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It's official: I may never ride again. Here in California's Central Valley, we are "enjoying" the 14th wettest rain year since the late 1880s, and more is on the way. Our lower lying areas are facing pretty severe flooding, including flooding from many of the levees that are designed to keep water in, not out. The river is bank to bank. I fully expect to see it at the bottom of the pasture fence this afternoon. It poured yesterday afternoon and into the evening.  It rained ALL DAY yesterday.  This hasn't been dusty since 2022.  Speedy's paddock is much drier.  I've lived here for 29 years, and I have never seen so much greenery. No one has.  The river is just about at the level of the lower pastures.  The upper half of the pastures will be fine, but the river is rising. I've already cancelled my Saturday lesson, and even more rain is predicted next week. I promise not to complain about this summer's heat.
No, really, I mean it! Saturday was beautiful, so I did ride, but it wasn't much of a ride because my arena had some standing water in one corner. And while the surface was dry on the rest, it wasn't dry enough for a horse who might get sassy. Strike that. Dry enough for a horse with attitude. <Cough, cough> Izzy. On Sunday morning, I woke up to an unforcasted rainy day which meant even wetter footing. What. The. Heck.  My Sunday morning view. Last week, I shared photos of the rising Kern River. A day later, water engineers began increasing the outflow from under the Isabella Dam. A few days ago, the release rate was 414 SFD (1 Second-Foot-Day equals 646,325.5 Gallons). On Sunday, the flow had been increased to almost 3,000 SFD. You can do the math to get the exact number of gallons rushing past the barn. I'll just say this, it's a lot!  So far, the water hasn't climbed our bank, but the neighbors across the river haven't been so lucky. Their lawns are now partly under water. The ranch sits a bit higher on the north side, but when it finally does reach our pastures, the neighbors on the south side will have water up to their back doors. It happened a few years ago, and back then their homes stayed dried. This year might be a different story.  Bank to bank. In the meantime, this once or twice-a-week rain is making it very challenging to ride with any consistency. I was certain that Saturday's bright sunshine and warm temperatures were going to give me most of my arena back. Nope. We have two more storms on the horizon, one today and another in the next week. Our meteorologist is predicting several more storms in the month of April. He even labeled our frustration as rain trauma. I don't know how "traumatic" it is, but it is certainly getting old. Most of you are rolling your eyes because you see rain and snow every winter. I'll admit it; this California girl enjoys our typically mild winters. I like being able to ride 360 days a year.
At least I can still clean tack and groom. Every day I remind myself that we need the rain, we need the rain, we need the rain. But honestly, I am a little over it. At this point I almost miss dust.  Izzy doesn't seem to be care. Just about the time the puddles begin to dry out, it rains again.  The ground surrounding the arena. Besides the obvious benefits of rain, one bonus has been the proliferation of grasses and plants. California isn't called the "golden state" for nothing. We're not known for being covered in green. Within a month or so, the lush grasses will be prickly and filled with foxtails.  The A end of the arena. It has been 24 days since I have been able to ride the entire length of the arena. And as of yesterday, both the C and A ends have standing water. I had to cancel my Saturday lesson again.  Right now, the river is running very deep and wide. Most of the time, it can't be seen from the edge of the pastures, but last night, it was approaching the top of the bank. In another month or so, as the mountain snow begins to melt, the river will likely flood the lower pastures. When it does, we'll lose our trail which was just mowed yesterday.  Hello there, little sink hole. Even more rain is predicted for Monday through Wednesday. I know we'll all be grateful to see our reservoirs refilled, and summer will feel less hot and dusty with replenished aquifers, but I am over it.
Thank you, California, for wearing green this St. Patty's Day, but let me at least ride my horse occasionally! If you were to ask any Californian how they feel about the rain we've received this year, the answer would be this: Thank goodness because we need the rain, but it has been a royal pain in the butt! While most of the state is now "drought free" - we are never really drought free, it has come at a cost. The Kern River is flooding, and a lot of people are being affected.  Internet Photo of Kernville. A week ago California was buried under massive snow with frigid temperatures. This weekend we were hit with a monster warm front carrying an atmospheric river. Bakersfield lies below the Lake Isabella Dam, and so far, the release rate hasn't affected us. The river is swollen from the runoff below the dam, and it is running wide and deep, but at its worst, it will only flood the lower half of our pastures. Kernville is above the Isabella Reservoir. They haven't been as lucky. I have seen some interesting photos this past week. Because the river is icy cold, it is actually causing "steam" to appear as the exceptionally warm air just above the surface of the water is beginning to condense and form "clouds."  Lake Isabella (the reservoir) and the Southern Sierras covered in snow last weekend. PC My Husband We live very near to the mouth of the canyon where the Kern River exits the mountains. We live on the south side of the river, and my horses live on the north side. The flooding won't affect us, but the rain does. Just about the time the footing dries out enough to ride, another wave of storms rolls through. First we had rain and mud, then Izzy had an abscess, then we had more rain and mud. Seventeen days had passed without me being able to ride. Finally, on Saturday, I was able to get in a "let me see how sound you are" type of ride.  Still a jerk, but he's sound. It was in the high sixties with very humid weather, so even I wasn't exactly thrilled about working too hard. As it turns out, neither was my big brown horse. He was quite happy to walk and stretch down and even do a little trotting, but when I asked for a canter, he did everything but canter forward. He weaved, he bulged, he dodged, he quit, but cantering one circle was just beyond his ability. I eventually kicked him hard enough with my rubber boots to get one circle each way, but honestly, it would have been a lot easier on him had he just done the one canter circle when asked the first time. Nope. He has to make a big deal out of everything. He still hasn't figured out that my way is generally the easiest way.  Me to Izzy: Good thing I like you! Before tacking Izzy up, I turned Speedy out to enjoy the lush grass that is growing everywhere except the pastures and paddocks. Sometime during the week, before this most recent rainfall, Reggie worked the dirt in Speedy's paddock. The dirt under his shelter had been shored up so that any water would drain out. It was nice and dry under there which Speedy appreciated. He hates to step in the mud. Speedy and Dollar the stallion share a quarter acre with a fence down the middle. Their paddocks are the smallest of all of the horses' pastures which means everyone has somewhere dry to stand. Even with all of that space, Speedy still likes to get out.  Speedy's eighth of an acre - wet, but no standing water. The arena was mostly rideable on Saturday - a third was still too wet, but considering how much rain and snow California has received these past few months, I am grateful that my boys live somewhere where they can still get plenty of exercise and stay warm at the same time. We need the rain, but it is definitely a pain in the butt.
So says every other Californian. After the torrential deluge that California suffered on Friday and Saturday, we started putting things back together at the barn. Speedy's blanket was completely dry so I returned it to the tack room. Izzy's was nearly dry, which surprised me, so I flipped it over and let the inside soak in the sun while I puttered. There wasn't much we could do about the lakes that occupied many of the paddocks, but fortunately, all of the horses live in such large enclosures that there is always dry land somewhere in the wetness. The big thing we had to work around was Pixie. Up until very recently, Archie and Pixie had lived directly across from Izzy. When Archie was euthanized a few weeks ago, Pixie was left in the double large paddock by herself. Rather than upset her even more, the ranch owner decided to see if having Izzy across the way would be company enough for her.  Pixie As it turns out, without Archie in the way, Izzy has fallen hard for his neighbor. When Pixie began to shiver too much, the ranch owner moved her temporarily to the mare motel which has more shelter from the rain. This did not please Izzy at all. He was pissed and pouted the entire day. On Sunday morning we decided to fit Pixie, who has never been blanketed, with a blanket so that we could move her back to her regular paddock. While the blanket was not the best fit, she stood quite bravely as we fiddled with the buckles and straps. Once it seemed secure enough, we turned her loose. Both she and Izzy called back and forth as though they had been apart for weeks instead of hours.  Pixie up close. When we were comfortable with the modifications we made to the blanket, we pulled it, folded it up, and stored it in the barn for quick application if needed this week. With his gal pal back where she was supposed to be, Izzy got to work on his breakfast. Pixie was still rattled, so we turned her loose, fed her an extra flake of hay, and left her to decompress. We had a second horse who needed some extra support. Dollar, Pixie's sire, had chosen a very bad place to lay down the evening before. The ranch own found him laying on the slope of his paddock, unable to get up. Apparently he had laid down with his feet on the uphill side and couldn't roll himself over. With the help of a new tenant, they were able to flip Dollar over so that he could get back up. After scouting out the least muddy spot in his paddock, we decided to dump a bag of shavings down in the hope that he would choose to rest in them rather than on the slight grade in his paddock.  Pixie's sire, Dollar Horses being horses, Dollar decided that they shavings were his lunch so we spent even more time coaxing him out of the shavings with a bucket of senior feed - which he turned down, a fresh flake of hay, and a bucket of beet pulp, which finally distracted him.
When you only get six inches of a rain a year, four inches in a single weekend requires some creative thinking. |
About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. 
Photo by Lori Ovanessian
About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)
Bakersfield Dressage approved!
My favorite breeches!
FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
I love her stuff!
Watercolor Artist and Friend
National Rider Awards
USDF Bronze Medal - 2020
USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013
State Rider Awards
CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
State Horse Awards
Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
Speedy G - 2nd Level Horse Performance Award - 2018
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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