First
- Congratulation OD winners, top tens
and Completers - !! To Finish is To WIN !! Great
weather - tough trail.
about ---
Sunday or Saturday
rides ? -- alot depends on the distance needed to
travel to ride, routes traveled to and from, and ease of compute;
and getting whichever day off I needed - Friday before or Monday
after. As far as = Church going issues - I suppose, it is /
may be a thought for some, especially - more so when considering Easter,
..or such --- ' No Frills Ride' ( NE ) was held on Easter Sunday,
one year at least - ?? - I do not really think there was
much of a difference in attendance. Those riding figured they would have
'sunrise' ... "private" service. Either, in camp at start, or as they
rode along the top of the mountain -- in some ways can't get
any better. - Giving thanks for the
day, nature and the ability to enjoy such.
That being said -
now this is a 'little tongue on cheek' - I' ve done a fair bit of
praying while riding - in a variety of ways.
Some - the 'joys of nature', good
trail, good friends / ride buddies, nice ride, good horse and just
having ability to be able to partake in ' the adventure' ; and
-
some prayers of !! -- "phew", please !,
just let me get through / over this, and thankfully, I am done that
section !! , or whole ride itself !. Thanking God, we averted "that
disaster, or potential disaster" - bucks, shys, slips. trips - on narrow
trail, etc. Or, that we completed 'sound' / healthy.... and
had ' a safe trip' - back home. I am
serious.
One of the big issues I
see / saw - when I was competing - about whether go to a Sunday /
Saturday ride, other than days off, was how well it worked
into "my" ride schedule - as far as length of time between rides,
distances traveled to that ride, and other rides - I had planned, need for
days off..,, Guess, management needs to look at 'pool of
riders' drawing from - with doing CTR and endurance - I may do
CTR one weekend and endurance next, or vice- versa, depending,
distance traveled to ride, how hard ride was, etc. - if same horse..
also, comes into decision - was multi day rides. and , .. Then
wanting time off between rides.
As far as east - northeast, (
managers) it would be 'nice' .. if Aerc and Ectra
managers could work together scheduling rides - as they are often drawing
from same rider base - Granted, if you ( rider ) have several horses
going and unlimited funds - you can go every weekend - almost....; I
used to, but those days are a thing of the past - with increased prices of
everything.( And, only one horse, 2nd one horse 'just' saddle broke.
That... and just have not done anything for awhile, and doubt go back to
that intensity of riding.)
Shoeing - no, I do not,
would not ! shoe my own horses. Have a farrier who
has been doing for years, reliable, knowledgable.
If I have concerns, suggestions - we
discuss. And ... come to agreement. If vet consultation needed, Ok. That being
said - I set appointments ahead of time, I am here ! -
with horses caught / put up and ready when he arrives,( caught, haltered,
fed - so that they not anxious about feed time, treated for
flys,etc). I stay with, hold and assist with horses.
And PAY !! when work is done.
In return, if I need him for a lost shoe, etc
- he trys to work me in. Asap. Surprised at the number of
people I hear about that - do not have horses ready when farrier
arrives, add horses / or work to be done - rebuilding hooves,etc. -(
without calling about ahead of time,), or are not there at all (?!) , or
have to leave and leave him alone, (!?) or have ' ill behaved'
horses.
My farrier is a "professional"
- I expect him to have his own insurance.( accident, major medical , etc.
- Yes, it is expensive - up to him - whether worth it
; to acquire insurance or not. ? ) Granted, If he
were to be hurt working on my horses - I would feel bad about
!! no question !. but, is part of 'his' job. .., But, I would
not unknowingly put him in a dangerous situation, without his
prior knowldge of .... that said - -- he/she should have insurance
to cover -it's part of the job / profession. I would expect that of
any professional - to cover thierselves in their job, if not coverd by
employeer. Just my thoughts. Stephanie
M
