Author: Amanda C

Wednesday was inspection day… we had in-barns in the morning and then the formal jog mid-afternoon. I took Henry on a long hack with some stretchy trot in the morning to loosen him up a bit, since we can’t turn out anymore.

The in-barn was very uneventful, the vet just took TPR so they have a baseline to compare to in the 10 minute box. 

Then it was time to bathe and braid and start getting pretty for the formal jog.

The jog was kinda fun, although a) running in sand in flats is hard b) I was sweating balls. But when they said “Number 75 – accepted!” It was a pretty good feeling. Especially because they said it so fast – one horse got held, and on some of them they took several very long, agonizing seconds before they announced them accepted. Henry was immediate, thank goodness, because your anxiety in that situation is through the roof.

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Then I hopped on for a quick dressage ride. Henry was definitely better than Tuesday (couldn’t really get much worse) but still tense and not really coming into my hand. I kinda just think that I have a really fit horse who has been cooped up for too long, and that’s that. I’ll coax him through the dressage as best I can today, and then be really glad it’s over.

After my ride we had a rider’s meeting followed by an overview of Roads and Tracks and Steeplechase. I’m pretty excited for both of those things!

If I can just survive the dressage today, the rest should be a lot more fun.

This trip has been so great, I guess something had to suck at some point. Unfortunately that point was yesterday when I tried to practice my dressage test. Definitely one of the top 3 worst Henry rides ever.

The day started out great… we turned the boys out, and they had great fun playing. It was very cold, definitely the coldest night so far at only 41 degrees. I woke up with frozen appendages. 

After it warmed up a bit, we all went out for a long hack down the bridle paths around the park. That never gets old.

It’s just so damn pretty.

After the hack I peeled off and went down to the track, hoping to get 20 minutes of stretchy trot in. Unfortunately Henry’s brain fell out and he just kept screaming for his friends and jigging. I gave up on that idea and took him back to the barn, since he was just getting more worked up.

Then later in the afternoon we had jog practice (the official version left a lot to be desired, so we came back up to our barn and Trainer helped us practice instead… much more useful) then I hopped on to run through my test. Henry was awful. Very tense, over sensitive, and really frustrating. Not gonna lie, there were some tears. We went back to the barn to re-set our brains and get a flash, then went back down and tried again. Finally, finally, he was at least rideable. Not great by any means, but ok.

Today we have in-barns and the first jog, then we’re going to try to dressage again. Really hope he’s gotten all the lack of cooperation out of his system.

Skipping right over day 4 and 5 for now… sorry for the cliffhanger, we’ll come back to it when I can get my media together.

We’re halfway through our Coconino adventure and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we’d be happy to stay here forever. Definitely not tired of it yet… not even tired of camping. 

Since Monday was really our only totally free day, we seized the opportunity to a) get stuff done b) have some fun. We got up before 5 and were able to turn the boys out in a free arena for 2 hours. They had a blast and seemed very happy to stretch their legs.

Then we ran some errands (feed store, Walmart, laundromat) before loading up and heading out for the Grand Canyon.

I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon since I was a kid, so it was fun to see it again. It’s just so massive and incredible to see in person. I also brought some of my moms ashes to spread there, which was pretty cool too. 

Plus we saw a squirrel drinking from a water bottle, which was a definite highlight…

After we got back we all hopped on our ponies for a nice long bareback hack down the trails of the park. Our life does not suck… this is just the most amazing experience. By far the best Monday ever.



After our hack we really had nothing left to do but bed the horses down and treat ourselves to a pretty damn fancy dinner. 

I also finally had the chance to plug my computer in and take a look at the helmet cam video… can we just talk about this corner for a minute? Holy $@&!

This horse, y’all.

Friday was a busy but fun day. Trainer was planning on doing a dressage school on Henry in the afternoon so I got on in the morning and took him for a long hack around the grounds. I still can’t get over how gorgeous this place is.

We explored some of the trails, then wandered out to the track (where the arenas are) and walked a lap.

We found Bobby and Halo on the backside, so we waited for him to be done schooling and then hacked the boys out together.

When we were done I left Henry to his usual morning siesta while Bobby and I went to pick up packets and check out the tack shop (because duh). Sad news, I managed not to buy anything. I’m starting to think I’ve already bought everything there is to buy.

In the afternoon Trainer hopped on, and Henry was good but definitely a bit tense. That’s just kind of him, though. He was making every effort to be good, so there’s not much more you can ask from him.

Then we cleaned tack, ate dinner, walked XC, and tucked the boys in for the evening. Saturday was starting off bright and early with a 7:something a.m. dressage for Henry! 

I’m gonna hold off doing a proper show recap until I get home next week and can get all the media together, but here’s a spoiler:

I think our barn did alright…

On to the 3 Day! But first, we’re gonna go do some sightseeing on our day off…

No offense, New Mexico, but you ugly. Our layover spot was awesome but I was glad to be back on the road and leaving the dust behind.

That fine red dirt manages to attach itself to everything, inside and out. Don’t believe me? Exhibit A: the dashboard of the truck.

Otherwise the drive was uneventful, except when Henry started bucking in the trailer because I dunno, Henny angst?

We did a quick pit stop before Gallup and both boys traveled even better than day 1. Henry drank a whole bucket of water and pooped/peed a lot, and both were bright and energetic. The weather held out too – we got to higher elevation before it got hot, so it was actually really pleasant.

When we rolled into Flagstaff we were totally blown away by how gorgeous it is. Mountains, pine trees, and a nice cool breeze. It’s heaven.

Once we got the boys settled and all our crap unpacked, Trainer took Henry for a quick flat ride and Bobby went for a walk on Halo.

Then we were off to the feed store to buy hay, and omg even the HAY here is beautiful. How is theirs so much prettier than ours? I want to eat it myself. The boys were THRILLED when we tossed them a big pile. 

After that we set up our tent (memory foam mattress topper for the win, it’s SO comfortable), cleaned ourselves up, ate dinner, and popped open some celebratory drinks. 

We sat around talking until it got dark enough to see all the stars, then we just stood there for a while and took it all in. What a gorgeous place to be, doing the thing that we love so much with the horses that our lives revolve completely around. I’m not even sure I have the words to describe just how awesome it really feels… I’m just so damn happy to be here. With all the craziness going on in the world lately, my soul really needed this.

WE MADE IT, y’all, and it’s everything I had dreamed of and more. Best showcation ever, and we haven’t really even gotten started yet.