Yeah yeah it's been forever....

Hey all, yes it has been forever since my blog has been updated! Sorry about that, very bad internet etiquette. I will try to bullet point all the important things that have happened (in chronological order) to make for quick reading:

• Did a few rides in the spring, but not too many. I switched jobs and haven't been as flexible; did do some crewing as well.
• Worked a lot with Jazz (Patriot's Pride) over the summer/fall, she's owned by my friend Kelly Lane. Kelly also owns an older gelding named Raffi who I would take out occasionally to stretch his legs (and let Jack the dog stretch his too). She's a very sensible, easy to ride mare who takes great care of herself. We conditioned and did the LD at Ride Between the Rivers in West Virginia. The trail is TOUGH, very hilly and rocky, but she finished fine in mid-pack. The ride is managed great; fun parties thrown but very difficult to get there so if you go, be prepared for lots of backroad mountain driving!
• No, I didn't get to ride Legalas at Nationals. Yes I am very bitter about it. It's a long story that involves a lot of people and I don't think it's 100% appropriate to totally bash on people online and only give one side of the story. Stay classy.
• Heather and Jeremy got picked to be on the American Team to ride at the World Championships in Kentucky, 2010! Unfortunately, Jeremy's horse, Sir Smith (Smitty) developed a lameness shortly before the ride so he crewed instead. Heather finished fourth on Ssamiam. He was pulled at the finish for a minor lameness in the hind, not serious and understandable considering how fast he ran and that it was only his second 100 miler! Heather is EXTREMELY happy with his performance and how he did and it's so great that an American did so well!
• In late fall I started working a bit with Ghost, owned by Jonie and Dennis Brucker and located in NC. He's very green, but very gentle giant. Absolutely wonderful to ride on trail, still nervous about things but very easy to work with and willing to go with the flow and figure stuff out. Also very calm and sensible. Only issue he still has it with mounting and dismounting; unfortunately that issue caused me to come off him in the round pen on 11/14/10 and I broke my leg. Had surgery, I now have 9 screws and a titanium plate in my ankle. Just got off my crutches two weeks ago and am working on getting back into shape and working off the extra pounds I put on while being lazy and not eating right. Phew!
• Up-to-Date: Headed up to Star Tannery, VA (home of Old Dominion Endurance Rides) this weekend to ride with Becky Boyce, assuming the weather up there is okay. Becky is the new owner of Legalas, and to be frank she's simply been an AWESOME person to get to know. I'm taking her my little trailer to use for a bit. I've been trying to sell it for months and have been unsuccessful, so it's just sitting in Mary's yard taking up space. I'm not using it (don't have any horses I'm training with and transporting at the moment) and was hoping to upgrade to a bigger one once I have the resources, so it's totally fine with me!

Well that's it for now! Will try to get better about using this thing again for everyone....