Day by Day

Here I am counting down the days.

30 days until I load the horse in the trailer and go to Shanghai.

Each day it gets more and more real.

Each day I tick things off my to do list.

Sunday March 1st; weather permitting, go trail riding at Nails Creek at Lake Somerville with the Central TX Lady Trail Riders.  Very excited as I'm going to take Socks so I can just sit back and relax.

Monday, March 2nd; pay my membership fees for AERC and PFHA.

Wait until I get both my AERC number and Strider's AERC number, and as soon as I have those in hand, I mail off my check for Shanghai.

March 7th; Trailer loading clinic.  Taking Strider.  Going to be up VERY early (I'll probably have to set the alarm for about 4:30 or 5am) so I can go to the barn and wrestle my horse in to the trailer.  Little worried about this.  Super long lunge line, hay and grain inside the trailer and a whip to coax him in I guess.  Honestly, if this clinic can help me get him to just self-load I'll weep with happiness.  Or at least make it NOT a struggle.

March 8th; Open Schooling event at County Line Equestrian Center in Hutto.  It's their St. Patrick's Day open schooling, so I'll doll up which ever horse I feel like taking.  Probably will be Strider.  In which case, as long as his registration goes through with PFHA, the day in the saddle qualifies us for "Pasos for Pleasure" hours.  Looks good on his registry number and we earn points and prizes as well as promote the breed.  He needs the exposure and trailer loading practice.  Not going to overnight him this time I don't think.  The drive isn't that bad to Hutto, and maybe some of the ladies at the barn will want to go.

Somehow try to squeeze in one good ride prior to Shanghai.  Might even get brave and load and go ride solo some where.  I need to find a place with decent footing where I can really open Strider up and get him moving and see what he's got for a day, but still allow him time to recover prior to Shanghai.

I honestly am still up in the air about how I want to do Shanghai. 

Do I want to try and do 25's both days?  Do the 25 on Saturday and the intro on Sunday?  Just do the 25 on Saturday and then volunteer at the vet check station?  Just do the 25 on Saturday, pack up and go home?

Joe gave me the pass to stay gone all weekend.  And part of me says I need to volunteer and contribute, but part of me says I want to challenge myself and Strider and try to do both days.  These decisions are getting to me.  I might contact the ride manager and ask her if I can register for Sunday and decide on that day what I want to do.  I kind of want to try and ride both days.  If I'm going to be sore, might as well go for broke! 

We'll see.