Howdy from the Head Horse Chick,
The majority of the horses have enjoyed a 4-month, well-deserved rest. Picasso, however, was not overly impressed with his wintertime duties. He spent the season at Karen Kafka’s, down in Chandler (wait for it…) as a DRESSAGE horse! Who could ever believe that our Picasso would have the grace, form and athletic prowess to perform extended trots and lateral movements?! Dressage, AKA horse ballet, is not for the faint of horse hearts, but he made the transition with relative ease. Upon his arrival back at FPC, my jaw almost hit the floor — Picasso came back with withers! And, I must admit, the winter exercise had done his formerly beefy form a world of good. Still the same old Picasso, just in a much more compact package.
Hombre too, spent the winter in Chandler. He has been leased to a little girl who absolutely adores him. Her delicate and frequent grooming sessions have made him look ten years younger.
There have been some improvements made around the horse areas. The corrals have been dragged and a brand new shelter has been erected. We’re hoping that it’ll provide our precious herd some protection from the winter snows and summer sun. We also “pony-proofed” the Mules and Ponies Arena and converted the original shed into a shelter. The miniatures love their new playground. They spent a solid 24 hours lapping the arena at top speed.
After a few days in the valley, I returned to find that the arena was not quite 100% pony-proof. One of the Shetland ponies (my money was on Joy) had escaped. Not once, but twice! In my opinion, the thought of Kevin and Michael outsmarted by a pony and the image of them chasing down the miniature steed made the escape well worth the trouble.
Christie Bratt (a third year rider), Noelle Andresen (a second year rider), Karen Kafka (a valued FPC veteran), and I rode in the Catalina Competitive Trail on February 5th. Wearing staff shirts and mounted on our Friendly Pines team, we completed the 12-mile trail and hailed ourselves as the new Team FPC. We are planning to compete in Bumble Bee’s NATRC Endurance Race next month.
Very shortly, we’ll be back in the saddle and on the trails with various rental groups. And then, before we know it, summer 2011 will be here! Super excited…
Keep well and I look forward to seeing you all at camp!
Lilly
Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground. ~Author Unknown
