Let the games begin!

My goodness.  I have been one negligent blogger! 

The Thursday Night Horse Exercise team were pretty pleased with the mild winter.  Unlike previous winters, we could do more than just scoop the frozen poop, count horses and get in our cars to defrost.  We had many new young volunteers who braved the unheated barn to learn to groom and care for Rainy Moon and Hannah.  I hope they keep coming as I hardly got to yell at them at all (sorry, Penguin, you must have taught me patience!). 

The Minnesota Horse Council gave RideAbility a grant for an independent saddle which we received in February (or early March).  This will be a great addition to our tack.  Many of us have tried it out. Jacob and I think it is like riding in a pod racer (yeah, well, we're nerdy like that).  We have been just trying it on Hannah so far, but she seems to get the hang of it.

The Memorial Luncheon was in March and we all had a great time.  We had an awesome magician, Michael, who kept everyone entertained and the meal was great!

Spring classes started a few weeks ago and last through the second week of March.  It has been fun to see so many familiar student faces.  The weather has been pretty cooperative, which is always a bonus.  We always have room for more volunteers.  The summer session starts in May.

The Barn Dance is on June 2; the Pine Island Parade is June 9 (Janet and I are itching to get the fjords on the rode!); Pony Up is June 16; the Zumbrota Parade is also June 16 (yes, delusional Leslie thinks we can do both).  To get all the news, check out the calendar on the website (www.rideability.org).

It was a dark and stormy night!

Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration.

This week was the start of our first summer session.  Monday set some records for heat.  Tuesday, it was potentially dark and stormy.  No dark, no storm, though, since we did have a few students who really don't like being in the pole barn when it is raining! 

The beginning of the summer session is always so much fun!  It is fun to see how the returning students have grown (some like weeds, I tell ya!) and matured.  It is most amazing to see how they remember all the rules of riding and the games and the horses.....especially the horses! 

Unfortunately, we lost some real fan favorite horses this past year.  So there is always some explaining to do, especially our Miss Candi.  She had many many fans and was such a big, loveable, gentle soul that her presence is definitely missed.  Another student talked about how they rode JT last year and "JT was huge!"  JT was huge...in heart! 

But we have new horses and new students and it is all a fresh start for the students, horses and volunteers.  And everyone had a great time and it will be a great session.