Horses. Horses. Horses. I swear that is all that I think about sometimes. As you guys know I am an equestrian which is just a fancy way of saying that I eat, sleep and breathe anything involving a saddle. Today, like almost every other day was surprise, surprise spent at the barn. I must say this time of summer is always my favourite because in addition to my lessons and flat work I help out at our summer camps! Our summer camps start in June and end in August and we do all sorts of camps, last year we did a camp for kids with terminal illnesses like cancer and that one was by far my favourite. This year our theme was Summer Olympics and let me tell you the kids couldn't wait to get started!
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| The Olympics! |
At camp we do so many fun activities. The kids learn everything from the parts of the horse, to different types of feed and much much more! Every camp session there is a day when we let the kids be a little silly and paint the horses! It's the most fun part of camp all week and the ponies don't mind one bit (they are all given bathes afterwards of course!)
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| This is Doc, isn't he precious! |
Our barn is one of a kind, and I am sure every horse person must say that but I really think mine takes the cake. The barn is such a great place to be and the people here are basically my second family. We do everything together from horse showing down in Kentucky to having barn campouts! I think the atmosphere really has to do with the owner. Her name is Childress Rodgers (we all just call her Chile) and she is the reason why the barn is what it is. She grew up riding horses and got her very first pony at the age of the 3. She didn't stop riding until the doctors forbid her to do so in her late sixties and seventy some years later she is still going strong. She comes to the barn everyday to watch our lessons and cheer us on. She knows everything that there is to know about horses and is currently training another baby. She has won all sorts of awards and her pictures from her youth really speak for themselves.
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| This is Chile back then at a double A show |
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| Some of her awards! |
I think everyone can tell how special our barn is from the moment they walk in the door. Maybe it's our personal calendar that hangs on the wall with all of our photos in it or perhaps it's the old pictures that line the door from years past. Somehow you can just know that every single person that ever came in contact with Chile has a special place in her heart.
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| Saddles galore |
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| Some of our pictures |
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| Our calendar that we make every year |
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| So many riding things in my trunk! |
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| Horses everywhere |
Hopefully you guys have a better idea of what a day in life of a rider looks like. It's fast paced and unpredictable but I love it and wouldn't change it for anything. I hope that when I am 70 I am still able to cheer on my grandchildren at their horse shows!
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| The view is always better from the back of a horse |
xoxo,
lRn
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