Ride 29, Monday February 24, 2020
CA kicked off Sierra's final week of training with Sunday off, followed by a week of relaxation and test preparation for the show on Sunday. The first ride of the week was just that, and CA reported that it was an incredible ride!
Ride 30, Tuesday February 25, 2020
On Tuesday, CA and Sierra had a lovely ride in the ring for about 20 minutes, where Sierra didn't put a foot wrong. As a means of continuing with this relaxing week of casual test prep, CA decided to end the ride on a good note and she took Sierra on a solo trail ride down to the nearby river to cool out. Sierra was perfect on the trail, which made me chuckle given all the trail riding issues we had last year. Brat!
Ride 31 & 32, Wednesday February 26 & 27, 2020
On Wednesday & Thursday, Sierra was once again fantastic. She seems to be really thriving with the pressure being taken off and once again just working on relaxation with slightly lower demands of working at a significantly higher level to ensure she's feeling happy, loose and supple for the show on Sunday.
Ride 33, Friday, February 28, 2020
On Friday, Sierra threw a wrench in her recent good-streak and granted herself a nearly two hour ride as she was "ultra spinny" and unfocused. It wasn't exactly the ride I was hoping for before I get to see her the next day!
I decided to end this update after Friday due to doing a separate post for my trip down south, however I am sad to say I am writing this post from my home on Sunday morning. Unfortunately yesterday we hit the road but a large winter storm was passing through the area and was on it's way towards central AB - towards Sierra. We were driving into the eye of the storm and weren't even two hours from home before the truck and trailer had shook loose on the icey roads and slid sideways, taking up two lanes on multiple occasions. After the third near-miss and passing through graveyards of vehicles in the ditches I told my hubby that this was enough. I'm so lucky he's a fantastic driver and he kept us safe, but it wasn't worth the risk. The roads were only going to get worse the further we got and it wasn't worth it if we didn't make it there at all or ended up writing off the truck and trailer.
I am sad, but also very relieved. It's an interesting combination of emotions, truly. CA decided to scratch the show due to the road conditions and me not being there to help, which was really disappointing to me but if the roads are as bad as she says, it's the right call. Her and my horse are worth more than some show miles. Luckily, even though me not going down created some minor issues for me, but there is a shipper coming up on Friday so I have hired them to haul Sierra up for me so I can still get a few rides on her before the clinic and I just have to sit on my hands for a few more days. Alternatively, CA could have hauled her back up on the clinic weekend, but this works better for me and I get her home a week sooner.
Due to scratching the show (no refund from the show), CA offered to ride Sierra for 'free' (I have a credit for having paid her to ride in the show, but would still owe about $70) so she will get a few extra rides and be home on Friday afternoon. C'est La Vie, I guess.
I decided to end this update after Friday due to doing a separate post for my trip down south, however I am sad to say I am writing this post from my home on Sunday morning. Unfortunately yesterday we hit the road but a large winter storm was passing through the area and was on it's way towards central AB - towards Sierra. We were driving into the eye of the storm and weren't even two hours from home before the truck and trailer had shook loose on the icey roads and slid sideways, taking up two lanes on multiple occasions. After the third near-miss and passing through graveyards of vehicles in the ditches I told my hubby that this was enough. I'm so lucky he's a fantastic driver and he kept us safe, but it wasn't worth the risk. The roads were only going to get worse the further we got and it wasn't worth it if we didn't make it there at all or ended up writing off the truck and trailer.
I am sad, but also very relieved. It's an interesting combination of emotions, truly. CA decided to scratch the show due to the road conditions and me not being there to help, which was really disappointing to me but if the roads are as bad as she says, it's the right call. Her and my horse are worth more than some show miles. Luckily, even though me not going down created some minor issues for me, but there is a shipper coming up on Friday so I have hired them to haul Sierra up for me so I can still get a few rides on her before the clinic and I just have to sit on my hands for a few more days. Alternatively, CA could have hauled her back up on the clinic weekend, but this works better for me and I get her home a week sooner.
Due to scratching the show (no refund from the show), CA offered to ride Sierra for 'free' (I have a credit for having paid her to ride in the show, but would still owe about $70) so she will get a few extra rides and be home on Friday afternoon. C'est La Vie, I guess.
Ugh - winter... too bad you missed the show, but so glad you guys made it back safely. And likely a very good call to turn around.
ReplyDeleteThat is a bummer but better everyone is safe!
ReplyDeleteTrailering in winter is a crapshoot. You made the right decision even though it sucks.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you made the right call. Winter can be frustrating, but missing one show won't make a huge impact in the long run (especially since CA got a chance to show her earlier and now knows what you are dealing with)
ReplyDeleteBetter safe than sorry! Still stinks, but at least there's a silver lining and Sierra will get a few extra pro rides <3
ReplyDelete