Gearing up

for the Palouse Hills Pony Club's event derby this weekend. It's about 2 hours south, and the BN division does all 3 phases on Saturday. I suppose we're ready, since we've been home I haven't gotten much riding in due to the footing. Eternal spring in the Northwest has been dumping rain and turns the arena into wet slippery goo. I actually just found out about this event and mailed my registration in at the last minute, it will be good miles for us. We're driving down Friday and staying the night, hopefully Jasper will eat. (Please eat buddy, it's good for you!)

Opportunities like this are few and far between on the dry side of the state. There's another event derby in July in the same area, (Serena and Roxie might come with us... woo hoo!) and then Stanton Farm's recognized event in September. Rumor is there might be a few XC schooling opportunities out at Deep Creek this summer as well with Karen O'Neal.

Jasper seems quite happy and content to be home and settled in quickly. He has a new next door neighbor that's young and spooky so they spend a lot of time running up and down the fence line pretending to be scared. Actually, I'm amazed at how much he's grown up. Not too long ago, if he was tied up at the hitching post and another horse was in the arena he would have mulitple meltdowns from the stimulus. To the point of bucking in place. Yesterday he was tied up and a horse in the arena was being lunged over a big blue tarp and bubble wrap (yes, bubble wrap). He couldn't have cared less and turned his butt to it. Now, this gal said that when he's loose in his paddock (that shared a fence line with the arena) and she moves the tarp around he gallops around in a frenzy. I now believe it's because it's fun and not so much because he's really afraid anymore.