Thanksgiving in the Low-Country

I can say I consider myself lucky.  We have never done the black Friday shopping thing the day after Thanksgiving.  That is a day to do dishes and clean up from Thanksgiving.

To me, Thanksgiving has always been a family holiday.  My mother's side of the family has always gathered and shared a meal and stories.  Some years there are more people, some years there are less.  When this year came around, there was no discussion as to whether or not I would attend.  The boy could not get off work, and his oldest daughter was in residence, so he stayed home and I ventured out for the 4 hour trip with my older brother on Wednesday, after a pretty substantial trip to the farmers market.  Traffic was not bad.  We only got stopped once in South Carolina, but we always do.  Why the transportation people in SC can't figure out that widening the interstate to three lanes each direction is a good idea, I will never know. Instead, they concentrate on making it pretty.  But don't get me started on that particular rant.  My brother hears it every time we make the drive.

The entrance to SC on i95.

Anywho, we made decent time and arrived not too long after lunchtime, had half a sandwich and started on the cooking.

My brother has worked in a kitchen from the time he was 14.  He has crazy knife skills.  His job when he goes to Mom's is always the same: sous chef.  He immediately started cutting up vegetables.  He cuts them and Mom puts them in the freezer to use in cooking throughout the year.  So, 8 pounds of onions, 2 bunches of celery, and countless bell peppers later, he moved on to making fruit salad, sectioning citrus.  It's pretty amazing to watch him work.

During this, I was working on what is always my job: peeling chestnuts.  The way we do them, you have to peel twice, once before cooking, and once when hot.  I was doing the first peeling, something I could do while sitting with my foot up.  I had ordered 6 pounds from a grower and had them delivered to Mom, so I had some work to do.

Chestnuts

Then I made whole berry cranberry sauce.  Mom was working on getting our dinner started (pork loin with green beans and roasted potatoes).  Look, I never said we do not eat well, and we had 10 people to cook for.  We had to keep the energy level up.

Rather than bore you all with a play by play of every single thing we cooked, I'll just list them out.

Brother:
Roasted broccoli with balsamic drizzle
Ambrosia (fruit salad)
Speckled butter beans and okra (with Mom)
all chopping
some amazing turkey carving

Me:
Chestnuts with browned butter
2 pumpkin pies (one with, one without crust)
Cheesy pearl onion casserole
Whole berry cranberry sauce
Roasted Brussels sprouts

Mom:
2 turkeys
Stuffing, both in and out of the bird
Giblet gravy (she is the master)
Apple pie

Then my aunt brought mashed potatoes, deviled eggs and more pie, and my cousin brought green bean casserole and pickles.

Yes, we ate well.  We sat for a couple of hours around the tables (2 pushed together) and told stories. Some we had heard before, some we had not.  Then the tupper-ware free-for-all began.  One cousin had told his mother he would bring enough for her left-overs.  When she got there to see he didn't have enough, she was a bit upset.  My cousin's comment was one for the record books:  "Well Mom, when have I ever NOT exaggerated?"  No fear, my brother had more than enough for me, him, AND her.  In our house, Thanksgiving is also about the left overs.  You always cook more than needed to allow for this.  I long for the days when my mom and her sisters put together the leftovers for each of the kids, but since we are all adults now, we are just expected to get in there and elbow our way through with all the others to fight for what we want.  And god forbid if you are late getting to the kitchen when it gets started.  You may just not get any...

So that's why Black Friday is for doing dishes.  Mom washes, I dry, my brother naps and watches football.  No, we don't have a dishwasher.  It's the same pretty much every year.

But this year, we did do something different.  We actually left the house on Friday to indulge in one of our favorite meals (can you tell our lives seem to be centered around "the eating"?  Nothing like being a German Lutheran to instill that in a family).  Low-country Oysters.  We are lucky my mother didn't come to blows with the waitress when she said she thought they hadn't gotten any in.  But no worries, they had.  So we sat for several hours playing with our rocks and eating lightly steamed oysters that taste like the ocean.  We usually travel with our own oyster knives, but this time we used the ones from the restaurant. You can't be a South Carolina person and not have your own oyster knives.  I will tell you all a secret.  I'm really not a huge oyster fan.  If they are cooked more, they are pretty good, but when they are really...wet...like my family likes them, not so much.  But I indulge because it is such a treat for the rest of my family.  And it's kind of fun playing with my food.

Anyway, the highlight of my day was that I wore two matching tennis shoes.  And I got to spend time with family, because that really is what it is all about.

Yay shoes!

The next day we packed up our coolers and headed home.  I always leave on Saturday because of that dreaded stretch of highway in SC.  The snow-birds are in flight, along with a great many equine transport vans, as everyone leaves family and heads to where it's warmer.  This year my brother was smart and got off the highway on 17 and went that way to Savannah and met back up with the interstate in GA.  It was eerie in GA, as there was no one on the highway.  Like, there are more people on that road on a Tuesday than there was Saturday.  With that, we made great time.  It was a good trip, always too quick, and not involving enough ponies, but good.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the pony-girl and I.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.  In the spirit of the holiday, I thought I would make a list of those things that I am thankful for this year.  It has been a doozy!

1.  Finding my love

2.  Continued growth with Violet and learning that I have the skills to keep her going on my own if I want to.

3.  Family.

4.  My job.  After watching the boy struggle finding one, I am only that much more appreciative to have a great job with great people that keeps be engaged and is anything but boring (to me, accounting nerd that I am).

5.  My big new house (compared to the 800 square feet I lived in for the last 15 years).

6.  My riding team who always make me feel like I'm part of the group.

7.  My trainer Marcea who has helped me understand that I am stronger and better than I ever thought I was.  And jumping 2'6" can be fun.

8.   Getting my foot fixed.  Here's to an end of pain and hopefully getting back to working out and maybe even into some cute shoes.

Those are my biggies.  I hope you all have a lovely day and we'll see you next week!

TRM 25 questions Blog Hop

Yay for horsey content!  I'm jumping on the bandwagon for this one.  (Of course, it doesn't hurt that this blog is ALSO featuring an opinionated red-head.)

1. Mares or Geldings? Why?
I've only ever owned mares (all two of them) but have ridden both.  I don't have a problem with geldings, but the ones I've fallen in love with have ended up being red-headed girls.

First pony, Naash's Peppy Girl (Frisky)

Current pony, My Secret Garden (Violet)

2. Green-broke or Fully Broke?
While I would love to have one, or have the ability to ride one, that is fully broke that I could just learn on, I've only ever owned green-broke ones (they were both 4 when I got them).

3. Would you own a "hotter" breed (ie. Arabian, Trakhener, etc).
My first pony Frisky was half arab, half quarter.  As long as they are sane, it's fine.

4. What was your "dream horse" growing up?
I always wanted to ride a paint.  Tri-color preferable, but a black and white one would do.  On a side note, I was able to ride one of these for his last season before retirement (In Living Color, aka Charlie) a few years ago, and he was a saint.  Unfortunately, I have not one picture of me on him.

5. What kind of bit(s) do you use and why?
For dressage and jumping, we were using a nathe, the last I knew, although my trainer was talking about trying to go back to the french link.

Nathe loose-ring

We were using the nathe because Violet gets uneven on the reins and then takes it personally when you use one rein harder than the other.  And I'm pretty convinced she just has a mouth that doesn't do as well with a link.  I've had her in a straight bar off and on since she was 4.  For cross country we use a french link dutch gag (3 ring), with the rein on the center ring.  It gives just enough poll action to keep her paying attention when in the field.  She's very aware of her poll, and is not appreciative of pressure there.

We have this one with a double joint

6. Helmets or no helmets?
Helmet goes on before the bridle does.  Always.  I have three.

7. Favorite horse color?
I appear to be partial to the redheads, although I never really thought that I had a preference for color, just personality.

8. Least favorite horse color?
Once again, I go for personality.

9. Dressage or Jumping?
I like them both.

Violet prefers the jumping.

10. How many years have you been riding?
I rode for about 8 years when I was younger, and have been riding 8 years as an adult.  20 year break in the middle.

11. Spurs/whip or no spurs/whip?
I carry a crop cross-country, but only use it on Violet's shoulder, as she gets offended if you hit her in the butt with it.  I used spurs for about a year to get Violet more reactive to leg, but now she does better without them.

12. Your first fall?
The first time I cantered in an English saddle when I was in 4th grade.  I just kind of slipped off the side in slow motion.  It was funny, both at the time and in retrospect.

13. When was the last time you rode and what did you do?
November 8th (has it really been more than 2 weeks?!?) and we just hacked in the cross country field.
http://mysecretgardenpony.blogspot.com/2015/11/weekend-update.html

14. Most expensive piece of tack you own?
By far my CWD saddle that I bought new in 2012.

Right out the box Aug 2012

15. How old were you when you started riding?
My parents took the family out for Western lessons when I was 6 or 7.

16. Leather or Nylon halters?
Currently have leather, but have used both.

17. Leather or Synthetic saddles?
Leather

18. What "grip" of reins do you like?
Since I grew up doing hunters, they were always laced.  Now that I have flipped to the dark side, I have grown to really like rubber reins.

19. English or Western?
Started Western, but have been English for 15 out of 16 years.

20. How many horses do you currently own/lease?
One is plenty.  And more than I can afford right now, honestly.

21. Do you board your horse? Self-care/full board? Home board?
Full training board.  I grew up with my pony in the backyard and always dreamed I would do that as an adult, but life has other things in mind.

22. Have you ever had to put down a horse that you loved?
No.

23. How many saddlepads do you have?
I don't know.  5 or 6?  I got rid of a bunch of them when I quit using baby pads.

24. Slant-load trailer or straight haul?
I don't have one, but Violet appears to appreciate a slant-load step-up the best.

25. Why do you ride?
It is a life sport for me.  A way to get me up and about and outside.  And it keeps me centered and sane.

Team mate #1

Since we had some exciting news this weekend, I thought I would start introducing my team members.

Me and Violet, Marcea and Pearl, Caroline and Charlie, Melissa and Ice (unfortunately, Ginny was not able to make it schooling that day)

 So this is my team, or at least the core of my team.  There are four of us riders (three of which actually compete, I consider myself a team member that does not compete.)  There are others, but we four have been together for several years now and work pretty well as a group.

So the news we received this past week is that one of my team members has been named the #1 USEA Adult Amateur Beginner Novice Rider for 2015!  In, like, the whole country!  Her name is Virginia (Ginny) Daughtry, and her mount is Pearl Jam (Pearl, Miss Pearl, Pearly-May, Pearly-Ann, etc.).  She and Pearl have been together for...oh...three years now?

Ginny and Pearl

Pearl is a purpose bred Thoroughbred that came from Karen O'Connor.  She is a beautiful, full-bodied girl, that, unlike most Thoroughbreds, seems to be on a perpetual diet.  She is a mare, but is a very good girl, once you get on her.  Her favorite past-time is eating.  And maybe napping.  She has a huge stride that Ginny constantly has to monitor on cross-country, and is a beautiful mover.  Earlier this year she got an 18 in dressage at one of her events (there's a reason she's a winner, folks).  She is a bit cold-backed and girthy, but when you are as good as she is, these things can be overlooked.  She and Ginny make a perfect team.

4th place at AECs 2015

Ginny is a genuinely nice person.  She is considerate and humble, and a beautiful rider.  We have lessoned together in the past, and we always seem to pick up on things from each other.  She, like me, is a professional in the financial world, and works crazy hours.  Because of this, she, also like me, only gets to ride on the weekends, unless there is a holiday.  When I say crazy hours, I mean crazy.  For example, she drove overnight from Texas after the AEC's to hop on a airplane that morning for work.  Certain times of the year, just remembering that a 20 meter circle does not have corners is a challenge.  We often commiserate about this, since we are both in the same boat.  But she handles it all with a great attitude, and a fantastic smile.

Ginny and Pearl, AECs 2015

Ginny is the mother of two of the most adorable puppies ever, Eli and Murphy, and she is very rarely at the barn without them.  They are two of the happiest little fluff-balls I've ever seen.  I wasn't even aware long-haired dachsunds were a thing until Eli made his first appearance.  

Eli and Murphy on a coursewalk

I am truly blessed to be part of a team of incredible women that all share a love of our ponies, and who are also such a fun group to be with.  And to be able to say I ride with the #1 BN Adult Amateur in the country.

Ginny and Pearl at the AECs.  One of my favorite pictures of them!

Here's to 2016, when I look forward to watching Ginny and Pearl make the move up to Novice!

Galloping

Not too long ago, sometime early spring, before we moved to Rocking Horse, my trainer asked me to come out with her while she conditioned a horse she was campaigning at the time.  She liked to have someone else with her, and Violet is always a ready companion.  Part of the reason that she wanted me there was to work on pace.  I have an issue with galloping.  Shoot, I have an issue with cantering, and when outside, it's even worse, probably because I feel a bit out of control.  For us Type-A accountant types, that is not a comfortable feeling.  That is part of the issue I have had on cross country with Violet.  She needs more pace, and I just can't figure that out.  And where we were at the time, there really wasn't anywhere to gallop, so instead, Marcy would go out on the trails in one of the State Parks and do her conditioning there.

So she brought me out there to try out this galloping thing.  Now, whenever I have gone on trails with the group in the past, it always ends up Violet and I in the back.  When everyone else trots, she canters.  When they walk, she alternates between prance and trot, in fear of being left behind.

We got out there, mounted up, walked a ways, me behind the little horse with the BIG walk that Marcy was riding.  Then we trotted a bit.  We talked about my need to let go.  To not be so worried about where Violet places her feet, but to stay out of her way so she could figure it out herself.  We started to canter.  Violet was playing a bit of catch up, but Marcy was not running away, so it wasn't too bad.  Then we were walking along and Marcy points down a trail and says "go canter that way".  And so I do.  That day was exhilarating.  We cantered off, and I just let her go.  The other horse came up from behind, you know, pony and all, and Violet kicked into a gear I didn't even know existed.

At the end of the ride, Marcy had me canter away from her and away from the trailer, and then after a while turn and come back.  Again, on the trip back, there was a gear there that I couldn't fathom.  I think that is the only time I have truly just let go and let Violet figure out what was coming next and what speed she wanted to go.  And while it was terrifying, it was really fun.

This was a different trail ride, but it was still fun once I got over the fact that she Will prance...

blogger slacker

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. I just didn't get to it. Instead, I watched several episodes of Game of Thrones, picked up around the house, and made my first venture out in the truck. It was definitely interesting driving with the surgical shoe, but I had to go to the laundromat to wash my comforter to get the house ready for the boy's eldest daughter who is visiting this week.

Anyway, today is another day of housework alternating with resting the foot. I won't have time to write a good post today. But I'm still here, and I'm working on content related to ponies. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Violet doing her favorite. Or maybe her second favorite. Dirt nap!

Recovery

So, a week ago I had surgery to remove the thing growing in my foot.  I must say I was pretty scared.  I went to work that morning, which was fun considering I was not allowed to eat or drink anything from midnight the day before.  I think by the time I left work at 10:30, I was ready to chew my own arm off.

Vulcan toes, before surgery

I had someone from work drop me off, and the boy was getting off early to come pick me up, so I was on my own.  I got checked in and changed (why do I have to remove all my clothes to have foot surgery again?) They took me back to the OR, put a little happy juice in my IV and away I went.  I woke up while they were stitching me up.  The doctor said they removed a nueroma about the size of an almond, and he showed me a picture.  It was easily 3 cm long and 1 wide.  He also said I wouldn't remember that, but I did.

The. Best. Cheez-Its. Ever.

They were nice enough to bring me Cheez-Its and my phone (see Cheez-It pic), where I texted the boy that I was ready to go home now.  I had some juice and snacks and only had to wait a few minutes.  Then he took me home.

Exciting new footwear.

 Where I promptly put myself on the couch.  There was no real pain, because the lidocain or whatever they used was still active.  I got up and hobbled around to the bathroom and thought, this won't be too bad!

My position for the foreseeable future.

 Then the lidocain wore off.  I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep in the bed, because I had to keep my foot elevated and I didn't want it to get rolled over on, so I stayed on the couch.  When I got up to go to the bathroom (doctor's orders to stay hydrated), the numb stuff had worn off, and I ended up having to crawl to the bathroom because I could not stand on that foot, and hopping was not an option.  So crawl I did.  By the second day, that was better and by that afternoon, I could hobble upright.  By Friday, I moved to the bed at night, which was nice.  Saturday I actually did a chore or two (empty dishwasher and got the laundry out of the garage).  That meant Sunday I was good to go!  Wrong.  Grocery store wiped me out.  This whole time I could not take off the wrapping, and could not take a shower.  How I have missed my shower.

Purple toe (second one)

 So today was checkup day at the doctor's office.  My brother took me down there, because I was not cleared to drive.  The wrappings all came off, the doctor said it was good, the swelling is down.  He also said he was surprised by the size of the meuroma he took out, that most people would have been crippled with that and come to the doctor much sooner.  Like I said before, I'm pretty stoic.  Anyway, I'm cleared for the shower, and can go back to work Monday.  Should be able to put on a tennis shoe by next week sometime, and should not be on my foot for more than 2 hours at a time.  And have to keep it elevated when I can.  I'm still pretty sore, and don't see myself doing anything physical for quite some time.  Follow up is in two weeks.

So lovely.  Kind of looks like a dead thing...

Afterward, my brother took me to the farmer's market, where we bought boiled peanuts, white acre peas, green beans, eggplant and oranges, and then we headed home.  That was more than enough walking for me.  Now I'm back on my friend the couch, working my way through Game of Thrones.

And maybe registering Marcy to ride Violet at BN in the December schooling show, since I will not be able to participate.

$900 Facebook Pony Blog Hop

I always wanted to do one of these, and finally one came up.  So I'm going to answer Amanda's top 5 horse show essentials.

Since I don't have my own trailer, my list will be different, not including things like muck buckets, etc.  Additionally, the only place I show is where Violet actually lives now, and I only showed once this year and three times the year before, so there isn't that much experience here.  But I do have some things that I have to have for the comfort of her Ponyness.

1.  Got to have the pony.  She would, of course, be #1 for me.

2.  Total Equine relief.  Violet much appreciates this after doing two or three phases at a show.
  

3.  My C4 belts.  I have two, both given to me by my team.  One is red with a white buckle, and we all wear them on our team.  I have a navy blue one that I use as a jump strap.  Yes, our team colors are navy blue with red and white trim.




4. Ennel sports bra

Because honestly.  Boobs.



5.  Two or three helmets, currently CO.

I have to bring multiple helmets if I am riding more than one day.  Because I sweat.  I do not glisten, or glow.  I sweat.  To the point that if I bend over in the saddle, it runs down out of my helmet onto the pony.  As a result, I have three helmets in rotation at all times.  They only last about 2 years a piece.  Currently, I have three different COs.



So that's it.  I know it's different than others, since I don't trailer, and I usually show on property.  But these are the things I absolutely must have.

Strong Like Bull

About back to myself brain-wise, although not quite ambulatory yet.  Think twice before having anything done to your feet, is all I've got to say.

When I was a kid, I had this trainer named Denna.  She was fantastic.  Young (11 years older than me) and fun and had lots of ponies and would let us do things like jump BIG.  I started riding with her on a bet.  Someone told me this pretty little grey pony she had wouldn't jump more than a cross rail.  Being a girl who (at the ripe old age of 13) you could not tell could NOT do something, I rode the piss out of that pony.  She had the imaginative name of Grey, and I showed her in short stirrup as Dress Grey.

Denna Johnson with Amanda on Stolen Kisses (Nikki) in 1986.  Grey is in the background giving someone else a lesson.

I have one good picture of Grey, but it is in a photo album and I'm too lazy to dig it out for now.  One day, we were doing raise a rail competition in the ring.  You know, you each go over a fence and it gets raised until everyone knocks it down and the highest wins.  We didn't really win anything other than bragging rights. That day, I got that little pony that wouldn't do cross rails for others over 4' before we knocked it over.  I was scared of nothing.  And Denna just let us do what kids wanted to do.  It was great.  Eventually, I moved on, and found out that when I left, Grey quit jumping altogether.  She just wouldn't do anything for people who told her she had to.  We had a bond.

Anyway, that's how I met Denna.  I quit riding when I was 14 and got a job.  She moved to Tallahassee.  Fast forward 25 years, and I'm looking for somewhere to ride.  I found a local barn and went with the kids to a show to watch and groom, and thought I heard her, but wasn't sure.  I then found where she was selling a horse online and contacted her.  She remembered me and told me about a show that she had on her farm that was done in the draw format.  In other words, you didn't bring a horse.  You brought yourself and drew your horse from a hat, very similar to IHSA format.  She used to coach the UF equestrian team when they had one, and had put together something called the College Bound Invitational that got kids in middle and high school in front of college coaches in a show format, as well as had seminars and such on getting scholarships.  The one thing Denna really wanted to do was to help kids.  

Denna and some of the weekend crew (myself second to left) 2009

Anyway, she had this show, my trainer thought it would be a great opportunity for everyone, but then our barn shut down and the trainer moved back home to NY, and I was on my own.  So I showed up at Denna's anyway.  I rode in walk-trot, walk-trot-canter, and 2' hunter.  Unfortunately, while I tried to do the course 3 times, I never actually completed it.  When the judge came around, she called me a "solid citizen" which was probably the only nice thing she could say, lol.  

Denna teaching in GA 2009

After that, I started driving the 2+ hours to Newberry Florida to Full Partners Farm to take lessons every weekend.  Over the next two and a half years, I spent every weekend there, and every holiday.  Denna became my best friend.  I drove with her to Saugerties NY for the Marshall & Sterling finals as groom and tail braider.  It was a tough week, but cemented our friendship.  She was talking about slowing down, downsizing the farm, keeping only a few kids and horses.  I bought Violet from her, although she didn't think she would amount to anything other than a 2' local hunter.  I often joked that FPF stood for Full Partners Family.

Denna and her Charlie

Denna was a trainer that pushed her students.  She called all horses ponies, and would tell us to go get our "wee beasties".  She was also a big gymnastics and Bela Karolyi fan.  At least one lesson a week, she would insist on everyone dropping their stirrups.  When they whined about it, she would shout out that she would make us all "Strong Like Bull"!  It became a rallying cry.  She was also known to say things like "Grow some ovaries and get over the damned fence" and "there is no crying in equestrian sports".  She loved every kid as if they were her own.  She had bunk beds in her living room and would sleep there with all the girls and her Jack Russels while watching NCIS on DVD.  The girls would spend weekends and holidays at the farm, riding 4 or 5 horses a day.  She even got me riding multiple a day.

Denna and Herbie, the horse whose mane she was pulling when she collapsed

The last weekend was Memorial Day weekend 2010.  I had gone to her house on Saturday morning, had a lesson on Violet, stayed the night talking until all hours.  Then Sunday I took a jump lesson on Violet and a flat lesson on another horse named Duchess.  Duchess was young, but was not conformationally able to jump.  Most kids didn't like her because she was not symmetrical and had a weird canter.  She was big with a huge stride, and a beautiful red bay.  I got along well with her.  The plan was that I would start showing her in the flat classes, maybe doing some dressage to help her out.  After my lesson, Denna was heading to Macon Georgia to teach at a barn up there that she had started training at weekly.  She posted on her FB page that it was a beautiful weekend, she was heading to GA after teaching at FPF and that I had ridden Duchess the best she had ever gone.  That night, I saw a posting from the mother of one of the kids in GA about praying for Denna.  I contacted them to find out that she had had a brain aneurysm while pulling the mane of a horse after teaching and was in a coma.  She held on for a week, and ultimately passed on June 10, 2010.  It was her 49th birthday, and she gave what she could.  Because she was an organ donor, she helped 7 people live fuller lives.  That was the Denna that I knew.  She was my friend, my trainer, my confidant.  

Myself acting as groom with Denna and one of her students September 2009 M&S Finals

After that, we kept the barn going for the summer, bringing in someone to teach because the College Bound Invitational (CBI) was the end of the summer, and we all knew she would be upset if we didn't host it.  So I spent every weekend there feeding, watering, grooming, cleaning stalls, anything really other than riding.  And the last day of the CBI, I loaded Violet up and moved her to Jacksonville.  I still keep in touch with a lot of the kids from FPF, because no matter how old we get, we will all be "Denna's Kids".

Denna and I before heading home from NY 9/11/2009

Denna in her teaching position

So, if you ever hear someone talking about how riding without stirrups will make you "Strong Like Bull", chances are, they came from Denna's program.  There are many of us out there, and we often repeat it like a mantra.