In the six seasons that I've been showing - can that be right? - I've never done a rated show in the fall once the season is over. Since I am only a Group Member with USDF, my scores haven't counted for the USDF Championship Show anyway. My GMO's show season is from October 1 - October 1, so I've never earned my qualifying scores for CDS in the fall either.

This year, several of Chemaine's other students wanted to start qualifying for next year, so they entered a two-day show on October 24/25 and asked me to join in. I hesitated at first because there was a clinic I wanted to do in November, but after giving it some thought, I sent in an entry.

Once I got to thinking about it, I realized that I'll have four opportunities to earn scores for next year's Regional Adult Amateur Competition and the CDS Championship Show. Having those scores earned this early in the season would take a ton of pressure away next spring.

More important than that though, I realized that this show gives me another opportunity to get the last score I need for my Rider Performance Award at First Level. It's not the Bronze Medal, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

I don't know how widespread the news was, but Kern County was hit by severe thunderstorms on Thursday afternoon that caused devastating mudslides closing two of our major highways - Interstate 5, and Highway 58.

Interstate 5 is California, Oregon, and Washington's major traffic artery. It flows from Mexico to Canada, carrying not only passenger vehicles, but the big trucks that keep our economy humming along. Highway 58 connects California's Central Valley to the eastern side of the state. It's one of the larger highways that passes through the Sierra Nevada. Even a short closure of either I-5 or Highway 58 could cause an economic headache.

Since California has been in such a severe drought, we've lost much of the vegetation that serves to keep our dirt where it belongs. When the thunderstorm hit, it dropped several inches of rain on wild fire scarred hillsides that simply collapsed within minutes.

I've seen a number of videos that drivers shot as they passed through the area, and some of them looked terrifying. Water and mud simply came rushing off the mountains, trapping hundreds of vehicles beneath six feet of mud.

The reason I share this is because this is the weekend for Chemaine to come for another casual clinic. On Friday morning, I was pretty confident that the weekend would be a bust. I doubted the road would be safe enough for her to make the trip, and even if it was open for a few hours, I worried it might close before she could get back home on Sunday.

I will never again complain about CAL-Trans. Those guys and gals must have worked their tails off through the night and early morning to open I-5, no easy task. On Friday afternoon, texts and Facebook messages started flying, celebrating I-5s opening.  

Our first ride is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. I received a text not long ago that Chemaine is heading our way, safe without any delays. So ... A, enter mudslide, but proceed to X!

Most of the time, I write like no one's reading. I usually just write about what my last ride was like or about some great deal that I've found or stuff that I am thinking about. Fortunately, I am a constant thinker which means I always have stuff to share. It might not be interesting to the world at large, but if I don't get it on paper, I start to feel overwhelmed. Writing helps me unload some of the tension and worry.

If you've ever actually met me, I probably came across as friendly and down to earth. I would say that you met the real me, but it probably didn't get much farther than smiles and friendly banter. I am extremely picky about who I chose to invest my time in. I'm slow to make long lasting friendships, but when I do, they're forever. I am intensely loyal.

The truth is, most of you know me better than people I see every day. With you all, I have a group of friends who share my interests and likes. Connecting with people with such a deep seated passion makes honesty and sincerity easy.

While we will probably never meet in person, I hope that you'll continue to share your life with me. Where else can I find such a large group of people who like what I like as much as I do and never get tired of talking about it?

​Have a great day!

Over the years, so many of you have commented on how clean Speedy G always is. While I take very good care of my boys, I don't spend a lot of time using fancy grooming techniques or products. So Speedy's usually sparkling white coat is more a result of his desire to be a diva than it is a reflection of my grooming routine.

Tuesday was a turnout day for Speedy. It was hot - mid 90s, and the water hadn't been turned on in the arena for a day or two so it was dusty. Speedy had a bit of energy to burn, so he did some rodeo style gallops and bucking. When I went out to get him, he was a horse of a different color.

​In fact, he was a sweaty ball of ew ... gross!

I gave him a quick shower, but it was mostly to cool him down rather than to clean him off. Like horses everywhere, both Speedy and Izzy grew a winter coat over night even though it's still in the mid-90s here. I hand grazed him a little bit afterwards to help him dry off, but in this heat, I am sure he was dry by the time he finished his dinner.

Just proof that my sparkling white pony does get dirty!

We all know Izzy hasn't been out that many times, but we must be getting close.

Since he's still on the sore side, I did a 40-minute walking trail ride on Monday afternoon. As always, my goal was to walk my regular neighborhood loop with a horse who was relaxed and happy to be there.

Since that is a "goal," it means that we're not really there yet, but like I talked about in my Someday post, it's important to recognize the good things we have Today.

​When I first asked him to hack through the neighborhood on his own, we struggled to make the first turn without backing up, rearing, or bucking - not on Monday. He was still gawking, but it was in curiosity and not fear. I am okay with stopping to get an eyeful, but then it's time to move on.

​If you'll remember, there's a little hill with a perpetual sprinkler-created puddle at the base that we need to cross. For this ride, Izzy tried to side step left and right, but with a gentle tap of my spur-clad heel, he stepped over the puddle and pulled us up the hill. While I would like him to eventually ignore the puddle completely, I was thrilled with how quickly he decided to just step over the darned thing.

After the puddle, we passed the Haner farm. The pigs and turkeys have been slaughtered, but Izzy still gave the pens the one-eyed ogle. Again, no big deal as he kept going forward. He was a bit tense, but he never questioned my plan to keep on marching.

We made the trek down the long street back towards the barn. It's about here where things usually start to fall apart. He doesn't want to walk past our property as he can hear Speedy calling to him. While he tried to do a shoulder lean, he kept on going without the rearing that he tried the week before. Good man, Izzy; good man!

From this point, I can either do a quick loop back to the barn, or walk through the neighbors' properties and go by the tipi and bushwhack a bit. It had been a few weeks since our last bushwhacking adventure, so I decided to go for it.

He was a sweaty ball of tension and nervousness by the time we got back to the barn, but I was so happy with him anyway. He showed me how he's going to behave when he's nervous at a show.

When Speedy gets anxious, which is actually hardly even visible to most people, he gets heavy on the bit and tries to hurry through everything.

When Izzy got anxious out there on the trail by himself, he coiled himself into a ball and couldn't move forward. He showed me that he is very capable of a natural piaffe and some serious collected canter. It was a great experience for me to ride him through the tension.

Trail work is easy for me, so even though my horse was bunched up underneath me, I let the reins hang loosely in my hand and rewarded any kind of forward stride that he could give me, even if it was a canter. For a little while, his stride was so tiny that we were probably advancing at only one mile per hour. It was okay though.

He gave a few little bucks, thought about getting light up front, but he kept moving forward. These trail rides will be good for him because he'll learn to eventually let go of the tension so that he can move forward. I didn't want to spur him forward. Instead, I wanted him to see, and feel, that he could go forward on his own. Nothing was there to stop him.

As soon as we crossed into our driveway, Izzy let out a big breath and relaxed. I asked him to walk a lap or two around the barn before I got off. I don't want him to think that being home is the answer. Being relaxed is the answer. So once he could walk around the property on the buckle, I hopped off.

This horse is so much more than I could have hoped for. He has natural ability, a good brain, and he's just fun to be around. I can't wait to see what comes next!