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June 18, 2021: Duly Noted, Again

I have a good friend who last summer purchased an Icelandic and then went to Washington State and brought him home. He turned out to be a wonderful horse, kind, gentle, intelligent. I thought that her primary interest was going to be trail riding, but it has turned out to be dressage. This summer, at least, trail riding is taking a backseat to arena-based competition.

In a way, this is a good thing because it could make this gelding a more responsive trail horse. Could. This is the nicest summer we’ve had in years, and the owner of this horse has been putting


Vickie on Hunner

considerable time, energy, and money into preparing for, and competing, at what’s known as the training level. So, I am wondering, if she’s not trail riding now, will she do this in the future?

A long time ago I had another friend, Vicki, and after trail riding for a bit, she took to taking lessons and doing arena-based training and competition, just like this other friend is doing. I remember that one year, she opted out of doing the competitive trail ride so that she could do a jumping clinic in Homer, Alaska. And when she went on trail rides, she focused on doing arena work.

Me, I would take lessons and I would do dressage if I lived near an arena and found an instructor who had centered riding training. But I don’t have access to either. So instead, most days are like today – I rode for five hours, on local trails, on four differing horses.

Some horsey trail users would chaff at the prospect of riding the same trails most of the time. And yes, if I had my druthers, I’d be on a long trip this summer. Instead, I’m home based.

I don’t find riding our trails boring at all. In fact, I feel rather fortunate in that I am now so familiar with the surrounding landscape. The wild roses and geraniums are now in full bloom, the dandelions are on their way out. The cranberry bushes have white bushy flowers. The ferns are now totally unfurled, there are several kinds. Today I noticed that the newly born grouse babies are out and about. Several times, mothers walked in front of my horses, pretending they had broken wings. How, I wonder, did this particular survival mechanism come to be? The horses didn’t care because the birds weren’t flying directly in their faces.

I think the horses enjoy the familiarity, though, like me, they’d also welcome getting out on other trails.

I did exchange words with two young guys who came barreling up behind me, on their dirt bikes. They were going really fast – fortunately, Hrimmi did not spook. They just don’t understand why anyone would be bothered by the noise they make, and as well, the dangerous situation they put non-motorized trail users in.

And I couldn’t help but think – the grouse, moose, and birds, they don’t like the noise either. The thing is, they expend energy, in attempting to get away from the source, energy they need to sustain life. Eliminate them, and you change the ecological dynamics of the area.

I’m sure my concerns would be different if I’d decided to spend my summer preparing for and competing in arena-based shows. Lucky me, fate and circumstance have again shook hands. I get the best of all worlds.

Next: 169. 6/18/21: Early to Bed, Early to Rise. . .

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