jump to navigation

Pleasantly Surprised! July 31, 2007

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 3comments

After the clinic/voo-doo session this weekend, I moved Rasyn to Sherene’s place.  Sherene is a very good friend of mine and this year built a barn on a lovely 3 acres.  We had been planning this for 2 years and it finally happened. Today was my first ride on him in the new digs.

 Ray settles in…

I was expecting the worst. He’s a very “energetic” horse and it’s been a challenge for me to redirect that energy into something that I can work with.  On Saturday when I picked up my right stirrup, he piaffed which is eventually where I want to go.  However, in an untrained horse it usually means they are going to explode either forward, backward, or up because they can’t sustain that level of collection.  Luckily, he blew forward and I only ended up on the other side of the arena. Moments like that tend to keep you on your toes.

But today there was no trace of that. He stood calmly while I mounted (usually he takes a sucker-step just as I put my foot in the stirrup), and there was very little of the rushing that I usually experience in my ride.  He was right there with me.  I almost fell out of the saddle I was so shocked.

So, we worked on “straightening by bending”.  I used counter-bending on large (20m) circles to help with flexibility, then used shoulder-fore to help his weaker right hind engage.  Then we did several changes of direction both on the long diagonal and on a figure-eight to ask for the bend from his barrel, and not from his neck.  I tried to be especially careful of placing his shoulders in-line with his haunches so he can get a true flex with out the infamous “floating butt”.

Physically this ride was very interesting for me.  One of the valuable tidbits I took away from the riding (non-voodoo) portion of the clinic was a change in my riding position.  I have now discovered that there is a little-used muscle on the outside of your calf that IS VERY PAINFUL when fatigued. In fact, I had to cut our ride short because it was excruciating.  My left leg tends to rotate out. So when I’m on the horse, my right toe will be pointing forward, but my left toe will be pointing out at a 45 degree angle.  This new position, which has my weight dropping down my thighs which allows me to rotate my left hip more, directs my left toe straight head.  If I ride long enough (which is what happened on Sunday) then my left ankle will actually roll to the outside, and that really smarts.

So if anyone has any idea on how to strengthen that little muscle I’m all ears.  I’d even be happy for a name for it (soleus? tibialis anterior? Fred?)  It’s becoming highly annoying and I want to fix it. Now.

Crackpot? July 28, 2007

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 3comments

I am on day 2 of a 3-day horse clinic and let me tell you, it has me stepping way out of my confort zone.  The horseback riding part is fine.  I’m totally on board with that.  But it’s the other stuff…

Yesterday it was all lecture.  We learned about dowsing with a pendulum, and how to use it to determine the ailment of a horse.  I had the priviledge of communicating with a horse in Ellensburg named Claire.  Ellensburg is 80 miles away.  Hmmmm…

 There were other topics that were way out there for my little left-brained self.  But, I am still trying to keep an open mind about them.

The riding part of the clinic was amazing.  Scout/Rasyn was typical, so it was really nice to get her advice on how to handle the “AAAAAAHHHH!  SHE’S GOING TO KILL ME!…. Oh, maybe not.” which has been a part of every ride.  We worked on straightening him so he can bend (ha ha, figure that one out) and I personally worked on feeling “the river” and riding from my elbows.  And you thought horseback riding was easy…

He was a super boy, though, and I was really happy with my ride.  I truly have a lot of fun on him and he’s a cutie pie to boot!

Right back at ‘ya! July 27, 2007

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 3comments

Jobs I’ve held-

1. Receptionist at a car dealership in Puyallup

2. File Clerk for the Tacoma Symphony

3. UNIX System Administrator

4. Software Development Kit Support 

Movies I Can Watch Over & Over-

1. Chocolat

2. The Princess Bride (”As you wish…”)

3. The Black Stallion

4. A Christmas Story (I actually own a life-sized replica of the leg lamp.)

My Guilty Pleasures-

1. Chocolate

2. Chocolate

3. Chocolate

4. My horse

Places I Have Lived-

1. Kodiak, Alaska

2. Colville, Washington

3. Bremerton, Washington

4. North Bend, Washington

Shows I Enjoy-

1. Heroes

2. CSI: Las Vegas

3. Meerkat Manor

4. Miami Ink

You thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time?

1. Ooooh, he’s so little and cute, in a gerbil-like way.

2. Dang, is that his girlfriend?

Places I have Been on Vacation-

1. The “Al-Can”  (Alaskan-Canadian Highway)

2. India: Dehli, Jaipur, Agra, Aligarh (Rahul’s Wedding)

3. Disney Cruise: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Key West

4. London, England (last week!)

Favorite Foods-

1. Chocolate

2. Pasta (any kind)

3. Rare (very rare!) Filet Mignon (carnivore, baby!)

4. Popcorn with LOTS of salt and butter

Websites I visit Daily-

1.My Yahoo!

2. Google

3. Amazon

4.  DreamHorse

Body Parts I have injured-

1. My butt (childbirth)

2. Hip Flexor (fell off the horse)

3. ITB (left knee)

4. Neck (Fell of horse again — gotta stop doing that)

Awards You’ve Won- (these are going to be dorky)

1.  Weyerhaeuser E.L.I.T.E. Award (Employees Leading In Total Excellence)

2.  State Grand Champion 4-H Dog Fitting and Showing

3.  Runner up in the Washington State Science Symposium (I did my project on Chaos Theory with straws, Saran Wrap, and a neon laser. Actually, I just wanted to play with the laser.)

4.  “My Favorite Mom” award from Veronica (at least the competitive pool is small).

Nicknames you’ve been called-

1. Bink (from my Dad)

2. Kimmy Sue (from my Grandparents)

3. Kim-chee (from Adam Cappio)

4. Kima (from the RealNetworks e-mail-is-your-name culture, even though my e-mail was kayars@real.com)

Now I get to pick 4 other blog buddies to do this!

1. Running Kate

2. Dion

3. Phil

4. Karl & Trixie

Easy Does It July 26, 2007

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

In an overwhelming attempt not to overdo it, Beth and I went on a short, leisurely run. (That and the construction of a traffic circle at the exit of our development prevented us from hitting the open road.)  I’m feeling much less like roadkill today.

Logbook Activity

Miss me? July 25, 2007

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 3comments

So yes, I haven’t blogged in quite a while (and contrary to popular rumors it is not because Jeff stole my ForeRunner).  I’d like to say that it was because I needed to recover from some manly athletic endeavor but alas, I must blame my nemisis: Jet lag.  It started with a week in Michigan for a family reunion.  It took about 3 days, but we finally adapted to the East Coast time zone.  Then, after only 3 days at home, Jeff and I jet-setted to London for 3 days.  Being that this was my first trans-atlantic trip since India 8 years ago (egads, has it been that long?) I was on a super adreneline rush to see as much as I possibly could. An added bonus was that I was pretty sure that everyone spoke English…

After we landed I spent a mere few minutes in the hotel room before walking the few blocks to the British Museum.  I spent 4 hours there and saw barely half of the exhibits.  But, I did get to see Cleopatra and the Rosetta Stone — definitely highlights!

 Day 2 became a looooooooong 11 mile walk around London:

The total miles did not include a tour of Kensington Palace.  Mind you I had no plans to tour Kensington Palace.  But when you’re caught in this:

Rain

all of a sudden a $25 place of refuge is enticing.  I heard later that it dumped 4″ in London in that short space of time.  I was standing under a tree with an umbrella when I took that photo, and water was still coming through.  But, I did make it to Harrod’s after the rain stopped, so all was well.

 Day 3 was a bit slower.  Jeff and I walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral (a MUST see if you are in London) and then crossed the river and walked down to Westminster:

Only a smidge over 6 miles, but considering I was recovering from the previous day I felt that was a monumental endeavor.

So, back to the jet lag…  We left the next day and ever since then I’ve felt like I’ve been hit by a truck. Beth and I are going to go for a short run tomorrow, and it will be the first time I’ve ran or done any kind of physical exertion since the trip.  I don’t have high hopes.  But at least Beth hasn’t done anything either, so maybe we’ll be struggling together.

I will also be participating in a riding clinic this weekend, so be prepared for some absolutely riveting details about that.  :-)