Horse Club Campout

Our saddle club had its annual camp out last weekend. Everyone in the club comes to the grounds and brings their horses and some food. We have a campfire, and people can ride in the large show arena and in the smaller practice arena. It really is a good time. We spend most of the summer doing all the work so other people can show and compete with their horses, so this is our time to use the arenas. We had a great campfire, lots of good food, and plenty of laughs. John brought his famous Serbian rakija for everyone to sample (keeps the chill off on an autumn night). I took some photos, but they are just dreadful....I will have mercy on all of you and not both to post them here. (The photo above is our saddles hanging on the fence at The Dunes after our Sunday ride.)

We rode The Girls in the arena, and it was pretty neat. It is fun to ride the arena, because you know it is a groomed, safe surface with no holes, rocks, etc. I also like to ride Divna around the barrels and pretend I am in competition.

On Sunday we went out and rode in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore again. I just love those trails -- they always look different so it is not like riding the same trail over and over. The vegetation in the Dunes changes so much with the seasons, and the recent tornado in that area "adjusted" some of the trees, and as a result, some of the trails. No falls this time, which was fantastic -- everyone stayed upright! It was a nice, normal ride with a mix of walking and loping. There were a lot of riders out on Sunday because it was such a beautiful day. We are going to have to use these trails while we can -- the park service closes them to equestrians in the winter so the cross-country skiers can have their fun. No problem, because we are fortunate enough to have trails nearby......

Last Horse Show of 2009.....

Yesterday we had our last show of the 2009 season for the Midwestern Saddle Club. It was a perfect day, and John and I had been looking forward to helping out at the show and seeing everyone for the last time this season. On Thursday, I came down with a wicked case of bronchitis, and have been pretty sick.

So there has been no riding, and no working at the horse show for me. But we did go to the show for a couple of hours.....I probably shouldn't have, but we really wanted to be a part of it. So here are some photos from the day...

One of our young contestants getting ready to barrel race.

Another racing contestant.....

And another......

The club holds raffles at each event to help riase funds. We always buy some tickets, and we bought these neat hooded sweatshirts...Here I am checking our tickets. We didn't win. Even though I was sick, and we were only there for a short time, it was enjoyable. I think it did me some good to get out a little bit, and it is always good to be around horses!!!

Horse Show - Beach Day - Big Egg

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted anything. It has been crazy lately...there must be something strange going on, because all of a sudden there are all these health problems with people I know, and there have been some passing on lately. Very bizarre that it is all happening at once -- members of my family, friends' parents, co-workers. Just really sad.





The Midwestern Saddle Club had a show on Saturday, and being members, John and I were there working. John was Ring Steward -- a job he has really grown into. I was manning the arena gate, and I made a few mistakes...but thankfully the judge was good natured and forgiving. I have learned a lot in this saddle club about what it takes to pull a horse show together. It is really a lot of work, and it is not as easy as it looks.















It was pretty hot on Saturday, and it was REALLY hot on Sunday. We do not like to ride when it is 90 degrees -- we feel it is too hard on the horses. So instead of riding on Sunday, we went to the beach. We live about 10 miles from Lake Michigan, and Michigan City has a fabulous waterfront park. I took a photo of our "symbol" of the southern tip of the lake -- the lighthouse at Michigan Ciy. We have not been there in a couple of years. It is interesting how your life goes thru stages -- I spent most of my pre-horse life going to the beach. I even rented an apartment about 1/2 block from Lake Michigan when I was single. But now I spend more time in barns. It was strange going to the beach again. I even crammed my 53 year old and 20 pound overweight body into a swimsuit (frightening). We even went in the water!! If you know anything about the Great Lakes, they are fresh water which equals cold. During a hot summer, the lake will warm up to tolerable by August, but this year we have not exactly had a warm summer, let alone hot. So the water was, let's say, refreshing. But we went in, and it did the trick!! Cooled us off immediately....


I posted last month about our chicken who had a health problem, most likely due to laying large eggs. Well, we got an egg last week that was the most enormous chicken egg I have ever seen. I hope this photo does it justice. You wouldn't believe this thing.....

Here is hoping for cooler temps and a chance to ride again soon!!!