Tuesday, June 21, 2016

outtakes + blogger meet ups + a sad sad mare

This past weekend proved to be even more exciting than I had initially expected when signing up for another lesson with Stephen Birchall. Mostly bc fellow blogger Liz stopped by on her way through town to stay with Austen! And naturally I had to crash the party again haha.

Austen & Guinness, Liz & Teddy!
wait WAIT - got that backwards. That's Austen & Teddy, and Liz & Guinness
It worked out perfectly too, as my ride ended up scheduled for Saturday afternoon while Liz was still around (with her fancy camera - woot woot!!) so we got to spend some quality time hangin out together at the barn after my lesson.

Teddy does his best to look fancy. not hard to do with the picturesque gazebo lol
During which time, obvi Austen and Liz went out for a little ride of their own and I got to return the favor by playing photog. It was actually kinda awesome watching Liz get a mini lesson on Pig - esp as it reminded me very strongly of doing the same thing when I first met Austen last summer. And got to learn first had about Pig's go button. Hint: it WORKS lol.

Liz & Pig looking quite nicely matched in blue!
Liz was just as wonderful to meet in person as you might expect from following her blog - and it was particularly exciting timing as she and her spunky arab mare Q had just completed their first ever 100 mile race. Crazy. I can't even imagine riding for 100 miles - and yet they went out there and made it happen and the entire post about that journey is incredible and I highly recommend you settle in and read it all!

offended mare is offended
Anyway, between Liz and Austen there are approximately 18 thousand pics from my ride in the clinic haha. And lots and LOTS of outtakes. Mostly of Isabel making ridiculous faces at me when I unwittingly try to touch her face uninvited. Like the above - where she makes it perfectly clear that while she may rub her face on me, I am *not* to try and reach out for more pets. The nerve!

"NOOOoooooooo!!!" - saddest mare ever
Poor thing, the indignities didn't stop there... Perhaps I've mentioned it before, but Isabel HATES getting wet. It's so bad that I can't even get her into the fancy pants gorgeous wash stalls at Austen's barn (trust me, I've tried and it's basically humiliating bc mare just WILL NOT DO IT). So we settle for just sponging off at the trailer.

"not the face!! NOT THE FACE!!!!!"
And obviously Isabel got totally tag-teamed haha. Esp with Liz fresh off a 100 mile endurance ride where getting the horse cooled off and pulsed down is of critical importance, she wasted no time on pandering to Isabel's delicate sensibilities about the sponge. I love it haha

plus naturally we had to hit the district too
Anyway, there's plenty more to come from the clinic itself (I'm still digesting and working out the details in my mind) so stay tuned!!

17 comments:

  1. Izzy kills me with those pictures. Such a drama queen :)

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  2. I wish more bloggers lived near meeeee

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  3. Y'all are looking glamorous! What a fun way to meet up. :-)

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  4. What a fun weekend, that pic of the 3 of you is adorable! Can't wait to read the lesson details!

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  5. ohhh!! cant wait to see all the pictures!!

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  6. Austen's matching game is strong with the blue pad matching my shirt.

    And yeah, hahaha, I have no disregard for horses against sponging! Sorry, mare, but you'll feel good after. Make all the faces you want! :-p

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    1. Miiiiiiight have purposefully matched the pad to her shirt. Maybe. ;)

      Liz, you're just lucky we were going on a hack or else you would have had teal polos all the way around, too!

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  7. Meeting people is the best part of blogging!

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  8. I need to find more euro bloggers, you guys always have such awesome meet ups!

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  9. How fun. I love Izzy's bath faces. Poor, tortured mare.

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  10. I freaking love this community. I'm so glad you got to meet up with Liz on her way through!

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  11. Oh, the indignities suffered by head-headed girls when it comes to bath time.

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  12. Guinness is super cute! I like trail riding, but I max out at about 10 miles. I can't imagine doing 100!

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  13. I gave Riesling a mane and tail wash last night and he definitely gave Isabel's mare stare face to me

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  14. Apparently June is the month for blogger meetups! So awesome.

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