I’ve been meaning to blog in the past two weeks but haven’t gotten much of a chance. They are keeping me busy here. The week before last, Katrin was gone, so Peggy and I had to do everything on our own. I worked five horses a day in between turning horses in and out, feeding, sweeping, and getting horses ready for Marion. Last week was almost as busy since then Peggy was gone. Some days I even skipped my lunch break so we could be finished on time.
I have been lounging horses a lot, which I like. And I got to ride two new ponies. They are a blast to ride. Especially compared to naughty pony, who kept switching back and fourth between getting better and getting worse, so Reinhart had her sent home and we admitted defeat. I tried the best I could, but in my opinion, that pony isn’t meant for dressage. She just mentally couldn’t do it. If a horse isn’t willing to do their job but you make them, they will never be happy and able to perform up to your expectations. So I was glad to see her go and I hope she goes somewhere where they understand that.
On Friday evening, a woman who has two horses here asked me if I would like to come with her to another stable where they do vaulting. It sounded interesting, so I said yes. We went and I saw some amazing things. This wasn’t Washington County Festival Under the Stars vaulting. This was the real deal. They once had four people on a horse, stacked up high. The girls were very athletic. The barn was half gym, half horse barn. I guess they are international competitors, which was apparent because they were really impressive. I’m allowed to go anytime, so I will be sure to take pictures next time.
Yesterday was my day off. I decided to bike to the nearest tack store because my gloves are what Mindy would call “ratty”. I got there at 2:15 but it closed at 2:00. So I biked around for awhile trying to figure out if there could be another nearby since I was one on a map but soon gave up and biked to the Rheinpark shopping mall. It was enormous. It had four floors full of shops and the fifth floor was a theater, I think. I didn’t get anything, just people watched, rested, and wandered around. At around 4:30 I got back on my bike and started to make my way home. I passed by some things I remembered passing by on the way there and started to look for signs that pointed to the Skiihalle since the horse farm is right next to it. It’s the easiest way to find my way back home. I looked and looked but I didn’t find one. I biked into deadends, wrong ways, loops, and soon minutes turned into hours and it got dark. I realized I was lost and wasn’t going to be able to get back on my own. I found myself at a truck stop of sorts where there was a McDonalds. I went in and asked the workers if any of them spoke English. They all did, fortunately. They gave me a free coffee and a warm place to sit while they called a taxi. The taxi was barely big enough to fit into the car, but the driver was very nice and the bike and I made it safely back to the farm at 6:30. I looked on Google maps to find out that I had biked 10 miles. Hopefully that won’t happen again...
The weather here is really nice. When I wake up it’s somewhere around the upper 30’s and gets to the 50’s in the afternoon. I’ve been wondering when it’s going to snow. I guess the norm is around Christmas. So not used to this!
This morning was the first time I overslept. I woke up to Katrin calling my name at my apartment door at 7:15. oops. I am so not a morning person. But I made it out in five minutes and everything was fine.
This week, Josef, the stall mucker, is gone. He got a replacement, but he is very lazy. The stalls are still partially dirty and underbedded and he left a whole barn unmucked and the three of us had to stop what we were doing and quickly muck it out.
I recieved my Frankfurt International horse show tickets in the mail. I get to see Totilas! nah nah nah boo boo! ;)
In two days it will be exactly ONE MONTH until Noelle and my mom come to visit me!!! Soooooo beyond excited. :)
