Turning The Second Barrel: An Equestrian Journal

Equestrian Challenge Day 4

Day 4 - A ride that impacted your life

This one was definitely a hard one at first however when I sat on it for a minute one ride stuck out and that was my last ride before I had surgery on my hip. It really was a ride that shown me that I'm so so so lucky to be in the situation to be able to ride and show and all of that even if there are troubles along the way. It was largely a whole Saturday shoe however the true last ride was a barrel pattern on Spunky and I came out of the arena absolutely bawling. Mostly because there was uncertainty. I knew I was not going to be able to ride for another two months afterward and that was huge speaking it was during the most important part of the show season.

And there was a slight fear we weren't entirely sure it was just a bone cyst, while the specialists were 99% sure it was they kept telling us that they couldn't rule something else out until they were in there. That and we didn't know if there was going to have to be physical therapy afterward or anything of that manner and it was a ride that was totally moving. You know those rides where you're thrown to the ground and you reevaluate why you started? It was a lot like one of those.

It has definitely entirely changed me (the rode somewhat but mostly the whole experience) and while I wish it hadn't have had to happen I'm thankful for the lessons it's taught and the outcome.

I know I'm probably going off down a rabbit hole at this point but I think every ride impacts my life in one way or another. Good, bad, whatever. They teach, hope, failure, sportsmanship, everything. I think every ride since that ride has been a little more special and taken with a whole lot more grace. There were things I assumed were normal and weren't and that's made a huge difference.

I'm going to stop before I fall further into the rabbit hole but this question just kinda hit something and I had an answer worth giving I feel.

Now on for the daily update! I didn't get too much done today however I did try my hand at tail plaiting and it was definitely interesting. I used too much tail hair and I had a huge mess. It was somewhat pretty the first time but got too loose as I went down and then the second I made it too thick and got tired and sloppy. I was too worried about it being tight and not enough about it being correct. It was pretty bad however I was still proud of it speaking I had never done a French braid before. Thankful first tries are just that, first tries, there are a million more tries afterward before the final product.