Are we back? I feel like we're back!

Lest you think all I do is trail ride these days (I wish, lol), Ruby and I are also back to pretty regular dressage schools! I eased back into things with quite a few short rides, and I'm still probably not quite back to the full level of work we did when we were in regular lessons, but my ankle has been doing well so I'm going to keep slowly increasing things (and connect with TrainerB about a virtual lesson, huzzah!). After several wretchedly hot weeks, this week has been much nicer! I was able to ride both Monday and Tuesday morning when it was about 60 - bliss!

Also my freshly dragged arena is bliss. Love. 

This is actually from last Friday's ride.

Not horse-related but someone anonymously sent me "Ouchie", who functions as an ice pack. 

The band-aid on his head is a nice touch. I laughed so hard when I opened it. 

Penny was a leeeeeetle too interested in Ouchie. 

Summer dapples are here but only in the right angle and light, sigh. Hopefully she hangs onto them until next month, we tentatively have a photoshoot planned with a SUPER TALENTED photog friend of mine :) 

Supermodel status. 

Monday night it was so nice (only about 80 degrees) that I desperately wanted to ride a second time once I finished working. I don't think my ankle is to a point where I want to subject it to one of Cinna's patented "spook and spin" maneuvers, which she is pretty much guaranteed to pull after a month off, so I opted to get Trigger out for some conditioning instead. Since he's back in the rotation as a trail horse for me/my friends, I figured he could use a little extra riding!

Safety... fourth? Fifth? Dunno I was on my bareback pad in shorts and sperrys there were plenty of poor decisions going on lol. 

DH and the neighbor have been maintaining our connected trails and despite the bugs, it was a nice ride! I need to see if he will go out on Trigger while I ride Ruby out some night this week. Ruby is such a dipshit about going out on these trails alone but so perfect on trails away from home, it's maddening. Maybe if DH is on Trigger she'll keep her brain inside her noggin.  

Such a pretty day!

#bloggerfriendsarethebestfriends

Queen of side eye

It didn't FEEL humid but the mirror disagreed lol. 

It did mostly burn off by the end of my ride!

I think the ship has sailed for me and Ruby in terms of Pony Cup this year (entries are due this week and I am just... not in the headspace for it) -- but there is another rated show the first weekend in August (coincidentally the show I spectated at with TrainerB's barn group last year to get to know them!) so hopefully if I can pick back up with virtual lessons, that will be a possibility. This show season hasn't quite panned out how I was hoping when I had BIG PLANS in January, between inflation destroying my show budget, TrainerB leaving her old barn and the interim one being so hard for me to get to, gas prices getting/staying obscene, and now my fucking ankle, but c'est la vie I guess. At least all the registrations and memberships are in order and I DID learn how to navigate the paperwork headache that is recognized shows, and I also got a saddle that helps me ride IMMEASURABLY better, and I hopefully nailed down a system so we can do remote lessons, so.... good things happened this year!