile, balanced, fairly confident, and extremely trail savvy. And she is not at all bad ass, which is something I encouraged in doing the Intrinzen ground work. My thinking is that she’s being cooperative because she feels good, mentally and physically. Horses that act out when they have riders on them generally have physical issues.

It used to be that I rode because I felt obligated to do so. I forced myself to do this, hoping that someday I would feel less fearful. As I told my friend Fran in an email: finally, I am no longer apprehensive and in fact now look forward to riding. This, I added, was a long time in coming.

Such a great day. I later realized that Pete, by opting to work outside the home but not requiring me to do so, has given me the gift of time. Today is indicative of what I am doing with this time, but would not be doing if he had not given me this gift.

Next: 232. 8/21/18: Rain, Rain, Go Away