When I arrived at the stables I checked the lesson roster to make sure I was riding Cactus. We had a few problems, mainly him keeping his head down, that I wanted to work out but… I didn’t have him! I was supposed to ride a new horse names Sydney!

When I found Sydney I called him over and to my surprised he actually walked up t the stall door to meet me. I mentally marked that down as a good sign. He was very well behaved when tacking up – he stood patiently as I groomed him, lifted his feet like a true gentleman, and didn’t object to the tightening of the girth. My instructor did come over to show my the special trick to his bridle – right ear in first. We don’t know if he’s just sensitive or had a bad experience, but if you bend that ear he will decide you’re not allowed to put his bridle on. Other than that he was perfect – dropped his head, took the bit, and seemed at peace with everything.

The one thing I noticed as we walked to the arena was the Sydney knew his job and did it well. He didn’t rush, he stayed close, but not too close, and he was content to stand still as I tightened the girth more and adjusted the stirrups. He stood still at the mounting block and waited until I was ready before walking off – the perfect angel.

The exercises that night were different. Including me there were four people in the lesson and  we warmed up by riding in a large circles. We had to stay the same distance from each other at all times – much like the spokes of a wheel. It started as a walk, then moved to a walk in two point. After that we sat down and moved into a posting trot, followed by a trot in two-point, and then a sitting trot with no stirrups. Finally, we had to go back to a posting trot, with stirrups, so I had the fun time of trying to figure out how to get my stirrups back at the trot for the first time.

By then I was exhausted. My previous lessons had been way easier, but this took so much concentration and strength. Sydney was perfect the whole time and trying his best to listen to what I was telling him. He was practically psychic with the turns and despite his extra bouncy trot (compared to Cactus) he was an easy ride.

After that we broke into groups of two for canter work, but the circle and distances remained the same. Before that night I had only ever cantered by myself so I was a little nervous. Let’s just say the bouncy trot was worth it – Sydney felt like a gliding rocker at the canter. I had used my technique readings that I had done during the week to give him the appropriate canter cues and he picked up on them flawlessly.

After the circles we moved to using the whole arena and worked on walking over poles in “balance position” followed by trotting over poles in the same position. I hadn’t heard of it before then, but it turned out to be standing in the stirrups and balanced. Very hard work, but very good exercise!

Finally, it was jumping time. I had figured I would’t be jumping in my first lesson, but I was wrong. We all took turns going over a low crossrail (only about 1 foot) at the trot, but when it got to my turn I was really nervous. Unfortunately, my instructor picked up on it and made me sing to avoid holding my breath. I’m still not sure what was more terrifying – singing or jumping the first time. Naturally, it was a really sloppy first jump – I got thrown off balance and my legs went back. Sydney started having second thoughts about me as a rider (can’t blame him.) The other riders tried their jumps again and then it was my second time. My instructor stressed the importance of keeping my feet forward and letting Sydney do was he does best and… it worked! The second time over we had no issues and Sydney became content again.

And now I’m still giddy and excited! I have another jumping lesson on Tuesdays now. My new helmet arrived and it fits great, so I may be filming the lessons soon.

The Troxel Legacy Gold helmet is pretty, but it turned out to be too small. I love, love, love the matte black finish so I’m exchanging it for the next size up. If I was smart I would have ordered both sizes since I was right on the border, but live and learn! It looks like we’ll all have to wait until I get the new one before I can start filming my adventures.

The breeches are NICE. They aren’t fleece like fleece pajamas – they feel more like polyester spandex material, but slightly thicker? That’s the best way I can think to describe it. They fit perfectly, were warm, comfortable, and flattering. The only ONLY problem I might have is that they did pill up a bit where my leg was rubbing on the saddle, but in their defense it was actually uncomfortable for me as well. I was concerned that they’d be more slippery than I was used to and I actually though they were for a second there. I’m still quite the amateur so I was working on my sitting trot and I could swear is was slipping and sliding more than normal. As it turns out I was just not riding correctly and once I realized what I was doing wrong I had no problem. Anyway, I’m NEVER wearing jeans to ride in again. These things are amazing!

The riding crop is as expected. It’s a tiny bit longer than I thought, but not out of the realm of normal or reasonable crops. The forest green color is lovely and subtle. Since it was dark outside it actually looked black at first glance. It got the job done, though. Cactus started acting out once during the lesson and was prancing sideways like a fool (I guess tracking right was too much for him?) so I had the opportunity to use the crop for the first time. Poor thing wasn’t expecting it because he squealed like you wouldn’t believe. I actually thought I had hurt him, but I tried it on myself later and I think he was just caught off-guard. Poor, poor Cactus. He did listen for the rest of the lesson

The Whip Clip is also good. I only pulled it off my boot along with the crop once because I didn’t twist and pull, but otherwise it stayed put and held the crop quite nicely. If you’re like me and you’re terrified of losing your crop and also have a habit of letting it lie around, I’d definitely recommend the Whip Clip.

Needless to say, the lesson went well! Cactus and I are getting along, I’m making friends (acquaintances?) with the other people during lessons, and I’m making decent progress. After the lesson, when the instructor was telling everyone what they needed to work on she didn’t have anything to tell me. Apparently, I keep improving with every lesson so I just need to keep it up! In February I am to start jumping lessons (yay!) and I am in talks about moving up to twice a week. Maybe once just flat lessons and once jumping would be worthwhile.

• Devon-Aire Ladies Power Fleece Breeches (because it’s cold in Ohio sometimes)
• Troxel Legacy Gold Duratec helmet
• Roma Rainbow Stick (a pretty green riding crop)
• The WHIP CLIP (lets you clip your crop onto the side of your boot!)

Everything SHOULD arrive by the end of the day on Thursday (keep your fingers crossed for earlier since I go riding at 6PM) so I can give a full report on whether or not anything sucks.

Another point of note is that Jason has a GoPro HD Hero camera thing (he got it to stick on his car when driving I think) and he decided to order a helmet mount so that I can record my riding escapades. Here’s a link to an example:

Cross Country Helmet Cam

Wish me luck!

To make this recipe you will need:

• two filets of salmon
• salt and pepper
• one bunch of Swiss chard
• one clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• crushed red pepper

My preferred way of cooking salmon goes as follows:

1. Preheat over to 450 degrees F
2. Salt and pepper the salmon
3. Place skin side down on a baking sheet
4. Bake until done (around 15 minutes)

Super simple and it doesn’t ruin the fish my adding all sorts of weird flavors to it via strange herbs and spices.

The Swiss chard is equally easy to cook. I’ve only found it in the organic section of Kroger so far, but keep your eyes peeled. You can probably substitute some other green, like spinach, and it will still be tasty. I heard that chard is an acquired taste, but both Jason and I loved it the first time we had it. It can have a bolder, more bitter taste than other greens, but that seems to pair well with a strong fish like Salmon

Here’s how I prepared the Swiss chard:

1. Rinse and dry the leaves
2. Remove the main stem that goes up the middle and slice the leaves into 1″ strips
3. Mince a clove of garlic (a little goes a long way after the leaves cook down)
4. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
5. Saute the garlic and some crushed red pepper (optional, if you want some spice) about one minute
6. Add the chard and cook, covered, about 5 minutes
7. Flip the leaves and cook another 5 minutes (or until your preferred doneness – I prefer JUST wilted)
8. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

I serve this meal by dividing the the chard into two plates (somehow one bunch is enough for two people) and then topping it with a salmon filet (minus skin.)

Enjoy!

Normally my lessons include me and a few other girls. Little girls. Between the ages of 7 and 12. They’re also better than me AND faster learners, but dammit! I’ve always wanted to learn to ride horses so I  just swallow my pride and carry on.

Since it was a make-up lesson it was early in the morning and included a bunch of people that I didn’t know. There ended up being about six other people and I’m pretty sure that none of them had ever even see a horse. Luckily for me this meant that I could go off in the big arena myself with Cactus and work on changing speeds at the trot and getting better at the sitting trot. After about 45 minutes of that my instructor came back over and we worked on the canter.

Up until today I’d always had a little problem, due to my inexperience, of accidentally telling Cactus to gallop. Today we actually did a halfway decent job of keeping a nice, steady canter and even did some small circles. I think there might be hope for me yet!

Here’s a picture of Cactus:

I’ll try to post some more coherent posts about horseback riding as I understand more of what I’m doing and not doing. I’m picking up exercise again in an effort to get less tired during riding lessons and to be a better rider. I’m sure Cactus will thank me.

Anyway, I know that a lot of things in my life are going to be changing whether or not I want them to, but I would really like to remain more or less the same.  I always keep trying to do things or learn more things,but in all honesty the last thing I need is to be so busy I need to schedule bathroom breaks. No thanks! While everyone else is busy scrambling around and hating themselves for their failures I’m going to sit back with a cup of coffee and a good book and actually enjoy myself.

The other beef I have with New Year’s Resolutions is that people wait until the new year to start something that they should have started long ago. If you want to get in shape, or eat well, or learn a new language, WHY wait until the planet flops around the sun again? The way I see it is that if you REALLY want to make a change in your life you need to do it immediately. Don’t wait for some other event because the more you allow yourself time to wait the more likely you are to wait a little longer, then a little longer, and then you’re a grandparent with one foot in the grave and no life to show for it.

That’s my two cents, anyway.

This is a spicy Mexican chicken soup with chipotle chilis making up part of the block. It takes about 45 minutes to make and only uses a couple ingredients that I could consider difficult to find. I found the recipes on www.eatingwell.com  and fell in love. I made a couple tweaks to personalize it and it’s been a staple ever since.

Ingredients:

• 6 and a half cups water
• chicken bouillon (enough for 6 cups of broth)
• 1 head of garlic (peeled)
• 8 ounces chicken breast
• oil (vegetable or something similar)
• 1 medium onion (chopped up)
• 2 poblano (or anaheim) peppers* (also chopped up)
• 2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce**
• 2 cups of instant brown rice
• fresh radishes (sliced)
• fresh cilantro (chopped)
• an avocado (sliced)

1. Boil the water, bouillon,chicken, and garlic cloves until the chicken is cooked and the garlic is tender (about 12 to 15 minutes.) Remove the chicken to a cutting board to rest and put the garlic into a blender or mini-prep.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent. Add to the broth.
3. Add a half cup of the broth and the chipotle chilis to the blender with the garlic and process until smooth. Add all of this back in to the broth and give it a quick stir.
4. Chop up the chicken (should be cool enough to touch now) or shred it and add it to the broth along with the rice. Cook until the rice is done (about 10 to 12 minutes.) While it’s cooking I usually slice the radishes and avocado, and chop the cilantro. I also recommend sprinkling some lime juice on the avocado to keep it from turning brown.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the cilantro, radishes, and avocado and enjoy!

* Poblanos can be substituted by Anaheim (they’re smaller), green bell (they’re not spicy at all), or serrano (hotter and smaller)
** I get my canned chipotle chilis from Kroger in the Mexican cuisine aisle, but they can be harder to find in more… remote grocery stores. I highly recommend stocking up if you can’t find them easily since they last awhile in the can. That and they’re delicious!