Green for green

The truth is I’ve never felt very certain about anything this year… If I wasn’t certain before, this helped clarify: If we are doing 100 this year, it is NOT going to be at BSF. Gradually it became settled. The OD 100 is the plan, it probably was always the plan.

The Key

May 10, 2023 I had all the good intentions to give a more details write up from the No Frills ride in mid-April after posting the video clips, but ended up finding more contemplation from that ride fitting for the blog I release through the website for the book I published (The Jael Finishing SchoolContinue reading “The Key”

True

I have tried to write this update multiple times and seem to make a tangled mess out of it every time. Apparently it takes endurance to write about endurance! If you don’t follow the Hope Horsemanship [HH] blog, I encourage you to read my experience of spending a week with Harry Whitney in The MotionsContinue reading “True”

Respect or fear? Does it matter?

I have become addicted to the Inspector Gamache mystery novels by Louise Penny. I love the characters, the little town much of it takes place in, but even more I love the philosophical layers Penny unearths through the characters in each novel. In the most recent book I finished (A Great Reckoning) there is aContinue reading “Respect or fear? Does it matter?”

Blessed are the flexible…

… for they shall not be bent out of shape. Khaleesi has been on some down time after Big South Fork and I have been flung headlong into fall season of music program administration, teaching and rehearsals. I have done some hiking with her and then snuck in one unimpressive ride before the hurricane rainsContinue reading “Blessed are the flexible…”

And then there was one…

On Sunday afternoon, hours after the Big South Fork event was wrapped up I found myself (along with Khaleesi and Samwise) completely alone in the big field that had been pretty packed with people and horses for the past couple days. As I pondered feeling quite alone at the moment the thought came to meContinue reading “And then there was one…”

The Journey of BSF 2022

September 14, 2022 Hello Green to 100 friends! I am working on a reflective update on the lessons and victories of Big South Fork 2022, but meanwhile I’ve compiled a video journey you can enjoy that tells much of the surface story. In short: 88 miles (an odd accumulation due to going off course onContinue reading “The Journey of BSF 2022”

Some trust in horses…

As long as the vet-in this afternoon holds no surprises, we have at least made it to the start of attempt #2 at the single-day 100 mile ride here at Big South Fork Recreation Area in TN. If we were signed up for the 50 I would say I feel pretty confident that barring theContinue reading “Some trust in horses…”

Training or Testing?

I was listening to a podcast recently where Stacey Westfall discussed the differences between testing and training (she uses the word teaching interchangably for training). Stacey was talking about the process of learning vs the process of showing what has been learned.  Anyone who rides a horse has to do some amount of at leastContinue reading “Training or Testing?”