Never Won a Buckle

So although I've shown for a few years now, I've never actually won a belt buckle. In the show world, buckles are the thing to win. They are totally gaudy but show off your accomplishments. Buckles tend to go towards first place winners and I generally end up 2nd or 3rd. Not that I'm complaining, but first place is nice sometimes! At the last show I attended with Nic, I entered the "Never Won a Buckle" class. It happened to be the second last class of the day on Saturday. I'd entered three other classes that day, it was about 90 degrees and I'd also ridden in the first class of the day at 7 am. It didn't occur to me that the buckle class might start a little late...like 9:30 pm. I considered scratching the class since it wasn't a big money class, I'd wanted to have fun at the luau dinner we have at this show every year, and I knew Nic would be pooped, but in the back of my mind I wanted that damn buckle. So I stuck with my original plan and rode in the class. It was actually a tough class but I ended up winning which made the wait and late ride worth it. My friend Katrina sponsored the class (she was also dressed up in luau gear) and Mike Stokes has been helping me with Nic. Mike is a great trainer...I had instant success once I started riding with him, I think my scores went up by 1/2 a point! This was a nice way to end my last horse show with Nic. He's been such a good teacher and confidence builder. I think I'll miss him more than I actually thought I would. I try not to get attached to my horses like I do my dogs but when you put so much time (and money) into a horse, it's hard not to be attached. Sophie is a good replacement but she has big shoes to fill.

Will and Sophie

Sophie had a rude awakening this summer as I started to put more riding time into her. She's actually a cool little horse who has a lot of try. I've always had geldings (boys) and thought I'd never want a mare as they can hold an attitude (like any girl- which I normally don't care about but I don't train many girls) but I think I'll take an attitude any day as Sophie is all about learning and trying to figure out what I want her to do. She's still pretty little but I have hope that she'll be bigger one day as right now her butt is higher than her shoulder...a sign that she won't actually be a pony when she grows up.

Meghan rides English and occasionally shows cross country. She likes her horses BIG. I like mine small and we always laugh when we ride together because Meghan is much shorter than me, except when on a horse.

Idaho Sunsets

I love the sun and sunsets in Idaho. Meghan lives on a beautiful 10 acres with too much grass for a desert area, but she's got great views and sees a ton of great sunsets. Notice the pack of dogs surrounding me.....

Flowers

This is my all time favorite mountain bike ride- Cold Springs to Warm Springs. Much of the ride takes place on Baldy, the Sun Valley ski resort. Three years ago, about 1/2 of Baldy burned. Now the ride is really cool because wildflowers are taking over the burned areas. I was dying to bring Wade on this ride. Wade is our friend from Washington. He gets my Most Improved award this year. Last winter Wade weighted 220 lbs and was a fairly slow biker. He now weighs 160 and can rip on his bike. He's inspiring and a ton of fun.

Jarred's Annual Trail Ride

I think Jarred might get on a horse once a year. It's humbling for him, something he often needs. Meghan and I stuck him on Meghan's big horse, Will. I kinda wanted Will to be bad but he was a saint. This is one of the last photos I have of Nic too. I sold Nic this summer. I really miss him but having to ride and show two horses is not in the cards for a semi-poor school teacher. Nic went to Montana to live with a girl who will love him as much as I did.

Potato Mountain

This ride had more creek crossings than I've ever been across but they were nice since it was almost 90 the day we did this ride. Our biking friend, Wade, from Washington came to Sun Valley for a week and we got to do some fun rides with him.

Poineer Cabin

This ride took us up to the famed Pioneer Cabin. It's more of a hiking trail as it is steep and sometimes loose, I did a lot of pushing my bike and swatting at horse flies. The views are amazing though...makes you want to keep riding and riding and riding....Pioneer Cabin also looks cooler from the outside than the inside. The inside looks like what I envision a meth house to look like...I always want Pioneer Cabin to be quaint and cute inside. It could be a cool place to stay after a long hike. Someone needs to fix it up.