Vacation's over!

I was about to say that the summer here is too short to spend in front of the computer.
Well, now we are writing September, and the summer never came.
So I can't really blame it on the weather, can I?


We have had a very unstable summer and autumn this far.
It seems as if it's been raining every day.
Not quite true, but the fact is that Oslo in the beginning of September reached the average yearly downpour, with three months left to go.
And I was hoping for a nice autumn as the summer weather was wet...

Have been spending time with the horses though, even if they have been on summer vacation. This year we had them down at a friend's place where they also had a riding arena, about an hour's drive from home.
They had five weeks off, but I rode Fame in average three times a week, so it was not quite the lazy days as we have had earlier.
For which I am thankful.
Having vacation, without riding and a lot of time on your hands to have the Winnie-the-Pooh way of thinking on "time for a smackerel" is not healthy for your body.

One of the nice days this summer.
Fame can splash around forever.

I just love the way the sun lightens up the bottom of the creek,
it is like rays of gold down there.

..and it is grass here too, see?
We can both eat and have a bath! At the same time!

End of August. We have more water and
the path on the left hand side is flooded.
Fame still thinks bathing is a super idea.
I get dizzy watching the fast swirl of water around us.
In September the water level has
increased even more and we cannot cross at all.

Where has the grass gone?

How long time does it take to learn how to ride, I wonder?
I have been trying for the last 42 years, and I am not quite sure weather I have another 42 coming up.
I have to speed up the learning process a bit, I guess.
(Not easy if you are a middle aged, office working person. )

But - the main thing is to have FUN, right?
And it has been quite fun lately.

I have had two super training weekends, one with Andrew Murphy, international instructor and member of TTT together with Stephen Clark, Arthur Kottas, Charles de Kunffy - all real heavyweighters in classical dressage.
It was two very, very good sessions, and something that I feel really boosted my riding.

A week later it was time for our monthly training with Jimmi Sørensen, our Danish trainer.
Fame worked very well. I am so happy that Jimmi is coming over once a month as I feel much is happening every time, and he puts us on the right track for the work ahead.

A pause and some pep-talk with Jimmi.

I decided not to put on shoes on Fame after her summer vacation, and see how she does.
She has good hooves, and so far it has been no problem. (I kept her unshod until she was four.)
I have to take more consideration on where and how I ride though, and the plans to start some X-country competitions this autumn had to be abandoned.
That is a small sacrifice if she benefits from it in the long run.
And I love the soft sound of an unshod horse.

We fortunately have some nice paths that also suits an unshod horse, and last weekend we had a very nice hack, Fame and me.
And - wow! it did not rain!

Hope you all have had a nice summer, and hopefully with some better weather than here.

See? Nice and soft for small hooves...
A canter?