New horse, new farm and baby on the way!

I suppose when one doesn't post for almost a year, there's a lot to cover. My husband and I bought a farm, added another horse and we're in the process of adding a baby to the mix!

Al was a rock star last year and hunted at least weekly. We joined Green Spring Valley Hounds and discovered some of the most beautiful territory you could imagine, well and thoroughly paneled. There are definitely a few jumps that put my heart in my throat! Like that stone filled one that I didn't realize was several feet deep with a drop on the other side until I was on top of it. Yee haw! Al's still a bit green, but I was very proud of his performance this year. He was bold and forgiving, and even though I had a couple of unplanned dismounts, they were either rider error (got caught tired and not anticipating the hard left after that downhill coop, oops) or in one case, very bad footing. That one is a story unto itself seeing as I managed to remove the entire bridle on my way down. Luckily we were both uninjured. "LOOSE HORSE!!"

Below Al and I at the end of 2013-2014 season joint meet at EHHC.

I picked up a 4 year old at Finger Lakes last year to bring along named Rosie (Ten Purposes). She is a big girl and seemed very underdeveloped, so I threw her out for a year to grow up a bit more and I intended to start her on hound walks this fall. She's a total sweetheart and super laid-back. Not a great mover in the traditional sense but catty and knows where her feet are on hills and uneven terrain. It's really fun to watch her twinkle toe dance around the pasture while Al and Rosie thunder along like buffalo.

Now, I find myself three months pregnant and not too enthused about working with a greenie at this point so it looks like she'll have another year to fill out. She's at least 16.2 maybe 16.3 and deceptively large. When you see her in the field she looks like a pony. Get up next to her or see her standing next to Al and her size is striking. She's a pretty liver chestnut the fine, fine color of dirt! My "I hit the snooze button too many times" or muddy day hunt horse. Wish I had some better recent photos, but here she is:

My barn is going up next month and I couldn't be more excited! Three stall center aisle with loft and tack room and tons of storage. Next up, tilling up the sacrifice paddock to even it out and planting grass to have a bit of a ring to work in. I'll get some photos up when it's finished.

I had Roxy looked over by another vet to see if there was anything we might be able to do for her hocks. He suspects it might have been a fracture that caused the sudden arthritis and referred me to a Dr. Spurlock. I'm waiting a bit longer until my stalls are ready before I take her in since there could be a surgical option that would require stall rest. She's been enjoying her last 2 years of early retirement. She's pasture sound for now but if I could get her back to hunting sound... well, wish me luck!

From Race Track to First Field

Al's been doing great this year. He's hunting first field now and getting braver every week. He stands at the checks like a pro, worries a bit at reversals but keeps his cool and slaloms through the trees with the best of them. He's getting much lighter in my hands as he's learning that his job now is to stay in the back and be a gentleman. This is not the Derby. We had a great day at Station Road a couple of weeks ago. There was a tricky combination over a fallen tree coming out of the stream and we took it beautifully. The scenting conditions were great in the still air and misty rain. Sir Reynard was seen fleeing over a hill and the hounds worked at finding him again for quite some time until eventually sending him to ground in a rocky hill face.

Here we are with Orange County during the Junior Field Hunter Championships Qualifier. We brought down a Junior and enjoyed a gorgeous day of hunting. Those ring-necked hounds are something else! Their stamina and game was a sight to behold.

 

Roxy was diagnosed with severe arthritis this fall. She was on the mend after an IRAP treatment and then got her shoulder caught on an exposed gate hinge. She's almost recovered from that so I hope to take her out to hunt at some point this year. This photo is from a hunter pace back in Missouri. Maryland is closer to home but I sure miss everyone back in St. Louis!

Work on the house is coming along. I haven't had a change to paint anything more than drywall and trim recently. Some day I'll get back to it and post something other than horse pictures.

New Dreams

Well hello, gorgeous! Al Amir is the newest addition to my family. He had suffered a minor tendon strain in his last race and his trainer decided to retire him sound to another career. Al is 16.2 1/2hh and six years old. After his lay up he'll be in training to be a fox hunter and I'd like to start eventing as well. He's a big-boned boy with a ton of potential. He's pretty laid back for a fresh OTTB but he does have his explosive moments. For now he's on stall rest with hand walking twice a day. Getting up at 5am is a whole lot easier when there's a tall, dark and handsome man whickering for your attention! More photos of Al here on Photobucket.

Fine Art

Below are some examples of my acrylics on canvas. The first two were done as gifts for close friends of mine. I was asked about commissions at the time and I refused since I didn't have the time between my job and riding. Now that I have the time off I'd be willing again to consider doing a commissioned work.

I've started some work in oils and look forward to posting some finished art soon.

Lucy 22" x 28"

Kate 22" x 28"

Roxy & Lucian 36" x 48"

Tally Ho!

After months of frigid weather and mud that has cancelled the hunt for weeks we finally got a break. There was even a small patch of blue sky fighting through the clouds this morning! You don't know how welcome that was.



The hounds worked well even in the poor scenting conditions. They chased a gray fox for awhile and seemed to be picking up several other trails. Keeping them in sight meant several hours of slaloming through trees, galloping down roads, jumping fences and waiting patiently while they cast about for the scent. This is only my first season of fox hunting, and for the uninformed, no we don't really kill anything. Usually the hunts aren't this fast but the field was small today, only myself and one other very good rider (not counting four Whips and the Huntsman), and the hounds were on a line for most of the time. These are my favorite hunts, and my horse's favorite, too. Roxy loves to run. We both do. There is nothing quite like the feeling of the wind whipping against your face as the grounds blurs by in a thunder of hoof beats. There is no greater trust than that which a rider places in their horse navigating a tricky piece of ground at speed. All of this against a background of gorgeous country and the music of 30 foxhounds in full cry streaking across a field.

The footing was actually very good in spite of the steady rains we've had. The harvested soybean fields were just frozen enough to stay firm and not too hard and the only mud to be had was near the bottom of the valleys where the runoff had washed through. We covered 13.1 miles, most of it over the same ground several times. I think the foxes have learned that the cliff near the natural bridge is a great place to confuse the hounds. It was nearly the same pattern they ran at our Opening Hunt.

If you've ever thought about trying out fox hunting, please contact the Secretary of your nearest hunt. In general I've found everyone to be so welcoming and helpful. I thought it would be difficult to join or maybe snobbish but that hasn't been my experience at all. It's the most fun I've ever had on a horse!