Wizard Rides 407 & 408: Stormbringer

Wednesday, 9/5/11

Gina Keesling and I are very, very busy with the 2013 Horses and Hope calendar pre-production (order yours here!). Between the calendar and the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale, I have not gotten to the barn nearly as much as I’d like.

I’m also contending with my annual battle with diminishing daylight. It’s that time of year again, when I can’t ride in the daylight after work. This means I need to get out more often in the mornings. Before work on Wednesday, I went out for a ride. The forecast was dead-on, and as I swung a leg over Wizard’s back, the rain began, sprinkles for the first minute or two, and then a torrential downpour. We scurried from the outdoor arena to the safety of the indoor arena, and finished our ride. The indoor is not very large, maybe the size of a 20 meter circle, but we made do. I worked on transitions, walking in the corners and trotting the sides. I was feeling pretty good about my riding, so we did a little canter work. Cantering is not an easy task for Wizard in the ring, but he was pretty good. I did, unfortunately, notice him getting tight and bouncy to the right. I also noticed that he was a little growly when I groomed his right side. And we JUST had the chiropractor work on him, so I’m going to have to figure something else out. Wait and see for now. He’s sound, and continues to put on weight.

Saturday, 9/8/11

Kris and I spent a nice, relaxing afternoon at the barn. We were a little too relaxed. There was a line of really wicked-looking storms that were crossing from PA into NJ, and they got closer and closer on the radar. By the time we tacked up for a trail ride, we only had about half an hour of riding time. The change in weather was dramatic- I did not even see the dark line of clouds until Kris turned around and saw it creeping up behind us. We quickly did an about-face and briskly made our way back to the barn. During the quickie ride, Wizard was good. A tiny bit tense, but that could have been the changing weather.