M.A.R.E. - Week 7

When I got to MARE last week, I was pretty excited because it was the first rainy day we'd had since the covered arena has been ready for lessons. In the past, all lessons had to be cancelled when it rained or when it hit 100 degrees. Which if you know anything about Bakersfield is more than sixty days each summer. Plus, I had heard that the new felt footing had also been spread. It still needed to be worked into the sand and packed down, but still, it's exciting to have a nearly dust free and shaded arena.

Brands new covered arena with new felt footing.

When I walked into the barn though, I knew something was wrong. To everyone's disappointment, nearly all of Wednesday afternoon's volunteers had failed to show up. Each rider needs a minimum of two volunteers - one to be the horse handler and one to be the side walker. The side walker is there to ensure the rider's safety. On Wednesday afternoons, we now have three students which means no less than six volunteers. When there are not enough volunteers, riding lessons have to be cancelled.

Haven was "helping."

Since there are two trainers, one can serve as a horse handler or side walker. The barn captain can also do either of those jobs. I was there and just before the lessons were scheduled to begin, a second volunteer arrived. In a situation where there are not enough volunteers, the volunteer coordinator can be called in which is what happened. In the end, we had five adults; one person shy. For lack of a single volunteer, three kiddos didn't get to ride. It was very disappointing, particularly so since Wednesday was one child's first lesson.

This is George; he was also "helping."

Since I couldn't help with the barn lessons, I grabbed a manure fork and a muck bucket and got to work. Because of the rain, the horses had been brought in early which meant that stalls needed to be cleaned before dinner. I cleaned George's, Diamond's, Smoothie's, Sadie's, Haven's, Cricket's, Morey's, Knightly's, and Reina's stalls. Yep. I now know each horse. Even more interesting is that I know two of the horses' previous owners. George was owned by a local dressage competitor who has since left the area, and Sadie was owned by an acquaintance with whom I have ridden a time or two.

This is Sadie; she was basking in the sunshine.

While the kiddos finished their barn lesson, I grabbed the other volunteer and asked her to help me carry in the caveletti, buckets, toys, barrels, and other equipment used for the morning lessons. The week before, I had asked what needed to be brought in, so without waiting to be told, I just brought everything in again. I am pretty sure the arena gets worked each morning, and it is easier job to do without everything in there.

​Since the young rider who was taking lessons at 5:00 has moved to Mondays, our day was made much shorter especially since none of the kiddos got to ride. Included in their barn lesson was feeding dinner, so by the time I came back in from cleaning Reina and Knightly's outdoor paddocks and turning them out, everything in the barn was finished. It was nice to be done by 4:45, but I would rather work for the full three hours. Unless we get some new kiddos in the 5:00 slot, we'll probably be finishing up by 5:30 on Wednesdays.

Morey's poops are so small they won't stay on the fork. I picked up a bunch by hand - don't worry, they were dry. LOL

Now that I've seen first hand what happens when a single volunteer doesn't show up, you can bet I will be there every week without fail - not that I would ever flake out on a commitment. While the arena was being built, we didn't do riding lessons so I did sometimes feel a bit useless. Rather than sit around though, I looked for things to do. Many of the volunteers are young - high school and college-age, so they don't necessarily have the same experience or confidence to just go rogue that someone in her 50s does.

Having managed my own horses for so many decades means that I already know what kinds of dirty jobs need doing without needing to be told. There is always a pile of poop to pick up or something to sweep. I've also managed enough classroom volunteers to know how appreciated it is when one of them finds things to do on her own.

​For the sake of those three kiddos coming this afternoon, I hope the rest of the volunteers make it out today, especially so since it's stormy yet again.