2012 Rides in Pictures

Estes has been out to winter pasture since November and will soon be moving down to a lower elevation, to fat pasture.  I miss the stand-offish old mare, so I thought I'd post a review of my rides in 2012.

February
Every Feb, I hit a bad patch of missingmyhorseitis, so I borrowed Ranger for a ride just to get my fix.

The snow was too deep to use the mounting block,
so Bill had to help me up.

Ranger is good for what ails you.

March
No ride time, but luckily, my February ride with Ranger managed to tide me over until...

April
Still no Estes, so I had to borrow Washoe the Wonder Idiot.

Starting to warm up,
but still not a ton of water in the creek.

May
Finally!  My baby came home!

Look closely, you'll see our matching brands.
(You might have to biggerfy)

Isn't she beautimous?
I love that mare.

June
Got in as much riding as possible.  The forest was green and lush and I loved every minute of it.

I even shared Estes with my mom.

We got some great pictures in June.

July
July is always busy: 4th of July parade, the filming of Horse Master with Julie Goodnight, and my birthday.

I have no idea how we're going to out-do ourselves in 2013.
The be-dazzling of the horses is going to be tough to beat.

My job on the show is super glamorous, as you can see.
I'm the master booger-wiper.

Even in the middle of July,
it was green and lush.
I'm so lucky to get to ride here.

August
This is month I totally jacked up Estes' back by using a saddle that didn't fit me and my arse.  It fit her well, but since it didn't fit me, it put too much pressure in the wrong places and effed her up.  Damn, I hate it when I do something stupid like that.

That stupid saddle lamed me up as well.

Part of her rehab was short rides
for picnics.

So, back to Washoe the Wonder Idiot.

September
Got Estes' back fixed in August, then she had some trouble with her feetsies.  Had our farrier put shoes on the fronts and we were back in business!

Down by the beaver ponds;
it's starting to dry up.
But isn't my mare gorgeous?!

A week later, the trees started to turn.

And Estes decided to come in the people barn.

October
Big month!  Not only did we ride out all by ourselves while Mom and Bill were on vacation, but Rachel and family came for a visit and we got to go riding.

Estee sussed out this view all by her lonesome :)

She's gorgeous.
Mr Daddy's a lucky man.

Rachel is also wicked good at finding wildlife.

Really good at finding wildlife.

November
I have a couple of rides that I haven't written about yet, so some of these pictures might be previews.  Took my oldest son out for a ride and found the herd of sheep.

Digger certainly looks the part.

Lots and lots of sheep.
Estes got me within 100 yds.

Mom and Bill's new header picture.
It was fun trying to get the right picture.

Ranger worked his magic on a grumpy Ashinator.

It was a short last ride,
but a good one.
I don't get to ride with Ashinator much anymore.

I already miss Estes a ton and can't wait for April when she comes home and we can start riding all over again.