In which we head East into the Blue, and there is fun (and much cuteness)

The problem with transitional-season rides:  we have to bring everything.

Dressing room of the SS Illegible: crammed with gear

For the horses, that means a warm blanket, a light rain sheet, a fly sheet, heaps of food, a full tank of water, the rump rug and the cooling sponges....

Cargo hold of the SS Illegible:  also crammed with gear

For the people it means heaps of rain gear, heaps of polar fleece, flannel shirts, cotton shirts, a few t-shirts, a warm hat, a rain hat, a ball cap, wool socks, light socks, hand warmers, and sunscreen.

We needed all that stuff (except the rain gear, which we only needed at home while loading it all into the rig).

Photo of ridecamp, taken from the out-trail

In camp, the skies were clear, bright and blue all day, 

Here on the Dry Side of the state, you can certainly tell
which crops aren't irrigated  (this is wheat)

and clear (and COLD) at night.

Single-person tent/cot requires two people to move

We had to tweak camp several times, as people who arrive in the middle of the night don't always choose the best spot to put stuff so they can go to bed.

But there was still plenty of time

Mike and Gail Williams, a.k.a. "Grampoo and Grammoo" 

to goof around and

Plenty of room here to do my clamshell exercises!

do our physical therapy exercises

Fee takes "carrot stretches" to the natural extreme

(the horses do them too)

She will do anything -- ANYTHING -- for a carrot

and plenty of time to ride, too!

Pre-ride, photo by Dory Jackson

I'll post a full report on the ride next, because first I want to spotlight the stuff we do in camp when we aren't on the trail.

Stuff like gaining new skills...

Brimstone has never trotted out for the vet, so
Patty adds a reason to go forward (she's got a whip in one hand)

Jason has never given electrolytes before, so he learned how to do it.

...and cooking...

Jason is our 5 star camp chef, and adapted easily to the
galley-inside-the-horse-trailer

and EATING!

Sunshine feels good, even when it isn't warm yet.

And meeting new people...

Yes, that's Fiddle, demonstrating her tricks for 10-year-old Orin.

Orin was so fascinated by my !friendly! horse that I was able to show him
how he could teach his own horse to do tricks like this

New riders -- on Standardbreds!  Welcome, Darrel and Sherry!

and meeting new horses...

These are Moyle horses; the little one shows the characteristic
skull "bosses" on his head--horns!  Moyle horses are notoriously stubborn,
 often unfriendly, tough endurance horses,  and despite what the article HERE claims,
 they are also NOT considered smooth moving. I was thrilled to meet two IRL.

...and celebrating stuff.

Santa opens...champagne!

We toasted, first to Jason--he is now DOCTOR Jason, having successfully completed his dissertation.

Cup of champagne in one hand, carrot in the other.  The toast:
"To Jason -- WHAT'S UP, DOC?"

And the second toast (carrots only) is given in honor of...

SPOT, who won the 50-mile ride.  Dory retired 16-year-old Spot at the finish line, with the intention of getting her in foal next spring.

BJD Notalotta Spots, a good mare.

We did save a carrot for Fiddle, of course.

"I can haz carrotz?"
(YES!  That is the Dragon, asking nicely for a treat from somebody who isn't me!!!)

And, just when we thought we'd smiled enough for one weekend...

"Hi guys.  Whatcha doing?"

Schnitzel came over to visit.

Schnitzel is not a pet.  Keeping a wild animal as a pet is illegal.
But Schnitzel does sleep in the barn at Jubilee Ranch, sometimes.
Just sayin'.

Schnitzel likes most people, but he really likes Santa Jim.

"Santa, will you share your oatmeal starberries wif me?"

He wanted to know more about Santa's recruitment program for airborne cervidae.

"Dis good stuff makes me FLY, I bet!"

And it was good.

And it was fun.

And it was really, really cute.