If I were to measure the success of a 3-day weekend by the amount of cholesterol consumed, the amount of sunscreen spread, and amount of saddle oil transferred to my jeans, I would have to say the weekend was a success.

Saturday morning we had some errands to run and chores to do. We got to ride in the afternoon. Since it had been ten days or so since Jessie's "episode" we decided on a shakedown ride just to see how she was feeling. We did a fairly routine canal ride out to the development. We loped around and she was none the worse for wear.

Sunday we headed for the river. We started in a different place. We began at the barn at Horseman's Park and rode to Lake Ming. The trail wound along the river and went through some very gently rolling hills. We had to circumnavigate the campground because it was very crowded for the holiday weekend. The horses all did very well. Dusty wore his boots and got along well with them. After the ride we had a picnic lunch in the shade of the barn. I made a simple little video of the ride, if you're interested. It's a beautiful area less than 30 minutes from our home.



The video

Monday morning we took the dogs for a walk in the park before we rode in the neighbor's arena. Jessie and I worked on rollbacks, collection, and speed control. I thought we did a lot of loping. It was warm enough to at least get Jessie to break a sweat. She is gently improving in all these areas. I am hoping for a light bulb moment for one of us. I can't tell if it's my communication skills or her laziness that is keeping us from doing these maneuvers more snappily (is that even a word?). We'll just keep working at. I know it will come.

One other note: I heard Adam Carolla say, "Find something you love and would do even if no one paid you. Show up early and often and pay your dues". For me that's volunteering at the Downunder Tour stop. My application got approved last week for the Las Vegas stop June 11th ~ 13th. My wife is going to cover my duties at work, got my hotel room booked, and I'm ready to go.