So
you've had lots of updates from the lucky few who were blessed to head south
for the 2 coldest months of the year. I was not one of them, so
allow me to fill you in on what Valinor has been up to back in the deep freeze
by summarizing the benefits of staying North.
Ups
of staying Up North
No
Tan!!
Erin,
I saw your cute pictures showing off your horrific tan lines. Up here, we
are so bundled up we never have to worry about those pesky problems.
Also, not sure if you got the memo but pale white skin is waaay in right
now. Over tanning can be a health issue you know. Better lather up or cover up! You
are going to have a bunch of ivory skinned beauties to compete against when you
get back here.
Clothes!
Remember
all those beautiful jackets and sweaters you got during the holidays this year?
Why not show them off!! No reason to plan what
day to wear which outfit to the barn, because you can wear them all together
and stay warm!! You get to wear your entire wardrobe as
layers, which is of course super stylish! What could be more sexy than waddling down the barn aisle like
Ralph’s little brother in the Christmas story. “Jericho, stop snorting at
me!!! What the heck is your problem????” This
goes for horses as well. You spent hours tiredly looking through
the sale bin finding the perfect medium blanket to fit your “difficult” sized
beast only to send him south not to use it. No worries, at Valinor,
not only can your equine friend show off his new blanket BUT wear his old
one with it as well as another layer. Don’t worry, just wait for the one day it gets a bit
warm out (40s) and the mud will prevent anyone from realizing you have a purple
plaid blanket on top of blue plaid. You now just have …brown.
No
Sweaty horses!
After
a hard ride, the last thing you want to deal with is washing your horse off and
wiping all the sweat off of your tack. Gross. Hey,
guess what? Not a problem. When you’re riding in 20 degree weather,
by the time you take the saddle off, your pal just needs a quick brush and soft
hand to clean the icicles out of his whiskers….
Easy
access to your horse!
Why
oh why would you want to walk all the way out to that 3 acre paddock to chase
your horse around to ride? No worries!! He’s right in his stall
because the weekly snowstorm has hit with wind gusts blowing 25mph (refer
back to no boring rides).
Reasons
to eat crap!
Everyone
loves to have a sweet treat once in a while. I do love to indulge
in a doughnut or 4 on occasion. The great thing is you don’t need
to feel shameful. You have already burned the calories but
shoveling snow, smashing ice from buckets or quite simply just
shivering. Any excess left over is just an added layer to survive
the weekly deep freeze.
Bipolar
ponies
It’s
that time of year when you get to meet your pony’s twin. Most of
the horses I know only allow the twin to come out when they are overly
excited. “ YAY!!!!!! OUTSIDE for the first time in
three days!!!!! Don’t worry about opening the gate I will just rear up
and jump over it for you. “ Like I said, MOST of the horses I know.
Then there is Rocky…. Every summer I watch my students
fall in love all over again with Rocky, Valinor’s steady beginner appaloosa
pony. He carries them around at a slow relaxed lope building their
confidence. Rocky will take a cross rail no matter how miserable a line
he was set up to and completely throw himself and his happy little rider over
it every time even if he is at a painfully slow western jig. This
is how Valinor and I, have come to love this spotted pony which is why we have
nicknamed him, “Rock Star Rocky”. Well, that all
changes come this time of year. My beloved Rocky spurts horns and the
white/red in his eye is ever present. He takes every lesson as a
challenge to completely do anything but what the student wants him to
do. This has included: Rearing, taking off down the ring
bucking, charging me, and steering deliberately towards jumps to stress
out his rider. It would be an understatement to say he has helped many
practice their gymnastic dismounts. Hello twin Rocky aka “Rotten
Rocky” How is this a positive you ask? It helps remind
you how amazing your horse truly is, and able to hold off the evil twin 90% of
the time(Rocky exception who seems to embrace it). Truly amazing.
Mythical
creatures!
Sure
Aiken you may have beautiful rolling fields, gorgeous soft cross country
footing and tracks for canter sets BUT can you lay claim to having a mythical
creature at your farm? Valinor North has its very own Jump Goblin!
He usually can be spotted under the jump wagon parked in the indoor
but he does enjoy wandering the property and can pop up anywhere. Not all
at Valinor have been blessed with his manifestation but do not be fooled, he is
there. Horses have a sixth sense about these things and will
definitely know he is there when you simply see/hear nothing.
There are even a couple horses at the farm who see him constantly, similar to
the poor kid in the 6th sense. Cozmo and Jericho are
both very sensitive to his presence. Age and experience has allowed Cozmo
to eventually focus and get to work. Jericho is still trying to
cope and get on with his daily life without letting the Jump Goblin startle
him, but it is a tough, long road ahead.
If
you get down hearted there is always somebody to make you feel like you are
complaining too much.
Conversation
between Myself and my 5 year old student Kayla:
Lisa
‘Kayla, it is pretty cold today, I don’t think it will be fun for you to
ride.”
Kayla
“No Lisa, Brumby’s fur will keep her warm and I will let you hold the
reins so I can keep my hands warm in my jacket. LETS RIDE!!!”
Lisa
‘Ok Kay, that sounds good we can do some exercises like touching your
toes. Ready? Reach for Brumby’s poll.”
Kayla
“ No that’s boring I want to trot. LOTS of trotting” (immediately starts
kicking Brumby)
Lisa
“Well, ok but let’s not do too much, Brumby is out of shape. (aka Lisa)”
35
min later after trotting most of the time, being dragged around the ring by
Brumby, and I am clearly out of breath
Kayla
“Lisa, I did really good at trotting, Brumby is just so beautiful. We are
going to beat everyone in the competitions right??”
Lisa
“Of course! You did so great today!!”
Nothing
like a cute kid to make you smile and burn off some calories. Now where
are those doughnuts….
Being
Part of History!
I
made the mistake of watching “The Day After Tomorrow” the other day and became
a little concerned. Pretty sure we have experienced some of
the most extreme weather this continent has seen in decades, possibly
centuries. The news stations even went far enough to call one of
the deep freezes “The Polar Vortex”. Hey wait a second , they called it
that in the movie too. Huh Well, if you believe in climate
change/global warming/freezing or not, either way we have almost survived this
winter which will go down in record books for a list of things. We can
say we lived through it years from now. This also makes me feel pretty
confident we would be able to handle extreme weather change far better than our
southern neighbors. I mean a tiny little ice storm shut them down
for how long?? Silly Aiken.
You
never take Spring or summer for granted!
No
description needed for this other than a simple warm day (50’s) puts you in the
best mood while your Aiken friends come back grumbling.
Stuff
it Valinor South! - Love Lisa & Jericho