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Showing posts from August, 2012

Wildlife Continued

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The deer population in Connecticut is alive and thriving; especially those deer that live near farms. The heat and horse flies have finally backed off enough that I’ve started riding around the farm again. When they planted the corn in the spring, they left small access strips along the edges of a couple of fields so that my cousin and I could ride our horses. Riding my taller horse, the corn still towers over me. On the other side, are the woods. In some places, grass has grown in the access strips and it is up to my knees when I am on my horse – so about five feet tall maybe. Our access area to the farm roads All of this combined, except for me and my horse, makes a wildlife paradise. On a ride a few weeks back, Secret and I were coming back to the barn, and came to the access area above. As we were headed into the strip between the corn and woods, we startled a deer who was snacking on the corn and he bolted into the woods. He in turn startled us. Luckily Secret took

Fall is coming...

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I was out for a ride on Secret today, and noticed some of the leaves on the trees are starting to change. As much as I love summer and all of the green everywhere, I am not terribly disappointed to see this summer going. The heat and bugs were awful, I hardly rode at all. Everyone I have talked to said the same thing, so it made me feel a little better. Plus, I have Peru to look forward to this fall, so maybe the leaves changing isn't the worst thing! You can just see the littlest hint of color in this tree.

Horse People Are Good People

Reading or watching the news can be a very depressing thing. There is so much bad news in the world, sometimes it makes me want to just hide somewhere. I'm sure everyone knows that feeling, things like the shooting in Colorado or at the Empire State Building yesterday are so senseless. I know I am more aware of my surroundings in the last few years than I ever have been before. That being said, there are still things that restore my faith in humankind. One of my favorite things about writing articles for Massachusetts Horse magazine are all of the wonderful people I interview for the articles. I've talked to everyone from 4-H members who are showing their Miniature horses, to professional horse trainers. Horse people really are good people and the conversations I've had while interviewing people for magazine articles always make me smile. Today, I judged the Donkey and Mule show at Brooklyn Fair. This is another great group of people who are out there having a g

Berkshire Pictures - Part Three

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It was a bit foggy in the morning. When we were at the gazebo, we should have been able to see to the Catskill Mountain in New York, but as you saw, we just saw fog. Despite some fog, we still witnessed some spectacular views! I bet you can imagine what fall foliage season is like here. The patio/picnic table area is the site of a hotel that burned down in 1931.

Berkshire Pictures - Part Two

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Here are more pictures from my trail ride in the Berkshires

Berkshire Horseback Adventures

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I'm working on an article about fall foliage trail rides for Massachusetts Horse magazine. One of the best fall foliage places in Massachusetts is the Berkshires. So I drove up to Berkshire Horseback Adventures on Saturday, August 11th to check out their horses and trails. I talked with Dave Roche, the owner, for a bit and asked some questions for the article, and then went out on a previously scheduled one hour trail ride. Our trail guide was Dan Benton, who has worked there for quite some time. I was riding a really sweet Quarter Horse named JW. He isn't in their regular trail ride string yet - not being ready for complete novices, but an awesome horse (and didn't mind me taking pictures at all). The horses all had spring in their step and were eager to do their jobs, but also understood that they had to take care of their riders. One girl, perhaps riding for the first time, dropped her reins twice. When she did this, her horse started grazing. Dan patientl

Tri-State Dressage Show

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I took Secret to the Tri-State Dressage Show on Sunday, July 29th. We did the three Intro Level dressage tests. It was just over at Woodstock Fairgrounds - so it was an easy drive - but they had 190 rides. There were three dressage rings going, plus a jumping course up on the hill. What a fabulous turnout for them - unfortunately for me it meant that my first test wasn't until 11:33 AM and my last test was at 3:35 pm. I tried braiding Secret myself at home, and then trailered her to the show. By the time we got there, the braid was out. Luckily, Kate from Lollipop Farm was kind enough to rebraid for me (and Kate's braid stayed in all day!) Secret completely enjoyed being at a horse show in a grass field, and spent all of her free time eating. As you can imagine, with a show this large, the rings got a little backed up at times, so we had plenty of warm up time. She was totally calm, cool and collected during the warm ups and I was very happy with her. Our first

Best Seat in the House

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Somehow, Ivy (aka the Barn Dog) always manages to get the best seat in the house!

Kerrits

Last month I was excited to find out that I have been selected as a Kerrits Ambassador. This is my Kerrits story: Because I spend a lot of time in the saddle, I like that the tights feel like a second skin. I've had some really bad experiences with other brands causing chaffing on long rides, its not fun! Kerrits are super comfortable, even after wearing them for a 25-mile ride, vet out, packing up and driving home. The Kerrits beanie has saved me on many occasions. I ride all over my family's dairy farm, which is on a hill. In the winter, the wind can be brutal, but the beanie fits snugly under my helmet and the fleece on the inside is awesome. You can check out my Kerrits Ambassador page here . While you are there, check out the great products Kerrits offers.