Just when I thought...

... all was well with the world and maybe things would start falling into place, I get a phone call. Not THE phone call, not the one that makes you burst into tears while your mind goes blank and makes your ears ring. The one that happens before that call.

In the spirit of over-sharing (I've never held back much in this blog) I'll fill you in a little.



I am a fair skinned Irish lass. I am the result of a Scandanavian Irish Father (fair, freckles, reddish hair) and a Black Irish Mother (dark, olive skin, black hair and brown eyes). I tan, but only under careful supervision. I also have the ability to burn easily and I've always guarded my skin intensely. I wear sunscreen made for babies on my face and SPF 1 million everywhere else. I don't lay out in the sun. I haven't since I was a teenager, and yes, I've had a couple of bad burns in my lifetime (a result of growing up in the tropics), but I am fiercely protective of sun damage. So, like any responsible fair-skinned individual I try to go regularly to a dermatologist for "freckle checks". You know, make sure everything looks the same as it did the year before and to make sure nothing looks suspicious. It's not unusual for the doctors to be worried about various moles on my body. I have hundreds of them. And, they ALL look suspicious. My doctor said at my last visit, "if I saw even one of your moles on someone else I'd be extremely worried, but your body just makes weird moles". A few years ago, they biopsied one on my back and it came back fine. A few weeks ago they took another mole and biopsied it and it sent up some red flags. No, it's not melanoma (it makes me cringe just typing that), but they did see what they call moderate cells that in time could grow into something problematic. They want to further biopsy the area and surrounding tissue which will involve a short out-patient surgery. There will be stitches both under the skin (in the muscle) and outside to close up the wound. They told me that during my recovery I would not be allowed to do physical exercise or exert any pressure or tension on the site for 4 WEEKS. The site is in the middle of my back (about an inch above my bra strap). Riding while I recover is completely out of the question. I was gutted.

I got this call 2 days before I was to start leasing Bear. I wrote to his owner explaining the situation and hoped that maybe I could lease him until the procedure and then check back in July. I knew it would be a lot to ask and that she'd probably have better luck just getting someone to lease him outright. It just didn't make sense for me to start leasing him for a few weeks, have the surgery and recovery, and then try to start back up after that (plus, we're on vacation the first 2 weeks of July), so I wasn't surprised that she said she'd just find someone else.

In an instant, my hopes for riding/leasing were ruined for the summer. I felt so frustrated because I've put riding on hold so many times for various reasons. Mostly because financially, I had other obligations. Now that I am finally in a position to lease a horse, this happens.

I had a lesson Saturday on a horse I've been in love with since the first time I saw him (down in Virgina a few years ago). His name is Operation Red Dawn, aka Reddy. He ran for a long time at the track and made $400,000+. He visited my trainer's farm last fall and I took some photos of him then.

He's on loan to my trainer for an undetermined amount of time. One of the more advanced teenagers in leasing him and B has a few other people riding him. I've been DYING to ride him! He's just as fantastic as I hoped. He's is what I would describe as the perfect kind of thoroughbred. Not too big, not to small (he's probably juuuust 16hh), dainty face, well proportioned and athletic with a very kind eye. He's got a terrific brain and a is a puppy dog on the ground. He's very smart and although he's sweet, he does require you to ride him very correctly. He's pretty thin-skinned and reactive/sensitive. We figured each other out quite quickly, and I was surprised and the level of work I was able to get from him. He's still quite green (he mostly hacked out in the country in VA where he got to follow along with other horses) so it's a little tough for him to do things alone. His canter transition is in there somewhere, but again, he was used to getting pulled along by other horses. He's fantastic when he's in front of your leg, and I was able to ride him from back to front pretty successfully. He's so light in the bridle and has a really graceful natural carriage so it was easy to ask him to move into a light contact. We finished up our lesson trotting over a cross rail a handful of times, while giving him a good supportive ride. He's just so willing and kind about everything.

It's interesting for me to pinpoint my strong suit as a rider. I really think that I love riding green horses. Not green and crazy, just green. My trainer said that I was able to get such good work from him in such a short period of time and that he was markedly less reactive with me than with his lessee. I think that I have a knack for giving green horses a confident ride and I think that takes having a sense of humor. I don't get rattled by them trying to figure things out and I think I'm good at staying out of their way. I really hope I get to ride him again!!!

Here's a silly photo of him from Saturday:

cute.

So for now, I'm going to ride as much as I can, stay positive and hope for the best outcome. I hope that recovery time isn't nearly as long as they suspect and that I don't need any further treatments! I just want to ride!