The Crop Chronicles: I Give Up

We may be nearing the end of this series.. *** OH, DON'T BE SILLY—NOT HORSEBACK RIDING!  I tried. I did, I really did. But the dressage whip is the only thing Rebel respects, and it now seems pointless for me to ride without it. Which means I gotta figure out how to get it from …

Victories of All Kinds

An experienced horse person might read about my first successful crack at a course and scoff. If I was bothered by that, it might serve to minimise the sheer joy I can still tap into when I think about it. Luckily: not bothered. In the same way, there's a lot of chat on socials about …

Talk About On the Nose

I'm going to block quote this, because: yeah. "Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation so difficult that it seems like a long-drawn crisis; we cannot solve it; there is no way to escape. Such a problem will occupy our thoughts continually—round and round it goes and the more we think about it, the more …

The Crop Chronicles: UN £@*!? BELIEVABLE

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA this made me so mad. *** I LOST THE AMAZING AND MAGICAL STICK OF WONDER I lost it. It's gone. Gone. I know exactly why I lost it. I was all over the place, mentally, and I mean all. over. the. place. Anxious about a business trip [which I am now on, dateline: Toulouse], …

Tough Love from ODAT

Getting back into One Day at a Time is nothing like getting into a warm, welcoming bath (I'd say another Al-Anon day-by-day book, Courage to Change, is more like that). Nope, this is more like sitting down with a friend who is all about the tough love. They have your best at heart but are …

The Crop Chronicles: The Amazing and Magical Stick of Wonder

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA that stick was so manky! *** 28 February, 2008 We were walking the horses round and round prior to starting Tuesday's hour. Reb had been chowing down before the lesson, the first of his day, and I reckoned it could go either way: grumpy from having been taken away from his hay, or fizzy …

Dare I Put The Long Boots Back On?

Yesterday's post required I dig around the Riding Clothes Chair for the crops I knew lived in that corner. While I was there, it occurred to me to see did I still have the light blue bandana I used to wear, soI could turn it into a No-Sew Pleated Face Mask; as I was digging …

The Crop Chronicles: Fallen Soldier

I actually remember this like it was last week when it was still okay to go up the yard... (Also, this was little over a year in to my horseriding career, and I didn't realise that you could pick crops off the ground like so many daisies...) *** TUESDAY, 2 OCTOBER, 2007  The fallen soldier …

The Wisdom To Know The Difference

The yard is closed, as is only correct. It's a challenge not to feel > I was going to qualify that, but yeah: it's a challenge not to feel, and as much as I'd like not to feel, if I don't, it's only going to go worse for me. Even though I had gotten myself …

There’s Always a First Time

Ah, Saturday. I have missed many a lesson, by choice and due to injury, and now, due to global pandemic. #StayHome and read about my very first horseback riding lesson. It's the very first thing I ever wrote about my experience, well before Many Brave Fools was even a glimmer in my eye. It's also …