Rabbit Trails and Tangents

Ughhhhh whhhhhhyyyyyyy am I perpetually too busy to write? Because I'm shit at time management, that's why, haha. Recognizing it is the first step, right? Literally could not tell you what I did last week other than ride on Monday and pick up my saddle on Thursday -- I guess that's a lie, I did ride (sans stirrups!) in the new saddle on Thursday. Because I'm a glutton for punishment. Getting on was a bit tricky, and I'm gonna have to get used to using a girth that long again (the alta escuela has short billets like a jump saddle), and Ruby will need to adjust to the crupper.... haha. But we had a total blast riding in it for the first time!

Riding (excuse the dirty mane, lol)

I put the stirrups back on when I was done.

For everyone asking how the stirrups attached, there is a little bar up at the top!

Saturday the weather was weirdly gross and rainy and the temps dropped 15 degrees between when I did chores at 5:30 am and 8 when I ran to the feed store. But that was okay, because I had committed to attending a Toys for Tots charity event put on by members of the local chapter of the SCA. A few weeks back on a lark, I posted on my FB page looking for a medieval style gown for a photoshoot -- as always, bloggers being the most kickass people on the planet, JenJ reached out to me to offer her assistance. While I ended up getting a dress elsewhere, we had a nice conversation about her involvement in the SCA, and she "introduced" me (via FB message) some SCA members who were more local to me (about 2 hours east) who are involved in the equestrian aspect of the SCA. One of them, Eowyth, was planning on attending the Toys for Tots event, so we arranged to meet up!

Dress details!

I didn't really know what to expect as I headed off to the event, and to be honest, I almost chickened out more than once. While I have absolutely NO problem driving all over the country to meet random internet strangers at horse events, this was a bit different -- the event would be full of people in costume, and completely immersed in something I still really didn't understand (the limited internet research I did left me more confused than when I started). And no horses. The horror! Eowyth kindly offered to bring me some clothing options so I could fit in a bit, and we met up late Saturday morning. I immediately felt like I'd known her my entire life, as we sorted through gowns and she helped get me outfitted in "proper" attire (minus shoes and a head covering -- I rocked my fauxbarrys and went bareheaded haha). She introduced me to SO MANY PEOPLE (I remember like 5), and patiently explained the basic tenants of SCA events and answered my (probably silly) questions. When her duties pulled her away to participate in court as a peer, her friends stepped in and continued to educate me, including teaching me how to sew on a linen head cap! (we're not gonna talk about how the end result looked like a drunken monkey had been playing with a needle and thread).

Photo by Jay Reynolds. Ceremony gifting all new attendees with ceramic mugs. Can you spot me? ;)

Sewing things!

Combat!

I originally planned to hang out for a few hours and hit the barn on the way home for a quick ride -- but I ended up spending about eight hours there! It was a really unique, but fun experience. At several points, people sort of apologetically told me that I surely must find all this crazy -- to which I replied, horse people are fucking crazy, so I'm used to a lot of crazy in my life ;) mostly what I took away from the event was this was a group of passionate, dedicated, TALENTED people who were having SO MUCH FUN. Participating in this event, even in a small way, really got me intrigued. I don't necessarily know that I have the time or money to jump headfirst into another new (and expensive!) hobby, but I'm definitely interested in exploring it further. Particularly the horse events! It's not like I don't already have some Spanish tack.... haha. I may or may not have like 5 tabs on my phone open researching period Spanish attire and names..... Rabbit trails and tangents, yo -- that's my jam.

The ceramic mug I received, and a gorgeous coaster gift from Eowyth!

At any rate, it limited my horse time on Saturday, and then Sunday was dedicated to family Thanksgiving events. Last night I got my hair cut, so I skipped the barn, but today I packed riding clothes so I can hit the barn on the way home from work!

Look, off to do non-horse things!

The weather forecast for Thanksgiving weekend is promising, and while I have more family things on Thursday, I should have three glorious days to spend with the horses. Hopefully the sun will be shining! How about you? Have fun plans for the long weekend??