Three bareback rides today! Have you ever had one of those days when you got so much done and you just could not figure out how? Today was like that for me. Time seemed to stand still so I could do the barn "work" first, and still have time to ride all three boys!
When I arrived I groomed Sovey and Pie and then opened the new gate for special grazing in the early morning sunshine. While they munched, I mowed riding paths in the hay field and woods and around the perimeter. I ate lunch at 11am outside beside the horses. Pie and Foggy kept trying to steal my sandwich, but mayonnaise was definitely not on their list of favorites! Pie gave me many views of his tattoo. He says, "icky" to mayo.
After lunch I rode each horse bareback around all the new paths and through the woods. It was a gorgeous, cool, May day with sunshine and light wind and zero humidity! The boys all seemed to sense the beauty of the day. I rode everyone on the buckle of the bitless bridle and no one even flinched once. Pie went first, then Sovereign, then little bunny rabbit Foggy. The woods were heavy with honeysuckle fragrance and wild roses and locust. Sigh. It was incredible. I have lived a charmed life, but this day takes the cake.
I've waited to use the image, above, on a post sometime. This painting was featured as the back cover of the April 1971 Reader's Digest! I found it a few years ago in my grandmother's house and I've been saving it for the perfect spring day. I never imagined it would be a day when I got to ride all three. I rarely have that much time.
Below is the front cover with the list of articles. I dig ephemera and this copy is an amazing little time capsule about our country at that time in history. I hope you can enlarge it enough to see that it has everything from a synopsis of what happened at Kent State the previous spring, to a look at First Lady, Pat Nixon. There is also an interesting retrospective about the Boston Marathon with its $2 entry fee (!) and no official women runners (women were not allowed to run the marathon at that time, although a handful snuck in).
I've posted this photo of me on Dimples before, but here I am in 1971 - oblivious to the worries of the world outside of horses. Time really does stand still sometimes.
