In which I teach the Dragon something new and not actually useful
It's been a long time since I posted here. I haven't been bored, but the >>gestures at everything<< has been a lot. Still, it's all soup now, and too late to remove the onions. On we go. My friends Nancy and Jean and some others from the Cross-State Ride compete in "mountain trail" events. I didn't know what that was prior to my jaunt down to the Oregon Horse Center with them in October. Mostly, I needed a few days away from the routine, so I loaded up the Honda with warm clothes and drove to Eugene. Because, why not? It turns out that Mountain Trail is kind of a cross between agility, dressage, chess, Calvinball, and watching paint dry. Riders go onto a manufactured indoor course and show off their horse's adroitness and compliance. They are judged on precision and cooperation between horse-and-rider. Briskness is not part of this--in fact, moving out seems to be actively discouraged in favor of though...
