A donkey to love

Rode up Underwood today. What fun! We are starting to ride fast quite a bit these days. I am staying on so far; however, today I got a surprise. We were trotting fast downhill on one road to the fork of another that turns and goes uphill quickly. Jupes was trotting for all he was worth and was just breaking into a good lope when: WHOOSH! He shied hard at something and twisted his body into a U while loping and thinking of maybe running! I squealed and my boot came out of the stirrup, but all was well. Lynn and Shirley had a good laugh. From that point on he was a little wired--he was totally sure there was something scary out there. Silly thing.

Last Sunday Shirley and Lynn rode up Hennessey. Star let himself be caught and Shirley rode him for the first time in a long time. He was jumping down the steep hills and going sideways, I guess. Good thing Shirley can ride!

A man who was my neighbor all my life (well most of it) passed away and a local mogul bought his land. On it is a donkey and cart that I want to own--I just love it--for lots of reasons. The new owner kept putting me off, but finally said no, I couldn't have it because his wife wanted it. My brother wanted me to have it and didn't know that the new owner had said "no." It showed up in my backyard when I was away at my uncle's funeral. I asked my brother to take it back. But in the meantime, check it out--I think he belongs in my backyard.

Happy Easter!

Loping!

Yay! Saturday was a fun ride. We went early and rode up Hennessy. We didn't see anyone or hear any chainsaws--it was just us and at least one deer. There were lots of wild flowers and tons of color all around us. It was a beautiful morning.

We rode pretty fast and Jupiter even broke into a smooth lope. I was proud of both of us, I stayed on and just let him run and he didn't buck in happiness or anything else. We even jumped lots of little logs and did tight turns around trees and stumps. It was a banner day.

Lynn said it was one of her favorite runs with Ziggy as well. Although in the beginning of the ride, he lived up to his name, swerving six feet off the trail because Lynn was turned around and talking to us. I laughed as she yelled, "Ziggy!" like she does. I think he does it to be funny.

The boring horse, Buster, didn't buck while he was running up the hill either. I think everyone had fun--dogs, horses, and people. Nothing could be better.

Stump Animals

Yay! Two beautiful days and lots of riding. Saturday, Jupiter seemed like he was acting up. We all know he has to be ridden a lot or he is difficult. I told him his birthday is coming and he needs to start acting like he's nine and more mature. I had to spur and yell at him as we were going down a steep hill; I thought I was going to be a projectile and I didn't like the possibility--although the ground was soft, there were lots of logs and limbs.

Finally I paid closer attention. Poor baby had a carrot stuck in his throat and he was just trying to get it loose. I am not a good mom after all! No more carrots for him and I apologized for yelling and spurring him. Shirley said it made up for times he needed it and I didn't do it. Thankfully he is much better now!

Sunday we rode Underwood. We are all liking our new parking arrangement--good job, Lynn. We had a beautiful ride looping up and around. They boys got to eat their favorite grass and the girls had fun, too. Ziva is becoming a great trail dog! Hailey is staying close, too. Buster tried to get out in a bog to eat some special grass and sunk down to his knees in the black muck! It sort of scared me, but Shirley just rode out of it.

Most of the morning, we were in back of the line, just cruising, and I swear I saw a mountain lion (or two), a bear, and a giraffe! (: Those stumps are all different colored and laying (or standing) in ways that look deceiving. My imagination was running away with itself! Jupes and I are a definite match.

It was a great weekend and I look forward to the next one.