Updates ~ I Am Alive!

Yes, I am alive! Even though I've only managed to get some of the Sunday Stills posts up for the last umm...4 weeks. Yikes! Man, time funs when you're having flies! Or something like that.

So lets go back and start at my state meet for drill. Midori looooves going to shows because she gets a nice clean stall and shavings to roll around in. Seriously, not 5 minutes after I stick her in the stall this is what she looks like. Isn't she the cutest pony ever?!

The state meet went well. Of course it wasn't without drama, but it was all resolved fairly early on and the rest of the weekend went well. I remembered all the drills, loped a couple of them for the first time that weekend. It was really fun! We came in 6th over all out of 13 teams. Not fabulous, but considering all the shaking up and filling spots and switching around we did, not too shabby!

This is me in Freestyle. I was the only flag. I liked my spot though, other the Midori running off with me a bit. She liked being on the outside of the sweep for a lap and a quarter and didn't want to check back to make he 90 degree turn into the center to be on the outside of the crack.

Also, notice we are on the wrong lead in this pic? We're not going to talk about that.

We are also not going to talk about this...

I will say that our quad placed 6th (I think) out of like 20 something teams, so that was fun! It was a fun ride, but the first time I had loped that drill this year and to say we hauled ass in an understatement.

About 2 hours before I rode the flag in Freestyle I was at a cutting show. The timing ended up working out perfectly, I was so happy! We had a fabulous ride, Midori really cowed up and I think enjoyed the break from the drill team boot camp she had suddenly found herself in. We didn't score well, but I was thrilled with our ride considering we hadn't worked buffalo in a couple weeks. The boyfriend called me as I was pulling in back at the drill meet and informed me that my score had held for 2nd place! Yahoo!!!

That was a very fun weekend. It was nice to hang out with my drill team again and I've always loved state.

Next update: Chey has kitties for lunch!

Just kidding! She got to meet them for the first time without bars between them! She was SOOO excited, she could hardly contain herself. Just imagine her little nubbin tail going a mile a minute here.

The kitties were just as curious about her. Chunk was a little more timid about walking right up to her and tended to keep her distance, but Legs would walk right up to her, rub up against her, roll over in front of her and swat at her.

Chey did really well with them, though did get a little excited a few times. She is definately intense and we keep an eye on her to make sure she's not mauling them to death on accident. Do you see the kitty tail sticking out from under her paw in this picture?

She loves to nibble them, like sort of cleaning, like I imagine a momma would do to her puppies. She also stands over them protectively. She really is gentle and good with them, just really intense. Go figure, since she's an Aussie. Since she didn't eat them for lunch that time we let them out in the house to play now. For the most part it is just fine, though there have been some epic chases. The kittens run from Chey playfully, she tears after them, the cats go oh sh**! and run, Chey continues to chase them...etc. And then there is the comedic relief that is Chey trying to herd kittens. Oh my goodness, funniest thing ever! She just does not understand why it doesn't work! She tries to push them up and they lay down in front of her. If she does happen to herd them together for a second, they'll take off in opposite directions. You can just see the smoke coming out of her ears as she tries to decide which one to chase!

The kittens haven't gone outside yet, but I guess it's getting to be that time. I just have to let go of my overprotective tendencies and kick their butts outside. They are also officially June Bug and May Belle now. Legs is June Bug and Chunk is May Belle. I still call them Legs and Chunk most of the time though. They are getting huge! And rambunctious! Holy cow, they are tearing my house apart! Part of why they need to go outside!

We had another cutting show a couple weeks ago. That one didn't go so well. It had been really hot, record highs around here, and we hadn't been riding at all. The cows I got were just awful and my turn back riders were no help at all. Sugar was full of piss and vinegar and Justin was having no luck with her either. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be having an off day, so my 65 held for a tie for 4th and 5th out of 8 riders. I'm still hanging on to 1st place in the series by a half point. No pressure for the next show, huh? Ugh!

The week leading up to that show we learned that the boyfriends mom had been admitted to the hospital and was scheduled to have open heart surgery. That made for a very hectic week, going up to the hospital every evening. We were also trying to get our house and yard presentable because we were hosting my small family reunion a couple weeks later. I had just started a painting project when we found out she was in the hospital, and what should have taken me 2 evenings to finish up ended up taking me a full week. We were busy and it just wasn't a fun time. But the surgery went well and she is doing good. It's amazing how staining the deck and planting flowers in the front flower bed are suddenly not a priority when stuff like that happens. :-) We did manage to get the house and yard somewhat presentable and the reunion was fun. We had tons of leftovers so I haven't had to cook all week and I was really happy to have a clean, clean house for the first time in a while!

This week and weekend has been really nice to catch up, relax and just not have any big obligations. I really love summer and the sun and warm temps, but fall is by far my favorite season just because it's not as crazy busy as summer. Next weekend I will be attending the SAFE horse show. That should be interesting! It's been a while since I've done pleasure, equitation and showmanship classes! And I'm doing a halter class, which I've never done. No clue what I'm doing there! :-) I'm looking forward to it though! I do miss rail classes every once in a while.

So that's my story. Nothing terribly interesting, but it's been a busy, busy summer!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers!

Queen Of Denial

Oh my. I think I'm in a great state of denial right now and I have a feeling it may come back to bite me in the booty. I could be wrong, I may just really not have all that much prepping to do, but something tells me I'm going to seriously regret my laid back attitude right now next week when I'm running around like crazy.

And it's not like I've been sitting on my butt getting nothing but relaxing accomplished either. I've been busy! I had birthdays to celebrate, new kitties to play with and clean up after, horses to ride, drill practices to attend, 4th of July parties to go to, etc. etc. etc. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks. I think I might finally be recovering from the long weekend last weekend. It was exhausting.

But see, here's the thing...next week is the one and only drill competition I'm doing this year. NEXT WEEK! It's a big competition that lasts 3 days and we go in the afternoon before so I will be there for three nights.

I have really enjoyed being an associate member this year. It's been a much more relaxed summer so far. I believe my team has already done 4 or 5 competitions this year, which means that is 4 or 5 weekends that I wouldn't have had at home, had I been a full riding member. That's a lot. It's made a huge difference. Huge!

Nevertheless, this one competition has managed to sneak up on me. I'm not terribly surprised, competition season always does. I just can't believe it's next week! I feel like I should be super busy getting ready, but then I try to think about what I actually need to do and it doesn't seem like all that much. I really should try on my jeans and make sure they still fit and check out the status of my "competition tubs". I have everything I need in great plastic tubs and am usually really good about cleaning and organizing everything in them when I get home from a competition so they are ready to go for next time, but by the end of the season last year I was so beyond burned out that I may have just not wanted to look at them ever again. I really need to get them down from storage and check them out. Among other things. I know there is stuff I really should be doing.

I think this year is going to be a lot more relaxed for me though. In past years I've been in charge of stall decorations and the team scrap book. Of course, since I am also the queen of procrastination, I was usually throwing the scrap book together the week or two before state and doing last minute replacements/additions to the stall decorations, rider/horse names and pictures, etc. It also made for a whole lot of packing and preparation that I needed to do going into state. This year I am not doing any of that. I just need to bring me, my stuff and my horse. You don't even know how fabulous that is.

The best part of this whole thing though...I'm in four drills. Since I am taking others spots in 3 of the drills, I have hardly practiced them at all and the 4th drill, Compulsory, we only perform at state so we just haven't practiced it much period. We are also not doing extra practices this year so in the two weeks between their last competition and state I have 2 practices to learn the drills. I'm trying not to stress about it, I know I can do it, but I do get a little worried about it on occasion. I certainly don't want to let the team down if I forget a part and screw every one up! That's not fair to them and all the hard work they've put into the drills.

In Freestyle I carry a flag (one of two flags in a column of ten riders) and lead part of it and have my own special little spot for part of it, so if I screw up it's bad. I have been able to fill in in "my" spot a couple times in the last month so I know the drill a little bit. In Short Program I lead for part of it and am mostly a follower for the rest, but I rode that drill for the first time last weekend so it's not as familiar to me as Freestyle. The quad that I am a part of is the quad that I've been riding with for the past few years. I wrote the drill so I know it, but I'm in a different spot then I had been riding so I need to basically learn it backwards from what I was used to riding. I think I mostly follow in it though so hopefully it will be easy enough.

To make the weekend even more interesting, there is a cutting show on that Saturday. I'm leading the standings for my class right now, but the boyfriend is sneaking up on me, along with a couple other people that could take the lead if I miss a show. The arenas are about a half hour apart and my ride time for drill is later in the afternoon so I'm hoping that I can sneak out and get my cutting class in before I have to be back for drill. Should be interesting. Fingers crossed that it works out! I'm not holding my breath though.

So wish me luck with drill! I'm going to need it! Kitten updates coming soon, promise! I hope to have a little time this weekend to get some pics of them up. Thanks for some really cute name suggestions! I really liked Ethel and Lucy, Patch and Tabitha (love it!), and Romy and Michelle. Great ideas! I was going to call them Rita and Tini, like the drinks, but they just weren't fitting. I think I have some cute ones picked out though, I'll let you know what they are if they stick.

Hope you all are having a great week and enjoying some good weather! Any fun adventures for you guys on the horizon?

3 Day Weekend!

Yeehaw! It's a three day weekend!

Of course I have a to do list that's a mile long, but I have three days to do it all and as of this post (10 am Saturday) I've already put a pretty good dent in it.

Sleep in Saturday morning: check
Laugh at my drill team who has already been at a drill competition for 2 hours this morning, not including the time on the road to get there by 8 am: check!

I know, I know, I'm not very nice. But I gotta say, while I have had the itch to go back to a full time riding member of my drill team, it has been kinda nice not having to go to all the day competitions we've already done! I really am getting a lot of stuff done around my house that I wouldn't be getting done if I wasn't just an associate member.

I get to go chase some buffalo later today which should be very fun! I might even get to ride both the girls on the buffs since the boyfriend may not be available. I've been dying to ride Sugar for a while now. We've got a bbq to go to at a friends house later tonight and then it is yard work, yard work, yard work! Oi!

I bought lots of sunscreen so hopefully I won't get fried again. My back is just now peeling so that is loads of fun. It's supposed to be sunny and low 70's all weekend, which is just perfect. I'm really looking forward to having a productive, fun and relaxing weekend!

Happy Memorial Day weekend to y'all! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

I am an adult!

Sadly, I feel the need to state that right now.

Next, I have to state that I really love drill. I LOVE RIDING DRILL. Drill is SO much fun when things go right.

Unfortunately, things can go so, so wrong.

If I could repeat the glory days of my first couple years of drill every year, I'd only be drilling. No reining or cutting for me. I'd be perfectly happy.

But somehow my team has morphed into some sort of drama central full of bickering kindergartners. I really, honestly felt like I was back in grade school tonight at a team meeting.

For the record I also must state that my coach is absolutely awesome and probably a saint. I guess she'd have to be to put up with all of us as much as she does and I know I only see a fraction of the drama that she deals with.

We had a round table discussion tonight in an attempt to air out some feelings with the hope of getting past some of the drama. Members were asked to talk about how they are feeling about things, both good and bad, and then any helpful suggestions or constructive criticism that might help get us back on track.

There were comments along the lines of people not talking to particular people while we're warming up, so that obviously means that they don't like them. Seriously? Just because I don't talk to you doesn't mean that I don't like you. Sometimes it does, but usually it just means that I'm enjoying being on my horse (or really pissed off at her and concentrating!) and just don't feel like gossiping. One of my very good friends is on the team. I do usually manage to at least say hi at some point, but I'm sure there have been times that we've gone entire practices without speaking. It doesn't mean I'm mad at her. It just means I didn't get the opportunity to chit chat because I was otherwise occupied. The end. We're adults and secure enough to not need that interaction every single time.

My favorite comment on this point was the person that argued that she's concentrating on warming up her horse so others shouldn't take offense if she doesn't say hi, then two sentences later whined about how she feels like she's ostrasized and no one wants her to be part of the team. Wow.

There was the suggestion (again) of making some sort of seating chart at meetings or assigning people different partners to ride with during practice so we can all get to know each other, not just stay in our cliques. Again...seriously? A seating chart? Assigned partners?!? I haven't had a seating chart since I was in junior high! We generally end up randomly spread out and riding with different people throughout the practice and in our drills anyways. If you want to make friends, go make friends. Don't wait for a seating chart to tell you who you need to talk to today.

There were tantrums thrown and personal attacks made, broad ambiguous statements made that people took as personal attacks and of course bickering, though that was mostly moderated. It was ridiculous and made me realize why I just can't seem to get motivated to get my ass off the couch on Sunday afternoons to go to drill practice. I'm only an associate member this year so I don't have an assigned spot in the drills and don't feel obligated to go. If I had a spot and knew people were counting on me, I'd be there with bells on.

Can't always promise a smile on my face though.

I love my team. I work my butt off for my team. When I am at anything having to do with drill I'm there 110% for my team. I make absolutely sure I am ready to go and on time. I volunteer to do things for the team and make sure I get them done to the best of my ability. I am conscious of the fact that at competitions and drill functions I represent my team and make a point of smiling, saying good luck to passing teams and making sure I don't do anything that would make my coach or any of my team members embarrassed to wear the same team shirt as me. My coach is very involved in the area associations and I believe one of her main goals at drill functions is to try to bridge the gaps between teams. I'm not outgoing by any stretch of the imagination, but I try because it's the way I believe my coach wants our team to be.

I also don't throw tantrums or play the blame game. You can't. It's just not productive. Or healthy. I want to win as much as the next person, but blaming other people for the team's short comings doesn't get you any where. All you can do is take responsibility for yourself and figure out if there is anything you could be doing differently to make it easier for other people to be correct. Or talk to them, adult to adult, about the issue. No yelling, no tantrums, no blaming. Take responsibility for your part and don't get defensive.

There are people on my team that throw tantrums. Big ones. They give the silent treatment. They stomp off (or ride off if they're mounted). They slam doors. They rip their horse around for no good reason. They send out mass emails to the team arguing and denying any responsibility or wrong-doing. They tell the teacher...er...coach. There are people worried about cliques and whether this person likes me or that person picks on me.

I absolutely cannot stand the drama. I'm an adult. I am on the drill team because it's a blast to ride and gets me on my horse. A lot. I do enjoy the camaraderie that comes with being on a team. I have extremely fond memories from my first year drilling of team meetings at the end of the day with a pitcher of margaritas and lots of laughter and good times. But I don't need or want to be every one's best friend. There are certainly some people on the team that I'd rather avoid. As long as they make an effort, are prepared and on time and don't cause drama I will absolutely respect them as a teammate. Regardless of their horse's breeding, their riding skills, how nice their rig is or whether I like them on a personal level. I think that is all you can ask of people when you have a large group spending that much time together in a competitive setting.

I just want to have a good time, enjoy my horse and hopefully kick some butt while we're there! Why do people have to make it so difficult?!?