Oh, summer isn’t officially over. Season-wise, we have a few weeks to go. And if we consider the hot temperatures we have had this week and my mini-heat stroke I had today at my son’s football game, I am thinking summer might be around for a little while longer. Did you see the “blue moon” last night?
Except for the daylight hours being less, fall has always been my favorite time to ride. Sweatshirt weather, Cowgirl Weekend and the leaves crunching under the hooves along the trail. Not so surprisingly, I also think about losing Ginger last September. Its almost been a year and I still can’t believe she is gone. Someday I am going to tell you all about Ginger; give her a proper goodbye. But I can’t yet. Even these few sentences were hard. I miss her so much.
We’ve had Fancy for almost a year now. I’m smiling again because she makes me. I always thought of Windy as the baby of our herd, but Fancy is half Windy’s age. I love watching her playfulness and youth and surprisingly her bravado among the herd. She doesn’t know a pecking order exists; she just flits around wherever she choses. And she is just as cute as a button. The other morning I stopped the car by the pasture just to watch her play. She was in her own little world, bucking and rearing.
Is she a match for John? I don’t know. When I come in from the barn and tell him Fancy stories, she makes him smile, too. But not in the same way Ginger did. Ginger made his heart race. I am sure he appreciates Fancy’s lackadaisical attitude on the trail and being able to ride next to others; something that Ginger wasn’t too keen on. But I also know he misses the fire. Fancy would have been best suited for me and about a dozen of my women friends who just want a nice, quiet horse. Perhaps when I picked her out for him I was looking too much for me. But in the end, she’s a keeper and we are both very fond of her.
On another note, there are still 47 of the original 74 riders actively participating in the Distance Derby as we head into fall. I’ve already logged more hours and miles than I usually do in a year. I hope by the end of September, I will have made it into the “Millennium Club”; 1,000 miles.
This next weekend is our 3rd Annual Trail Challenge, hosted by the Nebraska Horse Trails Committee. About 50 riders negotiating some fun and challenging trail obstacles; always a good time and a great fundraiser for horse trails in our state.
Then, its Cowgirl Weekend time! It’s my 10th year of being invited to this fun weekend put on by my good friend, Kathy. It morphed last year from a weekend to a week-long event for a few of us. It is a time to relax with our horses and be a little silly with our friends. It’s more than a camping trip; its an event. I have always been impressed that a couple dozen women could get together without being catty bitches. I guess horses makes us kinder and gentler or when it stops for some people, they move on. For me, it’s a holiday.
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Cowgirl weekend looks like a blast. Have a great time. Fall is my favorite time of year too.
ReplyDeleteYou'll always miss Ginger but grief will get better with time. It's been five years and I still think about Erik all the time. They are such a big part of our lives.