I left the house about 7:30 this morning with the intention of getting to the ranch early which would leave enough time to get the horses out and ride if the weather held, and go through the trailer and pack it up for the show.
All didn't go according to schedule, but we did accomplish what we set out to do.
The drive (both ways) was uneventful, with no rain at all until I got to San Juan Bautista which is only 5 miles from the ranch. Wouldn't you know it. But by the time I pulled in to the ranch the rain had stopped. Sharon arrived 1 minute after I got out of the car. We looked around and the place was deserted. No truck, no cars, no trailer. Hmmmmm. Wonder where everyone was?
We decided to pull our boys out of their stalls and give them a good brushing and see what was what when we were done. Last weekend we hadn't even taken them out, so it was extra nice to spend that time with them. I love grooming, and I'm sure Blu enjoys it too. Who wouldn't like getting their hair brushed and an all over body rub?! (Writing that makes me want to schedule a massage.....)
When we were done grooming there still wasn't anyone around so we put the boys on the hot walker and went to check out the arena. We took about 5 steps into the arena and squished. Yikes. If WE were sinking in, imagine what the horses would do to the footing!?! The upper arena fencing was down (in preparation for cattle) so that, too, was out. Drat. But we made the best of it. Sharon and I pulled up a couple chairs and sat watching the horses on the hot walker while we chatted and made plans for the shows. Very nice. Very relaxing.
After a bit we heard the dogs barking and looked up to see Todd's truck and trailer coming down the driveway. Yay!
The weather still looked very unsettled so we left the horses on the hot walker for a bit longer. We got to work straightening out the trailer in preparation for the show. That meant we pulled everything out of the tack area, sorted it all, cleaned what we could, then re-packed. It looked very neat and tidy when we were finished. We talked about taking a picture because we knew it wouldn't look that way for long. But we just laughed instead.
We chatted with Todd for a bit and decided that even though the arenas were unavailable we could still get on and cruise around on the driveway. So we did!
I (just happened to have my phone in my pocket) snapped a photo of Sharon and Nazz.
At the very end of the driveway on the right side is Snickers the Llama (I don't think he's in the picture though). Snickers likes to run up and down the paddock fence, and if you've never seen a Llama run, let's just say they look "odd" and catch your eye. So it wasn't a surprise that both Blu and Nazz checked him out when they first saw him. But they quickly got used to him.
We walked, jogged and loped up and down the driveway a bunch of times. It's good to do different things so the horses aren't expecting the "same old/same old" every time they get saddled. And it's good for us, too. It was actually pretty cool and I even had another "ah ha" moment when Todd suggested that I listen for Blu dragging his hooves and use that as a trigger to know when I needed to work on collection. It brought to mind the times I'd watched Blu drag his hooves in the arena and stir up lots of dust. It didn't click then that if he was dragging his hooves then he wasn't as collected as he should be.
Now it did click!
Blu watching Nazz down the driveway
With a short but sweet ride under our belts, and the trailer packed for the Santa Rosa show, Sharon and I were ready to hit the road.
The drive home was beautiful - windows down enjoying the fresh air (though it was 60 degrees)
Next up - The Golden Gate Arabian Show in Santa Rosa. Laura and I will be the only clients there - three horses: Echo, Sebastian and my boy Blu. It's supposed to rain all week. Let's hope the weather forecasters are wrong and its clear Thursday through Sunday!
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