What Happens in Vegas...Stays in Vegas!

Well unless you get married- then the marriage certificate comes home with ya! Yep, Matt and I finally did it:-) We flew to Vegas a couple of weeks ago and got married on September 19th at the same Chapel my parents did over 30 years ago, Chapel of the Bells. It was just Matt and I and two awesome friends from California that were there. My wonderful photographer friend, Sharon, came and took pics for us! (but I only have a few from that shoot so far!) Her hubby Paul used my camera some for some quick shots too.
The Nut and LimmyKins stayed at Parker Dog Camp & Resort where they partook in lake activities and coyote chasing...dogs nor coyotes were harmed.

I found the perfect Vegas dress that was short in the front and long in the back...got it at David's Bridal off the "As Is" rack for under $300! It fit perfect, I didn't think I'd be able to pull off the strapless with my smallish chest, but I did! Yay! and I can't wait to "Trash" it next year with the dogs and Lester!
I did my own hair and was a disaster with the curling iron. I wanted to do a few more curls, but I think I would have ended up burning my face off if I had attempted it.
Poor Matt was still trying to figure out why I put him in a purple tie, I'm sure I'll never live it down
Elevator ride down to go get married. It was fun walking around the hotel and mall, everyone was so nice and giving us best wishes.
A couple that the awesome Sharon took! I can't wait to see the rest of them!
In the car off to get married!
OK we're married now! This was taken on the hotel balcony where we stayed...NOT! Actually it was just a really cheesy hotel attached to the Chapel that I thought would be a fun place to take pics. And it was
I know what this looks like-LOL! Great pic and timing Paul!
This is where we actually stayed...
Later we found a Dressage statue to pose with. After Sharon and Paul left we were lucky to get some pics together by passer bys, it was very nice of them.
and another horse statue! Yes I wish we had found these before all the wedding pics were taken:-(

This ROOM was amazing, it really felt like we were outside, but this was smack dab right in the middle of the mall of the hotel we stayed at. Everything was so cool, but expensive! We gambled some, but lost in the end. It was fun though and you're supposed to lose money in Vegas right? Looking back I wish Matt and I had gone to a show, organized our site seeing better and just done more and saw more and take more pics! But I was an idiot and packed the worst shoes for air travel and lots of walking so the first day and a half I didn't want to go anywhere and plus I couldn't really focus and let lose until after the whole marriage thing, but by then it was time to fly home, LOL. And I wish my family could have been there. At the time I didn't think it would bother me too bad if they didn't come (I know money is tight and we kinda planned it last minute), but it would have been so nice to have my parents there, heck they could have renewed their vows while we were there! No offense mom and dad, but that Chapel is so cheesy! From the low ceilings to the green carpet and fake candles in the corner and "old" building smell- LOL They wouldn't let Sharon take any inside photos and after THEY took all the photos of us inside they told us it would be another $500 to buy them...I bought 5 photos and I'm still waiting on them. We do have a video of the ceremony, but I don't know if I'm brave enough to post it...I was laughing at the beginning and couldn't really stop and then just got this total serious bitch face look...Matt just looks like a robot:-)

Dog Days of Summer

I don't think my Nut could look anymore relaxed do you? I'm going to have to get her her own sunglasses and find her a doggie friendly float.

I promise you she's not frozen in fear, she's loving every minute of it.

She actually does a little swimming in this one!

Looks like I got caught in the act of doing something naughty huh? Lester LOVES to be hosed off in the summer and makes sure I get his sweatiest parts by hiking his leg up like a dog.

Limo wanted no part of the day at the pool and she stayed in my sister's van.

Weeds are Purty!

I love when the back pasture isn't mowed and I can take my "Spring pics":-) Well it's May again and Lester celebrated yet another "Rebirthday". Can you believe that it's been 3 years since his colic surgery? Sometimes it seems like just yesterday I almost lost him...Even though I had to retire him from all riding this year I still don't regret my decision to do surgery. And I don't regret my decision of retiring him. I have found my peace with it and I am so lucky and so happy to be riding again even if it's not on my favorite horse.

My little ray of sunshine:-)

As a friend pointed out on Facebook, here's an "Action shot" LOL.

OK, now for some REAL action shots. I know what you guys are thinking, "He's retired?!" I was kinda thinking the same thing that day. But through all the bucking and running I can still see his stiffness, compensation and head bobbing. He really did learn to compensate well and trick us all into thinking he was really sound. Just the other day I walked him out of his stall and he was holding his head really stiff like he had a crick in his neck. I took him into the barn and he about fell into my arms while a massaged his neck and back and it seemed to help. I still can't believe how stiff and hard he was on his right side all through our riding days. Riding other horses correctly has really been a challenge for me because it was always about softening that right side of him- take, take, take -GIVE! Now I give to the other horses too much and don't hold a steady contact- but I'm getting better! For the last 2 months I have ridden on average 4-6 times a week and on several occasions 2 horses a day. I still can't believe I'm riding again!:-) I didn't even know how much I missed it really, I'm just so

lucky that all these opportunities have presented themselves when they did. I'm still riding the 2 Arabians and have started taking a weekly lesson with the owner on one of her boys. I've improved alot if I do say so myself:-) During one of the lessons she gave me such a wake up call. I never realized I didn't have my (inside) leg underneath me and at the girth, I know I've been told in the past to put it at the girth, but I never realized how far back my leg was and rending it pretty useless! I hope to have a video soon.

Ya I don't know what to say about this shot nor how I actually captured it! I'm usually too early or too late!

This pic makes me laugh because Less is actually scratching his on leg with his other foot and it was making him do the lip stretch and head turn of "Oh yeah, that's the spot". He is so freaking cute. Course I eventually had to put the camera down and scratch it for him and you know what happened next? He "dropped" on my head:-x Yeah, exactly what you're thinking. I was scratching his ankles and ending up crunching under him and then felt "something" hit my head. At least I was wearing a hat for protection! LOL

I know I have been a terrible blogger!:-( Both reader and writer! I'm going to try and do better I've just been so busy! I am never home anymore, just ask Matt, he reminds me of that everyday. He still won't let me forget he had to eat a bag of popcorn and a can of black beans one night.

It's a small world after all...

Here's a pic of JB that I took the other day...

Remember when I first got the new boots and I was so excited about them that I wore them back to work? Well check out this "It's a small world" story... One of the contractors that work for the company I work for noticed my boots and told me his wife rode. And better yet, rode dressage. Even better she rode with Gigi Nutter, the instructor I've ridden with on and off for the last 15 years. I told him to hook me up with some horses to ride! He said he'd talk to his wife, but you know how that goes, if you don't personally know someone you're leery about letting them on your horse...I'm the same way. The same week Gigi knew I was looking for a horse(s) to ride and knew someone that was having to move her horse pretty quick and that she'd talk to the owner about leasing him and keeping him at the farm. Turns out the owner did not want to lease him and had already moved him to a new farm. No biggie, I completely understood especially because it was after the leasing conversation that I put all the pieces together that we did "know" each other even though we had never met yet:-) Plus I had Billy and JB to keep me busy and CJ for that short time. So after I figured out who was who I talked more with my contractor friend and he evidently talked to his wife because I got a Facebook invite from her and the rest is history:-) just kidding...but really we chatted on FB one day and set up a time for me to come ride her horse and then asked if I would ride him while she's out of town during Spring Break... did I mention she keeps her horse at a farm that is only like 15 minutes from my home and work AND that the 2 Arabians just moved to the same place! I also got to ride the barn owner's mare on Friday and was asked to ride her this week while she's away. I've been riding my butt off lately and it feels great. I really thought I had lost the will and want to ever ride again. But it's definitely back.

Here's a video from 2 weeks ago of me riding Billy (at the old farm)...I'm learning a lot from him. I really need to have more support on that outside rein and he lets me know it!

I lied!

So much for my New Year's resolutions! I sent CJ back to his owner a couple of weeks ago, we just didn't click. He wanted to constantly take off and was just so nervous. I think he was sore and I just really didn't want to work through something like that again, I want something I can just get on and ride. Selfish maybe, but I think I've put in enough sideline time trying to figure out why a horse is acting a certain way.

I'm still riding the 2 dressage Arabians regularly so I don't feel like I've lost much. I also might start working some of the green Arabians too so right now I don't have a shortage of rides. I also feel less guilty about riding other horses when Lester isn't there to see me:-) he's like a jealous boyfriend and gets so mad and whiny. But damn, he is cute.

This is Billy, he's 3rd level and looks like a little warmblood. Gosh does he make me work for it, I've never ridden a horse before that required so much leg and for one to have NO reaction to my legs! Even my new magic boots can't save me! His owner gave me a lounge lesson on him last Saturday to work on my sitting trot and I thought I was going to die, I am so freaking weak. I haven't been able to ask for any of the fun stuff like shoulder in or half pass because I still can barely get him to move. It takes all my energy to just keep him forward. It's embarrassing actually!

The little gray one is JB aka Jumper Bunny. Apparently he liked to jumped out of his pasture as a weanling and stir up all kinds of trouble. He's a sweety though. He's 2nd level and I can get him to move a bit better, but it still takes everything I got. Both Billy and JB are very level headed and really nice to ride. I think I have been spoiled by forward thoroughbreds for too long and I'm really paying the price now. Lester never would just die out on me if I took my leg off him and didn't take much gas either:-)

Poor JB had a bout with colic last week let's hope he's completely over it. The weather has been crazy lately so that was no help. One day it's in the 70's and the next it's snowing, but that's Georgia for you.

My boots in action!

Oh and the first video of me riding CJ:-) I'm not terribly impressed with my position:-/, but I'm still trying to be very soft and quiet which means I don't want to sit too deep and can't put my legs on him much right now. The EXACT opposite from the other 2 Arabians I've been riding. They both take a lot of leg...Even though CJ looks fairly relaxed and quiet in the video he still anticipates too much and just wants to go go go. He wants to do it all right and all right now. He just worries too much and still gets too quick then curls that neck and puts his head to his chest.

When he canters going right he throws in little bucks, but doesn't seem to do it going to the left. I hope it's just because he's weaker on his right hind and the bucks will go away once he gets stronger.

I've been locking the dogs out of the riding area lately, but I have to say that the they did a pretty good job at staying out of my way and Peanut not trailing too close, but I think she was thrown off and confused because my sister, Jen, was the one filming and she probably thought she was me:-) Speaking of my sis I let her hop on CJ. She used to ride and have horses also, but then got very competitive in the dog agility, obedience and training world (all with greyhounds I might add).

Go go Ariat Boots!

I LOVE my new boots! They have given me my riding identity back. They do for me what a cape does for a Super Hero:-) I rode 3 horses last Thursday...go go Ariat boots! My long time instructor hooked me up to ride a student's 2 Arabians while she recovers from her hip replacement surgery. After riding one of them 2 weeks ago and barely fit enough to ride for more than 20 minutes is when I made the decision to go ahead and lease CJ. I have got to be in riding shape when an opportunity like this comes along, to work two very lovely dressage horses, one is training 2nd level and the other 3rd. Thursday was a perfect day in the high 50's and even though I'm technically off from the barn on Thursdays I left work early to go hop on CJ before going and riding the two Arabians.
Here is a lunging clip of CJ. I should have put him in side reins, I know. I think lunging really revs him up because he was a speed racer that night when I got on. Just wanted to go go go. He's still nervous because everything is still very new to him, but he's getting better and only pooping once now while we tack up! Gosh I miss that about Lester, he rarely, if ever pooped while I tacked him up or untacked him. I got on CJ the other day and just walked, not sure he's ever done that before:-) He seemed a bit shocked.
I can't do a post and not mention my Less Man:-) Whether it's his halter or someone Else's he loves to grab them. I had to switch him to his leather halter because since it's stiffer than his nylon one it's easier to sneak over his nose quicker. He always looks so defeated when he tries to grab for it and misses it:-)

Meet CJ the lease horse

So CJ, aka Cody's Missfire arrived last Saturday. So much for my New Year's resolution of blogging more! We put him out with Lester and Fella and they have all done very well together. Lester hasn't bullied him too badly even though he is jealous and King of the pasture. CJ likes to stay to himself for the most part. He needs some weight and some muscle so we are just going to take it slow, but hey, that's what I'm best at- starting over and going slow... It might not look like it, but CJ is quite the mover. I will get some video of that soon. The first 2 days after he arrived the weather was cold and wet, not good camera weather. I've hopped on him twice since Saturday and he wants to be a little speed demon, but he half-halts well so no worries. He's an ex-eventer so was trained to go be very forward, I imagine he'll like a slower pace when he figures it all out. I kinda feel like this is where Less and I left off. I mean he's been out to pasture for a year and out of work, but knows his job and does lateral work. He's got such a baby face, you can't tell he's 17 can you?
Cody's Missfire got his name because his daddy, (Cody something) jumped the fence one day and bred a mare he shouldn't have. CJ is an Arabian-Paint cross, but I forget which parent was which.

Ya think Less is showing a bit of his jealous side? LOL

Belated Xmas pics and Happy New Year!

I finally got some pics with the Santa hat on the Pigman:-) I really need to just accept the fact that I can get only 2 poses, well 3 out of the horse..."a grazing face plant", "forced hug" or the famous "begging/tongue" poses... he is the absolute worst model for anything else! But I do still love the impossible beast... he makes up for it in other ways like herding up his pasturemates and getting them to the gate when it's time. He's also the messiest horse when it comes to his stall, he doesn't care where his manure piles end and hay begins:-/ but the girl that does the stalls now said he makes up for that fact in personality alone, I'd have to agree:-) He is still the sweetest horse I have ever known.

So what are your New Year resolutions? I don't usually have any, but this year it's to ride more and keep a cleaner house (I know, stroke, huh) oh and be a better blogger-post/read/comment more! The Arabian, Basonge that I rode and posted about a few times was actually sold last month to a great home in Tennessee. But with new boots I had to find another mount so I will be leasing a horse soon...more to come on that:-)