Don’t lose passion by chasing it

 

In the quest to find my passion, especially one that is close to equestrian life, I volunteered to do the barn duties while my trainer/barn manager is out of town this weekend. This way I will see if managing a barn without hiring help, is something I want to do.

Its just 4 days, but that should give me an idea. Today was amazing…

• 18 horses fed
• 15 horsed turned out (hills and all)
• Blankets on/off as needed
• 15 stalls cleaned
• 1 pony cleaned up, saddle fitted and ridden
• Aisles swept
• Waters filled inside and out
• Hay set up for tonight

Pretty sure I will barely walk tomorrow! This is the hardest work I have done in 15 years. I know it will get easier with routine and efficiencies, but I am not sure this is the my passion. I love riding and caring for my 2, but many more than that is tough.

I am up for the barn challenge every once in a while, but every day? I am not sure I could make the time to keep the place running and still have fun riding. If I do take on a barn, it would be much smaller and/or help would be hired.

I don’t want to lose my passion trying to chase it.

 

 

 

 

Pushing Myself

I have decided that the world looks so much better between the ears of a horse, namely my horse Amtrak or my pony Rue La La! This picture is Amtrak at a paper chase. (glorified team trail ride)

This fall I have had to face many of my fears. My trainer I relied on heavily has moved on to better pastures and I have had a steep learning curve. Thanks to the support of my new trainer I have….

1. Had a gooseneck ball installed in my truck.
2. Driven 3 hours away to get a 27′ trailer by myself.
3. Hitched and unhitched it.
4. Parked the monster trailer in a tight spot with her help.
5. Parked it by myself…..with considerable time allowed….it’s tricky!!
6. Used my considerable she-strength to pull the VERY heavy ramp out — literally pulled it completely off and my horse had to jump out!
7. Stocked and drove trailer empty and with horses to paper chases.
8. Entered/competed in a show.
9. Learned mucking, feeding, meds and how to lead 3 horses in and out.
10. Clipped my pony.

I have been anxious, nervous or scared for all of this, but I refuse to let this slow me down. I am not afraid of hard work or making mistakes, as long as everyone is safe. I am proud of my progress and can’t wait to continue learning and practicing becoming not just a better equestrian, but a  complete horsewoman.

Justify

Assignment #4 for Blogging 101 is to write a post to my dream audience. I am still trying to figure this out, but I have been thinking a lot about the word JUSTIFY, so I am running with it.

One of my goals this year has been to travel, ideally to visit family, and be more present with them (less time on social media and actually have conversations)

Sounds like a lot of fun right? It has been, however, it has been harder than I thought too. Self Talk keeps getting in the way!

First trip was in March and unexpected. My uncle passed away suddenly. I started JUSTIFYING not going to the funeral because I couldn’t miss work, I just had taken time off and I was going to miss more work now?! What an inconvenience for my employees and me, getting more behind. I tried to JUSTIFY not going with the price of a last minute plane ticket. I tried to JUSTIFY not going because I had a trip home planned in just a couple months……my aunt could wait right?

Then, My Step Dads voice came into my head…..”ALWAYS go to the funeral” He has lived by that his whole life and I knew the right thing was to go and be there for my aunt. Funerals are for the living so stop trying to JUSTIFY why I shouldn’t go and get there! Needless to say, my aunt DID need me more than I could have ever known and I am so glad I went. It also gave me time with other family, including my 97 year old Grandmother.

Another goal for this year was to take a road trip by myself. Time to think and put life into perspective. I decided to drive 10 hours  to TN to visit my Dad for his 70th birthday. My friend Gayle lives on the other side of TN so I was going to drive 6 hours more to see her too. On my way home, I visited family from the west coast that happened to be in DC at just the right time. I was looking forward to relaxing and not keeping to a timed schedule defined by a flight. Since I had no money invested in a ticket or hotel, and had a lot of drama going on at my barn, I started trying to JUSTIFY why I shouldn’t go.

What if? What if? What if? (Just complete the sentence with whatever….we ALL do it)

The right answer was screaming in my head, STOP trying to JUSTIFY not going and do what is IMPORTANT! Family and friends are what is important! Don’t take them for granted! We are all scattered across the country and have to make an effort to stay connected by means other than social media. Of course the trip was well worth it and great to see everyone.

The bottom line….we all “self talk” or JUSTIFY why we should or should not take action, get out of our comfort zone, support a loved one, see friends and family, help a stranger, volunteer, change course, take a risk, take a time out, or speak up.

What is there to be afraid of?    (more self talk and justifying)   Know your priorities and go for it. If you lose a friend or relationship over it, then it wasn’t worth having.

First Post

Here it goes!

Truthfully, I am not sure where I am going with this blog, but I am pretty sure I have not written anything “free-flowing” since college. Don’t get me wrong, I typed a million emails, made a million lists (and still do) wrote a lot of stuff for my corporate America job, but nothing from my gut, heart or brain for fun.

Now that I am retired, I still find myself busier than ever. Where does the time go? I hope to solve that mystery…ha ha! and slow down a bit to compose my thoughts mainly on things I love. Animals, travel, photography, food, wine and gardening pretty much round out my interests.

Let the adventure begin!

Angi