A Long Time Gone... But, I am Back!

Life... is.... Good.

<Insert a hundred happy faces here>

They say no news is good news, which is probably why I've been so absent. But, lately, my mind keeps thinking it's time for me to come back to my ramblin' roots... so here's an update, and hopefully the first hello back of many more hellos (that come a little quicker than every 3 months...)

So, here is an update.

Arizona

Is getting hotter than hell. Oooo girl... this Canadian is BURNING up and, to quote the locals, "this ain't even all that bad." Well friends, it feels bad. However, other than the fact I can't rest my skin against any surface without breaking out into a dripping sweat, Arizona is treating me really, really well.

I got a dog, his name is Cash.

Who knew that a little fluffy girly-mutt dog could make my heart so fulfilled and happy? Cash is wonderful, he is goofy, sometimes disobedient, cuddly, funny, smiley... just great. He fancies himself quite the ranch dog... even though the sight of a poofy dog following behind me as I move cows around is a little amusing. He is my constant little shadow and I am happy to call him "my dog".

My job is fricken' wonderful

& there's this little two year old that I'm obsessed with.

Even when i'm complaining about my job I'm happy, it's sickening. I love my boss, I love our horses, I love our program. I LOVE how much I'm learning. I wake up, and fall asleep, feeling blessed to be riding cutting horses in Arizona whilst being surrounded by uplifting and amazing people.

I have officially shown - TWICE!

The first time I showed was a bit of a train wreck, resulting in a 63, the second time I learnt a couple valuable lessons and walked away with a FREAKIN' 75. 75s are truly what dreams are made of. It was in December of 2013 that I told my ex-Boss that I wanted to show by January 2015, only three months later I found myself showing for the first time. Dream chasing is a real thing, and I feel like the more I believe in myself, and the more I set my mind to something, the more the universe gives to me... it's amazing, and humbling.

I have a life here.

People from home come & visit! 

Everybody wants to escape to warm Arizona!!

When I was in Texas I was suffering from homesickness... terrible, dark homesickness. I went home for the holidays and wondered to myself if I could ever make a life for myself somewhere other than home. The homesickness I was feeling was a lot deeper than just being away from home for the first time, it was a homesickness that made me question leaving behind my roots, the physical place I loved so much, a friend group where I had finally cultivated happy healthy relationships, my family. It took awhile for me to fall into a rhythm here too, but once I did I settled right into what feels like a life. It's refreshing, a teeny bit scary, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.

but then, there is always, my most beloved...

Home

Jingle. Plain & Simple.

I miss Jingle with my whole heart, I feel like my life is falling into place here but i'm just missing... and lacking.. this major piece. A few weeks ago my farrier gave me a call that my horse was a little unkempt and acting a little wild. Brigitte, my Best-friend, went out to groom him and remind him of manners and snapped this photo for me. He is so handsome <3. She also said he was squirrely through most of it, until she groomed his mane and tail. She said he seemed to remember all the time I've spent braiding him and grooming his mane and tail over the years. So cute. sigh. miss him so much.

But - this too is falling into place - i'm hoping come October I can get Jingle on a trailer and have him down here! Cannot wait for Jingle amongst the Cactus!!

Summer.

I am heading home for the summer - for July and August. I'm going to be part of the Stampede Ranch Girls again, and I plan to serve at my old restaurant so I can make some money to put into my savings. Finally, that means i'll get to spend more time with my boy - Jingle! It's bittersweet... I don't want to leave Arizona, but I need to get my affairs in order, and as the temperature creeps above 110 F I'm thinking the summer months are the prime time to leave. Besides, what's 60 days?

Happy to be back, and hoping to catch up with all of you. :)

A Big 'Ol Update from your Long Lost Blogger Friend.

Where have I been? WHAT have I been doing? Remember that one time I used to blog...

Well, I finally have a moment in my schedule and I just wanted to update a bit about life.

Being a loper has been a wonderful, lovely experience. Here I am, "at the office" riding and ponying two of our show horses. Sometimes, my office is galloping a two year old in a field with the mountains just off in the distance. Other times, it's sipping a coffee, watching my boss work cows. Life, is good.

However, in my other horse-life, aka Jingle, I was having a bit more of an issue this summer. After our Spring saddle-related soreness, come summer Jingle continued to have a mystery lameness, that a vet called an "unusual movement, but not lame". He was still stagnating between bad and good, and had almost 6 weeks off, and so I started to slowly work him again. For two weeks we slowly worked on getting him back in the swing of things, we trotted up and down a fence line and starting to build him back up. Straight lines seemed to help, and so for awhile, this big field was my arena.

Finally, I circled him for the first time in what seemed like months, and lo and behold... my horse seemed sound.

An exceptionally rare video of me riding...

how do I look, but better yet, how does my big man look?! 

Sarah's kids, Ben and Abby, even got to spend a time with their favourite painted pony...

Jingle is such a champ. I love him.

We visited the old ranch... as you can probably tell from my last post, not being out there this summer was something that I have been struggling with.

Here's my poor Cash... looking all mangey and disheveled.

It's funny, I was having a discussion with someone about the treatment of horses. They were talking about PETA and all the issues that these organizations have with rodeo, chuckwagon racing etc. To me, having seen many sides of horse ownership, the worst horse owners are the ones that stick their horses in fields and never check on them, never do anything with them... However, horses roaming in big barbed-wired fields is what seems to be a "good" image for non-horse people. Sigh.

The horse-crew was happy to see us, a kid-free summer must seem quite foreign and strange for many of them.

Of course.. just as soon as Jingle seemed "good" again, my crazy-busy lifestyle caught up with me, and I could barely steal away to even see him, let alone ride him. Once I did, I discovered a bit of a gash that poor princess-face was really not happy about. His fly sheet had been rubbing it and I think it was really irritating him. So, he got a couple days off for that to heal over, and for him to get over himself.

Jingle has been spending A LOT of time in his back on track products lately...

(Which, I am now a firm believer in, he loves his BOT time, I swear, totally mellows him out)

Jingle, in working with his "let's never ride again" theme, has decided that he's now going to be a liberty horse - no bridle, no halter, nothing. He thinks this means he's "at liberty to not be ridden ever again". He is very happy with this new adventure in his life.

Jingle's mane is seriously growing, we're almost at that mythic gunner-style reining mane (WITHOUT the extensions - what whaaaat). Atleast something is going right this summer.

A snapshot of that aforementioned "loper life"

Mac and Jingle, enjoying their lazy summer.

Finally, a word about my horse.

It's been a year since I purchased him, and three since he sunk so deep down into my heart that all of a sudden he encompassed me totally, and fully. It's hard for me to put in words quite what this horse means to me, but he means everything. There is something about the way the two of us can just "be" together, and there's also something in the way I am when I'm around him. He has taught me strength and compassion, learning and patience. He may not be, or may never be, a performance horse, or some champion with earnings... but he's mine, and he has blessed me, and continues to bless me whenever I am around him. I can't wait for another 20 years with this big brute - hopefully more!

So, that's a bit of a recap - can you believe there's more?!

Big announcement coming next ;)

Life Update

This is going to be a random post, much ado about nothing.

It's snowing today... after a week of +25 c weather. C'mon nature, get it together. Honestly though (and this is totally blasphemous to say) I kind of like the crap weather. It's way harder for me to sit in an office, in my gross office clothes, with the weather hot and perfect, than when it's miserable and disgusting out. Although.. right about now I wouldn't mind putting on my slicker, long-johns, and my warmest jeans and going for a ride. I'm an all-weather rider, baaaaaack in the day, when I used to ride Harry, I would head out there in -30 c so bundled up I couldn't move, brush him, jump on him bareback and go plowing through the massive snow drifts. I'm afraid this year has made me a little outdoors-sour though, this is the first year I've ridden in an indoor arena, and ... you know, when it's -30 outside I sure do enjoy walls and a roof.

My horse is home! Unfortunately for me he was brought in from faraway winter pasture and was kicked right back out on the back 2000 acres... sigh. Looks like in June I'll be going horse-hunting for him. This is totally normal, the entire string gets sent out west until mid-June and we go retrieve them, group by group until they are all home for camp-season. But in my "WAH I WANT MY PONY" stage I'm a little pouty about the situation. Ah well, much like the weather, If I knew my boy was accessible I'd probably be sneaking off from work early, and just generally making poor decisions to go see him. 16 days until I get to kiss his baby pony nose. =)

I'm going to look at a saddle on Saturday! It's an absolutely gorgeous sweet home Circle Y trail, with matching bridle, breast collar, and saddle bags... it's a dream saddle, and for such a good price. The guy selling it is a good 'ol boy, (71 - still breaking colts!), and chatted my ear off on the phone from everything to saddle quality all the way to the fact he could tell my name was Italian. However, I have a sinking feeling the saddle is just way too wide for Jingle, I'm still going to go look (what can it hurt?), but.. I doubt i'll be getting a saddle on the weekend. The search continues... I have a feeling that a bigger bank account by July and a trip to Irvine's in Crossfield, horse in tow, is definitely in order.

Finally... very exciting news...
A cutting trainer I talked to a couple months back has opened up for spring lessons, so on Tuesday I'm going to go out and take a lesson! It's all very up in the air - I doubt I'll be allowed to be anywhere near a cow yet, but he has quite a few finished cutters for sale (... why, oh why, don't I have $12,000?) that he uses for lesson horses so that's pretty exciting! I have about a month and a half before I leave for the summer, so it can't hurt getitng a couple lessons in, and seeing how it goes! (blog posts to detail my cutting escapades will follow, obviously)
I think that's all I have to report for now - if you're in Alberta I hope you are keeping warm in this strange, strange weather. (Or cool... seeing as it'll probably be hotter than hades by tomorrow), and if not - I hope you are content wherever you are!