Baby T's First Ride

Summer is flying by much too quickly. We have been so very busy, and thankfully...it's the good kind of busy.

I have been meaning to get T riding months ago but the drive to the barn is long enough that she was always completely out for her mid-morning nap. Now that T is older, she's also awake for longer stretches. A few weeks ago, we had a (rare) free weekend morning and it turned out to be a perfect family time at the barn. 

After grabbing Quest from the field and getting her groomed and tacked up in the little S-hackmore and bareback pad, we headed over to the outdoor. I hopped on first to knock the rust off and then C got his tandem pony ride in first. He really enjoyed telling me where to put Quest's feet. As we serpentined and wound our way around the barrels and traffic cones, C kept asking if we could go over the small jumps that were already set up in the outdoor arena. Maybe one day haha 

During this entire time, my husband was having quite a time keeping T from trying to climb the fence into the arena. It was such a magical moment to see her face light up when she finally got on Quest, nothing but smiles and happy baby laughs. 

I guess I can finally officially say that both my kids have ridden Quest now. Words don't express how grateful I am to have a rock-steady and sane mare like her. She just knows what is needed from her in the moment and goes right into babysitting mode when the kids are around. She's truly my once-in-a-lifetime horse. 

MCL Puzzle Tournament

My husband and I participated in another speed-puzzle competition this past week. Word of the tournament has definitely spread. By the time the event started, the room was PACKED and every table was occupied. The organizer learned their lessons from last time and the selected puzzle for this event was larger (550 pieces) and featured a more complex design. The image has bright sections here and there which made it good for a thorough sort upfront. 

Once we sorted as much as we could, we then start working on each of the sorted piles as smaller puzzles. We ended up finishing in 1hr 6mins which is pretty good being a team of just two people. We came in a respectable 6th in teams overall and 1st in pairs.  It was quite interesting to note that the teams that did beat us were teams of 4 or more and we also finished ahead of all the other pairs teams by several good minutes. 

I was really pleased with how we did. My husband has been such a great sport being my to-go partner and support. I think this event confirms the fact we just honestly need more man/woman-power if we want to come out in the top.  Next time! 

Birthday Mare

Quest turned 20 years old a couple weeks ago! I have her papers and it has been always been pretty neat to know/have an exact date. I did a celebratory post on FB the day of, and it was so hard picking out just a few photos that exemplified our decade-long journey together.  

Quest was a long-shot, life-long dream come true. I still can't believe how incredibly lucky I was finding her where and when I did. As a first-time horse owner who was constantly learning things as I went, Quest was imperfectly perfect for me - always forgiving, patient, and game for any crazy thing that I set in front of us. 

I hope to do many more things with her, but of course only time will tell what the path ahead looks like. Whatever may come, it'll certainly be an adventure. 

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day weekend

Redefined

This quote resounded with me quite profoundly, especially while I try to balance and embrace just how much my life has grown and changed in a single decade. Ten years ago, I was a very different person with very different dreams and motivations.

I grew up with strict parents who tried very hard to discourage me from doing everything that wasn't what they wanted me to do. As a kid, when I started showing an interest in art and started teaching myself how to draw, my mom even tried to throw out my art supplies. I remember hiding my sketchbooks (that I bought with my first summer job working as a lifeguard at the local community pool) when I was away from home so didn't have to worry about coming back to find them missing. 

My parents were scared of horses. I never got to be around them either and only really started riding in 2014 after graduating college and getting my master's degree as a working adult when I had my own income to pay for lessons, a half-lease, and finally taking the dive into full ownership a year later. 

I am ever so incredibly grateful to those who have been instrumental in providing me a safe place to discover and explore the best parts of me, those who encouraged me to pursue dreams, be it art or riding, respectively. My art mentor and friend who believed I had the skill to freelance and generously gifted me my first professional-grade Wacom tablet. My first trainer who told me after just two lessons that I had a natural seat and talent; to keep riding and keep learning. With only 1-2 years of riding under my belt, I was blessed with incredibly generous owners who trusted me with their endurance horse as I got to ride across the country from Pennsylvania, Texas, and California. 

Muckleratz CTR - July 2015

Texas, Oct 2016

California Day 1, Oct 2017

California Day 2, Pacific Crest Trail

I admit to thinking the "better" days were over, especially during the past few years as Quest and I came to an involuntary standstill in our distance riding journey together. It took time, but I've come to see that though my adventures now look a little different, they are no less transformative and meaningful. It's infinitely more valuable to find your tribe, to surround yourself with a community uplifting and positive people who will celebrate with you in the good times and cry with you in the bad times. 

It is, quite simply, easy as that.  

North NJ Jigsaw Puzzle Swap

This past weekend I hosted my very first puzzle swap and it was a huge success. 

The closest swap to me is a 3-hour round trip south...I know NJ might not seem like a big state, but it is big enough. I couldn't in good conscience drag my whole family out there with me just to be there for one hour. However I had a voracious appetite for puzzles and needed more. 

A few months ago, I was thinking to myself how awesome it would be to have a local swap event nearby. After scouring the local FB groups and seeing nothing, in very typical me-fashion, I thought "Why not just host it myself?" I reached out to my local library and asked about reserving a public meeting room. To my delight, they were excited and happy to have us there. With date and time details confirmed, I put my plan into motion and spread the news in the local jigsaw puzzle FB groups. I had a ton of feedback and people planning to show up but, in all seriousness, you never know until you get there...

Well the event went off without a hitch; it was a textbook perfect day.  

I had around 30-40 people show up at various times throughout the 1.5-hour event which made it feel very manageable and sane. There were few were old-timers who obviously knew each other from other swap events. Others were brand new, like me, and attending for the first time. Everyone was so kind and friendly though. Many were quite impressed that this was my first swap and first-time hosting. 

As I was the host, I made a point to walk through and personally check-in with as many people as possible. Along the way I had so many meaningful conversations, and it was heart-warming to hear everyone's stories. We all started doing puzzles for various reasons. Some did it to connect with friends near and some far away. Others were looking for puzzles to share with their young kids or for their aging parents living alone at home. We all had our reasons. 

At one point, I said to someone that I found my tribe.  

Even though I didn't really intend to trade as I wanted to focus on hosting, I still ended up coming home with a ton of new puzzles to do! At the end of the event, a couple folks volunteered to help me clean-up which was so greatly appreciated. After getting home, I checked my messages and was inundated with comments saying how much fun the event was and thanked me for the role I played. 

For me, I was simply happy that I found a whole community of kind, like-minded people who genuinely enjoy a hobby. If things work out, I think I'd like to try hosting another swap in the near future. 

All is Well

Earlier this week, my family did a short vacation getaway in the Poconos. We met up with our friends and their family. It was so nice just to take a break from reality for a little bit. On the drive home, I made a point to stop by the barn and visit Quest. I helped her shed out the last of her winter fuzz and gave her a nice grooming session. 

Mareface held her weight and condition excellent this past winter. For a senior, she is doing so well and absolutely thriving where she is now. 

After some thought and conversation with my husband, I've decided to switch tack (figuratively and literally). 

For the past few weeks, I've been low-key searching for a local barn to take start jump lessons and eventually try cross country. I have no intentions of competition as I mainly just want to improve and invest in myself as a rider. I haven't taken a lesson in nearly a decade so I'm going into this without any real expectations for myself. 

My previous trainer moved to the Midwest so I'm starting from scratch with finding a lesson barn. Hopefully I'll find a good place soon and it proves to be a good fit. Wish me luck!

Back on the Road

While my grandparents briefly resided in NJ, my grandfather biked everywhere around town when he didn't have access to a car. He has been gone for more than two decades now. I thought about him a lot while working on the bike.

First order of business was taking everything apart and seeing what I had to work with. The wheels were the biggest task. Thankfully the rims were in great shape but the tires definitely needed to be replaced, the rubber was literally disintegrating as I removed the wheel from the bike. 

I was also expecting to replace both inner tubes as well but ended up only needing to buy one new. I didn't have any special tools like a tire lever so used my fingers to shove the new tires and inner tube back into the rims. My fingers ached afterwards...but it was so worth it. I still have to put on new handlebar grips but I was too excited and the weather this yesterday was too perfect.  

It was rather sentimental to put my grandfather's bike back on the road again. We did a few test rides both days this past weekend and it worked like a song. I will also be putting together a product review for T's new bike seat. We got so many compliments on it and I have thoughts to share as well. 

Vernon Township Puzzle Hustle

I've always been an avid puzzler and puzzle-lover. Puzzles have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It may have started years ago, when my mom saw that the local township community hall was hosting a contest for with an age category for grade schoolers. My mom pulled out all our puzzle boxes and timed me while I practiced on the kitchen floor of our first family home. 

I ended up placing top 3 at the event. My mom was so proud and couldn't stop telling everyone about it. 

Before my husband and I bought our own home, I never had the space or a proper location to keep puzzles out long enough to complete them. Then for my birthday last year, my husband got me this thing of beauty:

Since getting my puzzle table, I've been completing around 1-3 puzzles a month. Since becoming a mom, I've been actively striving to find and make time for myself and working on puzzles has become my main me-time activity in the evenings when both kids are down for the night. 

My husband has always been a strong supporter of allowing me time to do my hobbies...and even though he's not a huge fan of puzzles, he generously indulges me. Earlier last year, I signed us up for a team speed puzzle competition at a local library. My husband and I came in second; the first-place team had 4 adults so it was a slim chance we were going to beat them...but holy moly, I had so much fun. The thrill from competition is addictive and I was bitten by the speed puzzle bug again.  

Since then I've been keeping my eye open for other speed events, and earlier this month I managed to get the last slot to the Vernon Township Puzzle Hustle team competition and also found a local teammate for the event while my husband stayed home with our kids. 

There was an incentive to get to the event early and on time as the first two teams to check-in would receive a 1-minute pause card to use against another team of their choice during the event. I somehow managed to get to the venue as the second team to arrive so we got the second, and last, pause card in play. 

My teammate L showed up about 10 minutes later. We picked out our puzzle table and did a fun mini puzzle to warm-up while we waited for the other teams to arrive. Looking around the room, we were the smallest team there with only 2 people, while others were around 3-5 people. No worries though, we were in it to have fun...but let's be honest, who doesn't like to win?  

At the 5-minute warning, we went over our game plan one last time. When time started, we opened up our tote bag and hit a huge snag...Our puzzle, new in box, was already completed! We immediately flagged down an event organizer and they quickly handed us a different puzzle to work on. The other teams thanked us for being honest and not cheating. 

L and I were definitely a little thrown off by the surprise, but we were able to hit our stride and moved along as planned. She's faster at certain things and I'm faster at other elements so we complemented each other pretty well.

Before we knew it, 500 pieces were done, and we came in first with a time of 56min 52sec.

Finishing under an hour was pretty great, and we were very happy with how we placed with just two people. It was such a nice feeling getting back into speed puzzling again. I'm excited to do more events soon! 

Roadworthy

It took a while but C has finally taken an interest in learning how to ride his bike in the past few weeks. 

The big thing nowadays is to start kids with something called balance or glide bike. Instead of using training wheels, the idea is that they first learn to balance and glide long before they graduate to a pedal bike and THEN being forced to figure out how to balance. 

If the weather is nice, we have been going out for walks around our neighborhood and local parks. First and foremost is teaching C how to safely cross the road, coming to full stop at every road intersection, looking both ways for cars, etc. When I was in 2nd grade, I had a classmate who was hit by a truck and didn't make it. That was nearly 30 years ago. 

While C rides his bike, I have been walking along and pushing T in a stroller or her push car. It works out for now, but my eventual goal is to get back to biking as well. 

Ever since my last bike got stolen while I was in college and living on campus (the locks got cut off, and we never found it), I haven't had it in my heart to get another bike.  But about 6-7 years ago, I joined a local cycling group and came very close to dipping my toes into mountain biking. During that time, I did a ton of research and learned about bikes, riding skills, maintenance, and gear, etc. I went shopping for a bike as well before life took a different turn. 

Trail biking has always been something I've wanted to get into though. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that my dad still had my grandfather's old bike that he used to run short errands around town during the 4-5 years that him and my grandmother lived in NJ. When they moved to Canada and my grandfather passed away several years later from cancer, my dad held onto a few things from them, including that bike. 

I stopped by my parents' house the other day and my dad had it out waiting for me. 

It's a bit of a disaster right now. The wheels need to be replaced, and a few more things need to get worked on. But with some TLC, it'll be ready for the roads again. 

A Decade Later

 This past January, "The Horseback Artist" hit a pretty big milestone... 

It's kind of amazing to think that I've been keeping this blog going and active for a decade! 

Some years have been better than others but I know full well that some of you have stuck around through it all. For those who have been reading from Day 1....Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support and readership mean so very much to me. 

After giving much thought, I've decided that this blog will continue on though in a slightly different way. I love writing and blogging been great way to reflect and revisit my adventures with Quest. 

However times have changed, and so should this blog. I've always been a hobbyist and have too many interests to keep track of. I joke that when I retire (lol....), I have no shortage of things to keep my remaining days busy and full. If the new content isn't your thing or what you signed up for, I get it. We all change, but I do hope you decide to stick around!

Ride Season-al Blues

It's that time of year that social media reminds me that another season of distance riding is now underway. I took some time off from the community to have my kids and raise a family. Now that my daughter has just turned a year old, I am SO ready to jump back into the game with both feet first. 

Quest is sound, but she has told me that she prefers the semi-retired life which I'm perfectly happy to oblige. She's worth her weight in gold to educate my kids on horsemanship and how to ride. She's always still game for long rides whenever I want and need an escape on the trails.

When it comes to having a horse suitable for doing distance competitively though, I'm at a loss. I am also at place in my life where I probably shouldn't own another horse just yet. Turning to the community, I hoped to find a solution however so far every connection I've reached out to has resulted in dead ends or asking for an impossible.   

Inevitably when things like this happen, I find myself circling down in a spiral of familiar, unwanted thoughts and it never takes me anywhere good. And I have a confession to make...Even after doing this horse thing for almost 10 years, I still feel like the odd one out. Maybe it's me, maybe I'm a nuisance that no one wants to deal with. My husband has said the community doesn't seem really friendly and it's not worth trying to go back. 

But I don't want to believe it, my flaw has always been my extreme loyalty and belief that there are always good people out there. If you know me, I never am one to take no for an answer. But try as I might and nothing works out, I will learn to be okay with that. I will always have days like this to look forward to:  

Goodbye Mel

It had been a wonderful, blissful day away from social media and private messages as I celebrated my daughter's 1st birthday. Our families had gone home after dinner, the kids were down for the night. I sat down on the couch, winding down after a busy day and picked up my phone to catch up on missed messages. 

"I had to put Mel down today."  

I immediately called A and we cried together. 

A is one of my oldest friends, we met freshman year in high school during swim team practice and  quickly found out we shared a lot of similar interests. During our college years, we would do rent-a-horse trail rides and always said that if we both owned horses someday, we'd board together and trail ride everywhere. 

Many years later, our dreams came true....I found Quest and A found Mel. 

I remember my first ride on him all those years ago. A told me she found someone looking to rehome a mustang gelding and she wanted to get my opinion of him. We drove to the owner's barn. I got to test ride him in the arena and I ponied A as she rode him outside in the yard. He hadn't been ridden much and spent most of his 18+ some years a pasture ornament but he was sweet and steady, with not a mean bone in his body. 

Mel was exactly what A needed and exactly what I needed when I needed saddle time while Quest recovered and rehabbed from her suspensory. 

Most of the time he was happy to plod along. He did have his sassy moments, but those were very few and far in between.

Out on the trail, Mel was rock steady as the day was long. A and I boarded together for 2-3 years and we made the most of it when our schedules allowed. We did everything together. 

 

 

Rest in peace, Mel - you were a very good boy. 

Daylight Savings

Once you have kids, the whole daylight savings thing starts to make a lot less sense. Our family morning routine and bedtime schedules have been out of whack for days...but I'm hoping things will get better soon. 

On the upside, additional daylight also means more hours in the day for barn visits to hang out with my best mareface.

We did a family barn visit this past weekend and managed to beat out the rain before it hit the area hard. 

I was so relieved to see that Quest's eye is 100% better, and no follow-up vet visit was warranted thankfully! She is certainly looking and feeling like her old self again. 

I gave her a nice grooming session- all the rain and pasture mud made that a FUN challenge. And I also did a quick maintenance trim while the rest of the family napped in the car waiting for me. Asides from that pesky RF mild clubfoot that we need to balance out, her feet are solid and easy to work with. I really appreciate a horse with decent feet. 

More daylight also means more trail time with Quest very soon. As mareface gets along in years though, I've been intentional in adjusting expectations as well. I recently read a great article What Ever Happened to “Serviceably” Sound?  that affirmed enjoying your horse doesn't end just because they aren't 100% in every shape and form. "A horse can be less than perfect and still be wonderful."

As long as Quest is ready for adventure, we'll be out enjoying our trails and daylight together until the day she tells me otherwise.

NaMoPaiMo 2024 - Complete

My model inspiration for this year's NaMoPaiMo event comes with a story. Back in October, I was browsing through my social media accounts when I stumbled upon a parent looking for a small memorial gift for her son who had to say goodbye to his beloved mare recently. 

After leaving a comment on her post that I painted model horses, the lady immediately reached out asking for my prices and work examples. I told her I was happy to gift it to her son completely free, she was overwhelmed. 

I had the model prepped and ready to go for months but the past few months were tough. My husband has been dealing with a ton of work stress and late nights since January and it was inevitably spilling over to me. My creative juices took a huge hit as a result. But art has always been my happy place and resolved to push through with finishing this project and managed to get it done for NaMoPaiMo as well. 

Rest in peace, Dolly. You were so very loved by your little boy. 

Of Tandem Rides and Eyes

The start of 2024 has been quite something to be sure. Since moving Quest back out to SV, I haven't been able to see her as often as I would like but she's definitely living her best life in pasture and with lots of horsey friends. I sorely miss the days when she was close to home but it's getting harder and harder to find a place nearby that has a good balance of all the things that we both need. Knowing how much happier Quest is being pasture boarded, I can't in good conscience keep her in a stall just for my convenience either.   

I'm thankful for a supportive non-horsey husband though and we try to do as many family barn trips on the weekend as possible. And with winter slowly giving way to spring (fingers crossed), there is riding to be done! Mareface is always game for a quick adventure and my son has been enjoying all of our tandem bareback rides around the property. Quest has never put a foot wrong with him on board. She's really just the best <3 I'm hoping we can graduate to trail rides soon, maybe that'll be a goal for the summer. 

A couple weeks ago, Quest had her first mishap in years. This mare has a really strong sense of self-preservation that she rarely, if ever, needs a vet visit. However one morning a couple weeks ago, the BO texted me that she noticed during morning feeds that Quest's right eye was watering. It looked a million times better after the BO took her in and cleaned it up. It wasn't as scary looking anymore and Quest didn't seem any worse for the wear. As luck and timing would have it, the vet was coming out for dental work at the barn later that week and I had them check out Quest's eye just in case. 

It turns out that mareface had somehow scraped the inside of her bottom eyelid! No debris or foreign matter was found, no stitches or anything else was needed. Just daily application of an antibiotic ointment. I was so relieved that it wasn't anything worse as eye injuries can get pretty bad very quickly.

Fingers crossed for quick, speedy healing!