Grounded And Doing Two Very Different Things

"Do you remember my old pony Trusty? Do you remember the Christmas tree farm?"  Jill was nodding enthusiastically while a riding buddy from long ago reminisced.  They'd just run into each other at the event, and had not seen each other for about a decade! "Do you remember when I fell off him at it and Katie laughed at me?"  Jill laughed, anew, shaking her head.  What a wonderful coach they had all shared then.

Jill had lost track of this riding buddy so many moons ago.  Around the time her older brother had died in an avalanche, as he travelled out west, Because the horse she'd been riding then got moved to another stable by its owner, all Jill could really remember was how the remarkable young woman had been beautiful in the way she'd handled all that grief.

She still had that pleasant spirit and vibe of content, in all her potically successful and all-growed-up-now-ness.  What a wonderful surprise to meet again!

"Right now I am looking for the tallest man on the property to tell him for dressage he is riding the smallest pony on the property, ha.  This is quite the show, no?"
*
She'd never told anyone before how the first time they'd met his hand shook in hers, and he said he'd read her blogs...  She'd been surprised to see him there and he said he thought her new hair was very dramatic.  And, they'd hugged somehow, for some reason.


Reliving their brief discussion  afterwards reignited a crush on him. Jill remembered the day he'd said, in discussion of horse slaughter and the consumption of horse meat, something like "asking me to eat my horse would be an equivalent of asking me to eat my spouse."

This comment lead Jill to assume he had one, a spouse, and that she must squelch her interest in him.  But on show grounds she was thinking, wouldn't it be nice if she were mistaken? ha.
*
She wrote her friend that she wanted to go to Lexington for the next big show and stay a week sooooooo bad.  Even if she couldn't get into the competitions to spectate at the horse park.  "Who knows, I might meet the love of my life there."

*
The bird she was babysitting seemed unable to clasp her finger properly with his foot, but she couldn't really remember how it felt when the owner showed her how.  Jill could see why she'd scoffed when she assured "Oh no, he does not fly."

Jill had two days off on her calendar for hanging around resting at home in the entire upcoming month.  And now the landlord needed to show the real estate agent around on one of them -  including a photo shoot and rearranging the furniture.  Relexaing eh?  At least she found her roomie's runaway hamster in the nick of time, ha...


"In the continuing saga of my insane family, my sister is now mad at me because I won't take her dog to my aunt's Easter party. She can't go but thinks the dog shouldn't be deprived a part in the festivities." Roomie's welcome as she came home, bursting in the front door made Jill laugh.  "You just can't make up this sh*t."  

Jill was on a tear too, she wanted a motorcycle.  Probably not a sport bike, and probably not a Harely either...  how about some kind of Honda from the 80's? Could you do that lane sharing thing in Canada? It seemed so romantic!

A Ride To Remember

As Jill met her mount for the ride, and offered an apple by way of introduction, she listened to the guide outline their plan.  Jill really respected that her riding buddy of the day told her she would not be allowed to canter their first time out together. It was better safe than sorry... She also admired the whistle on her fellow rider's fanny pack and was glad to be instructed to bring her cell phone.

Jill was glad to need little instruction beyond that, despite the unique nature of the Paso Fino breed of horse.  The saddle was so comfortable and the little horse so responsive!  She was taught the aids and footfall of the Corto and Largo they'd been doing all around the fields and forests. Her buddy was an interesting woman and conversationalist as well as an actual peer in the saddle.  What a delight!


They even road over concrete and wood like they do at shows so you can HEAR the horses gait - Jill was in love with horses you ride for their sound!  What a blast. There seemed to be a never-ending myriad of trails through the conservation area.


After they had been riding together for hours, they came upon a bunch of apple trees and stuffed their pockets as well as snacked a bit.  The next part of the journey started with entry into a big, big open field with obvious tree line. To her surprise, Jill was invited to canter all the way around, while her host trained her horse to wait and relax etc. It took forever!  It was awesome!  What a good horse. So fast and ready but not spooky, even in a strong canter alone around an open field! She couldn't get over it. So smooth too!

What a lovely ride. The whole thing. Jill just couldn't stop raving.  As a LIFETIME horse enthusiast, one of the best rides of your life doesn't come around every day.

At one point they went into the lake, with their legs bent back as high as possible and let the horses walk up til the water was saddle high. Jill wanted to swim, but she didn't want wet pants for 3 hours after the ride, so she restrained her mount. Drag...

Her lovely guide and host told her about swimming the night before, barefoot, bikini'd and bareback by the light of the full moon. Can you imagine???  Jill wanted that kind of access and that kind of life so badly... maybe wishes would come true.

Show Goals

When she picked up her numbers and registration package at the show, the lady asked if she was a junior or senior, and so she made jokes about what a success the day had been already.

*

His owner had him all tacked up and he warmed up nicely on the plateau, even giving good canter work and NOT trying to take off. he did however keep jumping the track, every time they were supposed to just cross it.

*

He must have got stung by a bee while they approached for their turn to go in, because he suddenly took a twitchy fit, shaking his skin like crazy and flipping his head and even doing a weird-totally-unlike-him buck, as they trotted around the dressage ring.

As they entered down the centre line he was crooked and not on the bit. when they halted he backed up several steps and then thankfully the test got better instead of worse. There were even a few nice moments. and besides, the goal of the phase was to "just get around."

They were BOTH looking forward to crosscountry!!!

*

Desperate Times?

Sis had a friend who had been having seizures since the accident.  She was staying with him in hospital until his family could be there.  His sister had refused to sponsor him, refused to take financial responsibility for his potential medical bills or long term care, because she was selfish and greedy...  Or so he'd felt.  She didn't want her own financial well-being caught up in her brother's high-risk lifestyle, and illnesses.  Roomie's sis didn't know who would be coming to care for him or when.  Jill was frightened for them and felt unable to help.

They were eating up tinned of preserved foods instead of grocery shopping to lighten the impending burden of moving.  It was too hot to go to yoga, and it seemed to Jill she'd misread a friend's interest in her anyway.  She was happy to stay hidden in the coolness of home...

*

"So, at horse camp did you invent crafts about horses?" asked the woman Jill was asking to co-host a horse themed art event on her property. "No,"Jill replied a little too truthfully, we would just make cards for our mothers for whatever holiday season it was or whatever." 

She didn't add how much she liked it when some of the camper sweethearts worked on their seasonal art-card and then presented it to HER, at the end of arts and crafts... she STILL had quite a collection.

*

Roomie was also walking down memory lane.  "Would you believe the VP of the Horse Trials Association let ME put his daughter on a pony for the very first time? I guess they didn't know any better then, ha ha. She evented right up the ranks as I recall... and, his son rode at the very beginning too. I remember those days very well."

Long Shots

chunky egg salad
with broc and kholrabi
in collard green wrap

Jill wanted to keep penguin ducks in the yard, but Roomie wasn't keen. Would she change her mind like she had softened about a drum kit? To keep her warm to the ideas, Jill was fielding the messages from the repairman about repair calls that didn't make any sense - the rad in the living room vs. ALL the rads etc.

Jill's co-volunteer wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise. "Wait a minute, you jump? You jump?" She didn't get the big deal. She wanted to TELL the big deal...

Jill was relieved and pleased when the rockstar remembered her, by name, and even the fact that she had left town for a horse thing!

The student felt hard done by because all she ever got from her parents was a ride to the barn. Jill was miffed. A ride to a(ny) barn was basically exactly what SHE needed.

The teacher that the farm owner said on the phone was good, was criticized by the very same person, the very same day, in front of every one for her nonsensical lesson plans for reinback and turn on the forehand.  What Jill had noticed about the lesson plan however was that the instructions were in fact, worse than poorly delivered, they were incorrect. And that the instructor was feeding the horses skittles in the barn, instead of embodying the no-hand-feeding rule for the students.

Normandy, Normandy, Normandy...

another stolen photo hoping for trouble?

Roomie was imitating one of her older students, telling her mom a 'funny' story about her new roommate in residence lighting the kitchen on fire. With really big flames. The poor woman Jill agreed, having to hear it...


Jill did a rendition of one her favourite students, who that fall, went into grade three french immersion, and was excitedly chatting about her 3 new teachers Madame this and Madame that "and Madame Everybody?" Jill had interupted, jealous."I like school" the talented young rider had replied defensively."Oh ya? Well how do you say NERD in french???"

A yoga date sounds great, but what if you ran into another person you were dating while out with someone else?  Jill wasn't sure she could handle the scene.  Or, how to...

The good news of the day was, the scalloped turnips were worth eating!  Especially thrown together with the greens, from the nite before, ha.

She had the idea of volunteering in a horse role On The Brain,  and couldn't wait for a few of her other volunteer projects to wrap up.

When would she get paid for ANYThing?

Enough Horsing Around?

whole wheat pasta salad (turtle beans,
garlic and sundried tomato dressing)

Roomie was raised to want to be a married stay at home mom as her #1 life choice. It was as a #2 success her family had finally accepted her success as a divorced bank executive. Nowadays, she was back to being the starving artistic blacksheep. she worried about her mom dealing with her dad all on her own. 

Reading back old journals Jill was re-fed up that the repair guy had arranged to wake her up extra early on Christmas Eve for yet more boiler fun. 

And that every year at the gymkhana, she re-realized her mentor pretty much rigged the musical sacks game to balance out the ribbons of the day.


She was a bit smitten by the bike photos the celebrity was posting on facebook, but in his likes he had Lord Byron? Come on.  He also mentioned "our" horses and being out fixing fences on the farm.


Jill thought it would be nice to watch the L-word, finally.  Should she rent it?  She knew the actress in her youth, had dreamed of becoming a jockey when she grew up.


Roomie liked it that about the guy that he liked feeding people.  And how he focused on Organic food that doesn't allow synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, GMOs, growth hormones, radiation and sewage sludge.  They all agreed about promoting biodiversity and protecting the health of the soil, water and air.  Over dinner they discussed ethical business practices, co-operative values, innovation, financial responsibility, quality and education.


But not enough about horses!

Politics of Priviledge

garlic scapes, green onions, kale stems, sesame seeds and olive oil w/turnip greens

Even in a depression baby, you'll never go hungry."  The character in the Woody Allen Jill was watching was being complimented about her appearance, and it resonated with Jill.  Was it true for her? Surely some perks from her own appearance were priviledge that she should have acknowledged at the Anti-Oppression round table she'd recently attended on campus.  Then again, a song she'd been working on lately was currently entitled the pretty girl lament, about the landlord not just asking for rent...

Roomie had a similar conundrum and realized she had to tell the prof she'd been trying to enjoy that she could no longer accept his friendship.  She needed people to be nice to her, and wanted for once in life to be able to receive, but in this case he was reading too much into any time they spent together or her acceptance of his generosity... he was hoping for romance that she found unappealing.  She had to turn down dinner, in order to be a decent person, despite the fact that she was hungry?

Pairs dressage?  She'd never heard a p'as des deux referred to that way before, but Jill assumed that was what the musician was referring to when he discussed his background with horses!

She was miffed that the pony club moms cancelled out on her.  She'd turned down other work to book their lessons, for which she would now go unpaid.  Did she need to create some kind of up-front payment schedule with a cancellation fee? How unappealing!

She pined for one of her favourite students of days gone by. The little girl she taught once, filling in for the official instructor at the stable where she was riding. A kid who had never been able to get the school pony to go around the outside of the sand ring, let alone in trot, and who wanted only to walk, and to be in the arena etc. etc. etc. Jill had been so gratified that day, when the timid, tiny blond finally put the rotten pony in its place and solved the attempt to tug the reins out of her hands and run in the middle. "VERY GOOD!" she'd cheered, then instructed "Now, put both your your hands in the air and say whoo hoo!" The child looked at her in disbelief, posting in rhythm to the pony's trot, and Jill put her hands on her hips. Surprising her, the kid did do it and as Jill laughed, all the parents watching this lesson instead of their own children's, applauded from the edge of the ring. And then the pony tried the naughty trick again, lowering its head and veering in toward the teacher, and the kid gathered up her reins instantly, gave the beast a kick along with a tug on the outside rein, and continued trotting around the track.

Jill missed teaching.

even better mixed with
scalloped turnips

Faves

When Jill stopped in to drop off her resume, the owner splained her  "Around here we refer to barn rats and we mean the teenagers that work at the stable. Mice are the smaller kids that aspire. And, PARENTS aren't even allowed in the barn."
*
Jill was reading about how the sealing of food in glass jars started in 1809, followed by the invention of refrigerated rail-cars a few decades later.  Home refrigerators became popular in the 20's, which was followed by refrigerated planes bringing produce from around the world year round.  Jill was striving for a lifestyle that reconnected to the joy of eating in season and what it really means to live off the land and the true journey of the harvest.
*



At her usual fill-in, Jill football-coached a boy who was crying, reprimanding him "cowboys don't complain about that stuff, they find a way to minimize the pain and while they ride on! As a rider you must toughen up and you rest your sore parts, in motion, WHILE you keep working" and, her tone switched the student from sad and whiney to mad and he got the red devil pony trotting. Almost cantering. "That is terrific!" Jill beamed and jumped up down in the centre of the arena.
*

Yet Another Test Post

It was a shocking drive out of town, because of the storm the night before.  Jill felt very lucky.


"I think you're jumpy around whips, buddy, that's what I think." Jill finished doing up the bridle, with a crop under her arm. "You know what a good strategy around that is? Don't need a smack, okay?"

She was setting out with a mission in mind and carrying a crop made a world of difference. They had a good walk down the driveway together beforehand. First they trotted thru the puddles no fuss, no muss, if not quite straight or rthymical... then, they got to walk about back along the junk pile behind the barns. There was a rusted out upside down car near the telephone pole, and hills! And, a couple logs lying around! they rode back and forth along the fence line a couple times. just walking and seeing what they could see, in the misty rain.

Back in the barn, Jill reported that they'd had a good ride. Not only was it a first time without a battle thru the puddles on bridge on the driveway, but they'd walked over a log back there a few times." The first time he walked it with his front legs and jumped with the hind, the next time, he leapt with all four feet over a bigger part.

It was good for them to go walking in the rain. Through the puddles and past the junk and walking the odd log. uphill, downhill, both directions.

"Saddle therapy," she'd said, meaning for both of them.

Faith and a Date for Coffee

Disappointments kept mounting, instead of Jill.

Roomie said she should have taken the $1,000 the mechanic suggested for the car when she could. Lately the best offer she could find was $276. Jill thought she probably needed to try a bit harder. Had she really done her best?

Jill had snooped around and found out that Tronas' grandfather was a vegetable farmer and that the farm evolved into a dairy operation with the next generation, with horses as a side project only. It was also becoming more clear that he had a girlfriend, fiancee no less, but some part of her wouldn't ask when she had the chance to find out for sure, so weird pipe dreams continued in the back of her mind. Things change right? ha.

The woman she'd interviewed with that morning had a rescue chesnut Quarter Horse that could use riding, but Jill liked the look of the not-so-nice-to-ride-anti-dressage dappled grey better... her riding helmet was in the car and she'd worn pants not shorts on the hot, hot day in hopes that were chatted away over two hours by the woman with no time to ride. And no budget for riders either. Jill didn't think she would be able to bike 15km to ride a horse or two and then ride 15km home again. Especially unpaid, ha.

But, why couldn't they have had the whole entire conversation on horseback? Surely the kids could be babysat by the ponies? Or so Jill liked to wish since she had used a car that day and had driven out and had imagined riding at least with the kids!

All the talk about the animal communicator had spooked her a bit anyway.

The guy who wasn't plugged into the spiritual network afterall wrote back to Jill "I think it's great that you want to explore for yourself. Also let me put it out there right now, if it's not your thing, that's ok; no one will expect anything of you when you show up. People are each meant to find their own truth, and the best anyone can do is help you look. :)"

Roomie had bought a bed for future delivery and was waiting for someone special to christen it. She said she was surprised she liked the wrinkles on the recent date's face, especially one on his left eyelid, that was deeper when he grinned. He was smart and handsome but she had to strain through the entire date to hear his drab voice across the table... he said he'd like to use her kin pass for the folk festival but that if she found a better date candidate that was okay with him too...

Teamwork

tabouli with black eyed peas in collard greens

No doubt she was sulking because he wasn't there. and because even when he was, she wasn't the centre of the cowboy's attention, but, Jill would be glad when they were living in a barn with better ventilation. Or, even spending more time outdoors. It would do the horses good to live more like horses...

There was a board down INSIDE the paddock they go out in. she'd forgot to check it for nails and write a note about it when she got back to the barn.
*
The problem (sometimes) with thoroughbreds is, the more you work them, the hotter they get. Jill was secretly a bit glad the little guy was not all that interested in his oats...
She was disappointed when he refused to walk the log. When he scurried toward it, she actually ended up turning him away and then represented officially from a trot. And, he was so hard to stop after that, she decided the better of practicing the walk over the log exercise any more that day.  It was supposed to be   q u i e t   work.  He'd just had his shoes pulled. the idea was to do a lot of walking right now and slowly toughen up his poor footies.

The truth was that Jill was just as excited as the little bay to go galloping. she really had the urge! They worked on turns on the forehand (which, of course, he rushed and moved his front feet during) She concentrated on sitting erect, correctly. and thought a lot of about her hand and his bit.

Her favourite part of the whole ride might have been when he stomped the tiny mud mound in the middle of the deepest puddle they walked through. It was an official, well directed stomp! It was very muddy water and you couldn't see the bottom of the puddle and that little ridge really did look like an alligator head...   Remembering hacks of her past, she could see how her mount's judgement in some cases would be actually, rather valid. she also decided in case of any such real interaction, she really wanted that pony on her side. ha!

Time Travel

From the list left on the dining room table, it looked like roomie was giving herself the rest of the week, between her teaching assignments, to
[ ] get the bookkeeping for 6 years of taxes for 3 different businesses forwarded to the accountant
[ ] buy a bed for delivery to the new place
[ ] book the movers, truck and moving date
[ ] plan the house-closing and the house-warming "open studio" parties
[ ] digitize the huge binder of site surveys

[ ] storyboard the short film, book filiming dates

[ ] record some cover songs and make charts for a new jam buddy 

[ ] SELL the gas guzzler jalopy

Seeing it, Jill felt bad for feeling frazzled for her weekly project load.  She had 4 pony club students that needed 4 lessons before the show in two Sundays, on top of her school work, choirs, office job duties and job interviews.  Instead of making an appt with eye doctor and dermatologist like she intended, she replied to the email,  "Almost like a camp! How about Friday Monday Wednesday and Friday at 11am?  Who's farm?"

What she really wanted to be doing was learning how to grow food, and cook it and preserve it and such.  It really freaked her out to realize that 60% of our existing farms were at risk of disappearing in the next 10 years.  And that the remaining agricultural lands were to be managed by immigrants and others from non-farm backgrounds.  Jill even wanted to feed the soil!  Because she had studied how treating the soil well leads to improved crop quality.

Despite having three really nice dates with three really nice guys in the last week, Jill vowed to forgo repeat social outings until things were quieter...  she had her dreams of Tronas to keep her company afterall.

And when would she find herself some time to find herself a horse buddy for some training rides?

A Natural Rhythm

chicken 'n rice w/kohlrabi and carrots

"There is no reason to rush..."  Jill couldn't even believe her own text.  She was in discussion to set up an interview that thrilled her, but she was trying to enjoy each moment of anticipation and take it slowly.


Tronas Tronas Tronas, she'd deleted his email and so now couldn't even see his profile picture.  But, his name kept a rhythm in her head while she walked across town with her earbuds playing cowboy songs: sad ones, shocking ones, funny ones, smooth ones, lively ones... there was such an abundance and she was glad to be able to take them in, so privately.  In her new secret mindset they were All New, lol.
*
Jill found the weekend lessons very satisfying.  She was filling in for one of the other teachers, plus doing her own.  They proved to her how there is a niche in horseland for the very patient teachers of the very basics.   The nervous nellies that drive in from so far away were ready to get back off and go back to the barn (and never ride again) after Bugs bucked and cantered down the long side as a frisky joke the FIRST time she asked him to trot... he responded overzealously to the teacher's command no allowing the student any influence at all!

Jill knew she had salvaged the rest of class when they asked if she would please always from now on be their teacher. They said they were flattered when she corrected the way they said whoa, and it "restored their enthusiasm for the sport".


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