The Ides of March

 Technically my run of bad luck started in February, but hopefully we can break it now. After Cinder's Voltaren induced burn started healing and she was cleared for under saddle work, Trainer A rode her once before cruelly abandoning me going to CA for a horse trial for a week. She reported that Cin was a little spooky for the ride, but when I came out two days later Cinder was foot perfect for me. 

Would this creature ever be naughty? Yes, yes she would

When I rode two days after that, a Friday, the weather was horrible with strong winds and hail that started about 30mins into our ride. I wisely chose life and ended the ride when Cinder grew about three inches with the start of the hail. I don't blame her, it was miserable out and I've never run up the hill from the arena to the barn faster. I rode again on Sunday, and after having a little conversation about proper upward canter transitions, had a decent ride. 

On Monday I rode during my normal lesson time (Trainer A had just gotten back from CA and had cancelled lessons) and Cin was spooky as shit. She was convinced there were monsters at the far end of the arena. I kept riding her through it and actually got some nice canter work out of her, when bringing her down to the walk she spooked at nothing, dropped her shoulder, and spun me off. It was a slow fall, and I realized I was coming off as soon as I felt her shoulder drop out from underneath me. I landed on my hip and rolled to my back, hitting my head slightly. I sat up and cursed for a minute as Cinder stood five feet away looking guilty. I wasn't hurt so I got back on and walked for a few minutes to reassure both of us, and to dry the tears of frustration on my face. There's a boarder who makes a big deal of out everything who was there that day, and I absolutely did not want evidence of my fall to be apparent and for her to make a thing out of it. 

From the day she was perfect

I texted A and told her what happened and asked if she could put an extra training ride on Cin for me that week. She agreed and texted me the next day saying Cin was still pretty spooky. She had also been a little crabby while getting groomed by both me and A. We think these transition months in the spring and fall, when the weather is bipolar and she's transitioning into/out of heat are hard for her. We started her on Mare Magic and I ordered a calming supplement to see if those help. If not, we'll ask the vet what she recommends. 

Destroyed a four month old bridle that is now sold out

I was only slightly sore after my fall, but three days later on Thursday of last week, I came down with a nasty cold. I had to cancel my lessons on Friday and Monday because I could barley leave the house, let alone ride. Trainer A has been putting rides on in place of lessons, before she leaves again today for Ram Tap. And of course Cin had to be naughty. Yesterday after A rode, Cinder made a dive for the feed cart before A could untack her and stepped on her reins, breaking her bridle in two places. Then this morning A was working her before leaving, and Cinder pulled a hind shoe. FML mare. 

Not the pictures you want to get from your trainer

I guess Cin gets more time off till I can get a farrier to put her shoe back on. Trainer A will be back next Monday, I think, so hopefully we can settle back into somewhat of a normal schedule.

If You Have to be Lame, You Picked the Right Week

I normally have a Monday night lesson, but we decided to give Cinder the day off after the show. Trainer A usually rides her Tuesdays and either Wednesday or Thursdays, and I have another lesson on Fridays. The weather forecast was calling for snow and very cold temps, so we figured we would play her work schedule by ear. 

I hate winter. Where I live we really didn't get that much snow that stuck, but it did get down to 10* with the windchill

Cin had a little bit of fill in one front leg after the show, so we decided to put some Voltaren on it (from a tube I've used on her before) and throw a set of standing wraps on her. That was apparently the wrong decision, as the combo of the Voltaren and the wraps gave Cinder a chemical burn. Whoops.

It ended up getting a little bit bigger than this pic shows

It looked ugly, and the whole inside of the leg was swollen, but it didn't seem to bother her that much, and she was never actually lame. I was able to leave work early on Tuesday, swing by the vet's office to grab some antibiotic cream with steroids, and go up and doctor Cin. We left the wraps off, and kept her in with hand walking for a few days, which she would have done anyways since the snow started Wednesday night. What better time for your horse to need to be on stall rest than when the barn is covered in 4 inches of snow and ice and the pastures are closed. 

She was very skeptical

 

Trainer A told me not to come up on Friday as the road to the barn was still pretty bad. I did make it up Saturday and with A's approval gave Cinder a free lunge in the indoor. She wasn't as wild as I was expecting her to be, and A said that she had been very well behaved for her hand walks. Cin looked totally sound and since most of the snow was melted off the pastures I said I was ok with her getting turned out again on Sunday. 

Trainer A was putting some horses on the eurociser, and since Cin has never been on it and I don't know how to use it, I asked if I could throw her on as well. We put her with two geldings, and her pasture buddy Jazzy. Cinder was very confused at first, but didn't freak out like I was expecting. I guess she really is growing up. Once we switched directions, and she was behind Jazzy, she kept trying to move the chains out of the way to get to Jazzy. I'm glad she was so good for her first time on the eurociser.

MDT Winter Show February 2023

Cinder and I had our first show of the season together last weekend. One of the local show series that we've done in the past has been looking for a bigger venue to host their shows, and used Cinder's barn for their first show of the year. Unfortunately none of their other shows will be held at SF, but I'm glad this one was. 

No one ever uses the viewing room normally, but it was nice to hangout there while waiting

 This was a two day show, and Saturday we had a 2' over fences class, and the under saddle. Jumpers ran in the morning, and there were a lot more jumper entries than hunters. Cinder stayed in for the day (as I wanted to keep her clean) so when I came out to the barn I gave her extra hay and hung out in the viewing room/show office to watch the jumpers. They held classes in the indoor on Saturday, but moved outside on Sunday. 

Spoiler alert. Also, my mom watched from the viewing room and took the pic from inside, hence the glare from the glass

Cinder was a little confused about why there were so many people and new horses at her house, and the extra jumps at the end of the indoor, but after a lot of walking settled into work. We focused on getting her to put her brain to use in warm-up, and then popped over all the fences once. She felt really good and the fences looked small to me, so I was pretty confident heading into our round. There was an odd end fence that I opted to trot since it was a tight turn heading towards the gate, but otherwise the round was solid. We got the strides, got our distances, and I was really happy with us coming out. Cinder was little looky in the under saddle as some people sitting up on the bank by the barn got up halfway through but she kept it together. We ended up winning both classes. 

insert tiktok side eye audio here

Like I said early, we moved outside to show Sunday. I was supposed to do a 2' hunter round, the 2' medal class, and a 2' derby.  The jumpers had been moving pretty fast but then slowed down and I ended up getting Cinder ready too early. We did a little warm up before I hopped off and let her hang out for a bit. When I got back on she was definitely annoyed and confused. We schooled fences in the outdoor and she was tired, but good. They were having us enter with one gate, and leave by the far gate and to get back to the in gate you had to walk up to the barn, and then back down the hill. Normally when we leave from the far gate and walk up to the barn, that's where I dismount and Cinder was very confused as to why we weren't doing our usual routine.  

the show photographer was sick, so someone bribed a teen into taking pics on Sunday and she gave them to everyone for free! thanks random teen!!

She felt a little more on edge as I went in for our hunter round and got very distracted by a horse coming in from turnout. She picked up the wrong lead, got offended when I tried to bring her back to the trot to change it, and I made the executive decision to trot into the first fence. She was diving down on my hands, and then would get very offended when I went to correct her. I did end up circling in one of the lines because she was so heavy in my hand. It was definitely a schooling round, but I'm proud of myself for not getting flustered, and for being confident enough to keep schooling her. We placed second out of two for that round. 

moments of cuteness

Trainer A and I talked after the round and decided to scratch the other two classes. Cinder was obviously done with us and there was no point in pushing it. Between getting her ready to early, and everything not being our usual routine at home, I think her brain was fried. It's different going to a show and doing new things, but having new things happen in her usual environment just threw her off. And this was only her second two day show so we're still learning what works best for her. 

We did end up champion for the 2' division. I'm really happy with how I rode, and even though we struggled a bit on Sunday and had to scratch, I'm glad I could ride her through it and not let my anxiety take over. Onward towards the rest of show season!

Reunited

 Last Thursday and Friday were dental days at Cinder's barn. One of Trainer A's good friend from college went on to become an equine dentist and does amazing work. She's moved to Colorado, but comes back to Oregon twice a year to do clients. Both of my ponies were due, so on Friday I hauled Peebs up for his dental. Cinder had gotten done on Thursday.

Uh, mom I don't go anywhere anymore

I was so very excited to have both of my ponies together, even for an afternoon. Peebs hauled like a champ, but was little nervous upon unloading. He called out as we walked towards the barn, and I immediately heard Cinder call back. Her stall is now the first one when you walk into the barn, and she had her head craned around the corner to see us. They sniffed noses, nickered at each other, then Cinder tried to bite the hell out of Peebs' neck. Sibling love at it's finest!

Cinder's turnout buddy Ani was in the crossties behind me when I took this pic, and she was very very mad that Cinder was excited to see Peebs. Cinder is her girlfriend and no one else is allowed to like her and Cinder isn't allowed to like anyone back. We joke that Ani is the butch lesbian of the barn, to Cinder's femme bisexual. 

I chucked Peebs in a stall, letting him chill and eat a little bit of leftover hay before he got his sleepy juice. A couple of the other boarders came up and asked about him, one asking if he and Cinder were really related (I had yelled at Cinder to not bite her brother, and hahahaha no they are not related) and one picked apart his flabby retirement bod. I was ready to smack her; I know he's not a big fancy warmblood and this is a barn full of big fancy warmbloods and he's been in rehab/retirement for almost two years now but I was still pissed. We do not body shame in this household.

Peebs dental went well, and as he was waking up I had a great flat lesson on Cinder. We introduced counter canter and while she was a little confused, she did it. We had ridden outside since it was gorgeous and warm, and she actually worked up a little bit of a sweat. I gave her a quick rinse afterwards, and as she was drying off gave Peebs a good tail and butt wash. His leaky gut syndrome tends to get worse in winter, especially with big temperature swings, and his barn only has cold water. I wanted to take full advantage of having him at SF for the day and use their hot water. I took the two of them out to graze for a little bit before tucking Cinder away for the night and loading Peebs up to go home. They kept calling for each other, and Peebs was uncharacteristically bad about loading up. It broke my heart separating them again.  I wish I could have them together all the time, but I know they're both at the right barns for them. 

Feeling Good

 Cinder has been feeling really, really good lately. Between the bit change, body work, and injections, she almost feels like a brand new horse. And she's growing up mentally as well. 

She also looks very cute in her breastplate

Last Friday it was super windy, and one of the metal sheets on the side of the arena came loose. It would periodically bang against the wood beams pretty loudly. There was also a pipe at the far end of the arena that had broken, so a couple of the handymen at the barn were working on it. For the most part they were out of sight, but would occasionally drill/saw things making loud noises, and would pop around the corner of the arena and up from the ground at weird intervals. To say it was a Very Spooky Day™ was an understatement. 

I legitatmently thought about pulling the ammy card and cancelling my lesson, but I was already on and figured we could have a walk/trot lesson, at the close end of the arena away from the noises and people. Cinder started out pretty tense, and spun once at the metal sheet banging, but once the lesson started she settled. We worked on shoulder in and haunches in on a circle, going back and forth between the two before incorporating a set of raised trot poles into the circle. Cinder wanted to rush the poles, so I was instructed to bring her down to a walk three to four strides out and walk over them. We did this a few times each way before she got the idea and then were able to trot them without rushing. 

She got a massage on Saturday and was so relaxed the body worker was afraid she was going to fall down in the crossties.

  From there we moved on to trotting two diagonal piles of poles, figure eighting them. Trainer A then set them up to cross rails. My instructions were to treat them exactly like the pile of poles, and to not change anything. Cinder was great over them, and landed in a nice quiet canter each time. As I was coming around the corner to one of the x's (on the diagonal from the far end of the arena heading straight at the gate) one of the handymen drove up on the four wheeler, spraying gravel as he came into the storage space at the end of the indoor, right behind us. Cinder very slowly stopped, spun, and snorted at him. It was a very controlled spook, like she knew she needed to keep it together but was terrified at the same time.  We walked, then trotted a circle, jumped the cross rail and called it a day. Both A and I were very impressed with how well Cin handled the four wheeler coming up behind her, and that she was able to go right back to work. No need to pusher her anymore that day. 

Getting me more comfortable with the long spots

I had another lesson Monday night (we're switching from two trainer rides/one lesson per week to one trainer ride/two lessons per week this month) and it was the best lesson I've had in months. Cinder and I both felt on it from the get go. We worked over the raised trot poles from the previous lesson, and then started jumping a single cross rail on a circle, first at the trot then canter. I'm trying to work on letting go at the canter, and being more comfortable with a longer take off spot. We then went back to the two diagonal fences, which were now verticals with boxes under them. We did each a couple of times then moved onto a line of poles. I realized later A was trying to keep me on my toes, and not let me get too focused on one exercise or stress about doing something perfectly. It's a good strategy for me.

The line of poles was set as a five stride and A wanted me to get five, then six. Cinder isn't convinced that shortening her stride is a thing she needs to do, and it took me a few tries to get the six. It took a much more physical ride than I was expecting, but we got it done. To finish off the lesson, we did the line of poles in five, then did the other outside line which was a cross rail to some boxes. My directions were to let her flow, get the five and then don't change anything to get seven in the other line. I think I was so tired by this point, I couldn't do anything but let her flow. We go to the first pole long, but I just sat up and kept leg on her and the five worked out. We got a little short to the cross rail, but I let that go and focused on riding the rhythm to get the seven and it worked out great. Considering I haven't been jumping regularly since like October, I was really happy with how we did. 
 

Bye bye Money

 After the show, Cinder had a pretty easy week. She had Monday off, a light lunge in the Equibands on Tuesday, and for my lesson on Wednesday we went on a trail ride. I did opt for a free lunge before our trail ride, as she humped her back, squealed, and trotted off as soon as I got on. I do appreciate the fact that Cin let's us know pretty quick when she's feeling fresh. 

They've been working on the electrical at the barn and the hot wire wasn't hot for a few days. A certain chestnut mare figured it out, and proceeded to let her and her pasture buddies into the drainage ditch to get the good grass. She got to wear a grazing muzzle for a week till the fence was hot again.

After running around like a lunatic, and falling down once, Cinder was perfect for our trail ride. She was content to walk on a loose rein and only had one mini meltdown on having to walk through some deeper mud. 

 Friday of that week, the vet was out and we opted to inject Cinder. She had said to the animal communicator that her hocks were sore, but x-rays showed that the stifles were worse and probably causing compensation in the hocks. I decided to do both hocks and stifles at once, and hopefully knock everything out of the way in one go. Per my vet's recommendation, we injected with RenoVo, a biologic. Trainer A has seen great results with it in her horse, and I liked the fact that it's not a steroid. 

post injection hand grazing and lesson watching

Cinder then got three days off with turnout, and three days of light riding. Trainer A rode her last Tuesday and then on Wednesday we had the saddle fitter out. Thankfully my saddle still fits and we decided to add a breastplate to help the slipping issue. Part of the slipping issue is just Cinder's build, and the new sheepskin girth I got doesn't help. Adding a breastplate fixed our issue, and I'd much rather pay for that than repaneling my saddle, or having to get a new one. 

Jump 4 Joy Schooling Show 2023

 The first show of the season is in the books! There's a local pony club fundraiser jumper show held every year in early January with easy courses and a low key vibe. Trainer A was showing another client horse so I asked her if she wanted to take Cinder, just to get Cin out and about. We ended up entering Cin in the 2'3" timed first round, a 2'3"-2'6" gambler's choice, and a 2'6" timed first round class. 

Deciding standing at the trailer isn't bad when you have an all you can eat buffet

We hauled the girls up midmorning, hand walked around the grounds a little upon arrival, then tied them to the trailer to stuff their faces while we waited for their classes. Jazzy, the other mare showing, was doing the 18" and 2' classes, so she went first. Once she left the trailer, Cinder had a bit of a meltdown. She called a few times, wouldn't eat, and would only stand still as long as I was next to her. She and Jazzy are turnout buddies, and I was slightly worried one or both would have meltdown leaving the other. Thankfully, but the time I started tacking Cinder up, she mostly calmed down. 

"Whhheeeee, jumpies!"-Cinder, most definitely 

A finished her rounds on Jazzy, we switched her saddle onto Cinder, and we thought we had a little bit of break before A needed to get on Cin. We had been told there would be a drag before the 2'3" classes, but that got canceled and A got on about 6 rounds before Cinder would go. Their warm up was a bit abbreviated and Cinder was feeling a spicy. Their first round was a little rough; Cinder spooked hard at the first fence, lost some steering on the turns, and just generally green. But they kept all the jumps up, and ended up winning the class. 

A then proceeded to canter laps around the warmup to let Cin burn off some energy and put her brain cells back together. Cin calmed way down and they were able to watch a few rounds of the gambler's choice go before they went in. They had a rail down early in the round, just got to the fence a little too deep. As they were cantering around after the jump, an overeager pony club kid working as jump crew ran out to reset the fence, running directly in front of Cinder. I'm not sure what she was thinking, as she saw Cinder cantering towards her. Cinder would have no problems running someone over, and A said afterwards she didn't want to rip Cinder's mouth off to try and stop her because it mostly likely wouldn't have worked. Thankfully the kid jumped backwards out of the way, but I thought for sure we'd get kicked out of the show for running over a kid. 

All I got on video was the kid running and looking at Cinder about two strides away from her 

By her 2'6" round Cinder was much more rideable and relaxed. It was their best round; Cinder was turning better, their pace was much more consistent, and overall just more polished. The class was pretty big and the pony club kids were riding balls to the wall, so Cin didn't place. But both A and I were really happy with the round and that's what matters.  It was good first outing and a great show to knock the rust off. 

Talk to Me

 We had an unusual clinic at the barn a couple weeks ago, an animal communicator. We used Portland local, Joanna at The Wild Thread. A few people in the barn had used her before and Trainer A did a telephone session with her in December and raved about it. We were able to get a group of 6 together and Joanna came out to the barn for in person sessions. 

I had signed up for the Equestrian Growth Session, which was 30 minutes communicating with Cinder, and 30 minutes focused on my growth, what's blocking or holding me back, and what to do about it. Trainer A asked if she could sit in on my session with me, and I happily agreed. I figured she has insight into Cinder that I don't have, and I would want her there when we talked about my issues and what Joanna recommended for them.

Miracle bit

Joanna's first comment about Cinder was that she had a big voice and was easy to talk to. And that Cinder said she was my baby. The session officially started with a quick body scan of Cinder and Joanna said that her mouth was sore. A and I said at the same time that we have the dentist booked in February, and laughed. Cinder also said that her bit was ok, but she'd like a straight bar bit, something without joints in it. Not the bit A or I would have expected, but we said we could do that. 

Switching the bit was like riding a whole new horse. Cinder was soft and stretchy and A said she thought it would take a year in the old bit to get Cinder to where she was 30 minutes into the ride with the Mullen mouth. We'd been struggling a little with the Myler, but not to the point where we thought it was the bit, more of a "Cinder is five and its winter and we're asking for more and it's a struggle" thing. Riding her in the Mullen mouth is fun and easy and I feel like we can actually work on things rather than struggle to get a basic connection. I never would have tried this bit without Joanna.

Unicorn stuffy for my unicorn

Cinder also said she wants toys to play with, but soft toys. She's a pretty busy horse and has destructive tendencies, so I've been hesitant to buy her soft toys. She's had jolly balls but doesn't play with them. I figured why not, and got a few stuffies and so far they've lasted and she's playing with them without ripping them apart.  

Finishing off the body scan, Cinder said that her hocks were sore as well. I asked about ulcers and Cinder came back with an emphatic "I do not have ulcers." She did say she liked the new girth I had just bought (and used like 3 times on her), saying she could breathe better in it. I had been reading about different shaped girths and what shape works with what body type and ordered a Mattes athletico girth during Hufglocken's Christmas sale. I'm glad she liked it because it was total impulse/what the hell am I doing purchase. 

Girth and mullen mouth in action. Next order of business, get my saddle fit checked

We then moved onto training issues. Cinder said she's still not 100% certain when to leave the ground when jumping, and likes to hear when she's done a good job. I told her I'm not 100% certain when to leave the ground either, but I'll always tell her when she's good or saves my butt. She also likes showing off her fancy feet, which we took to mean strutting around on the flat, so I told I'll enter more flat classes at shows. A asked about why Cin can be hesitant at water and Cinder said she doesn't like not being able to see bottom of puddles or stepping in the mud. We told that we would never put her in an unsafe water obstacle and that she can trust us when we ask her to go into the water. 

For the rider growth part of the session, I told Joanna that I have a fair amount of anxiety, especially about seeing distances to jumps, and that's what I want to focus on overcoming in my riding. She scanned me and said I was sitting in a room cluttered with ribbons, old memories, and expectations. My perfectionist tendencies want to get everything squared away, but there was too much for that to happen. I need to let things go (not the first time I've been told this) and embrace doing things wrong. Find the wrong distance, the wrong number of strides, jump on the wrong lead. Joanna also suggested A put me on the lunge line and have me ride around with my eyes closed or with no stirrups, to get a better feel for things and to be ok giving up control. It honestly sounds slightly terrifying, but in a good way. We haven't been able to implement the lunge line into lessons yet, but I'm hoping we do soon. 

I was very, very impressed with  Joanna and the session. Both A and I came away with great insight into Cinder.  I highly recommend her and I will most definitely be doing future sessions with her. 

End of 2022 Season, Start of 2023 Season

 We only made it to two OHJA shows last year, once in the 2' and once where we attempted the 2' and dropped down to the cross rails. So imagine my surprise when I got a text from Trainer M (the one I sometimes show with) that she picked up my year end ribbon for me from the banquet. I was totally not expecting anything, but we apparently earned a Certificate of Merit award, which is is for the walk-trot through 18" divisions.  

love me a big ass ribbon

I'm fully aware that this is basically a participation award, but since I love ribbons, and especially big fancy ribbons, I'll happily accept it. 

As far as our 2023 show season, we'll hopefully kick it off next weekend. There's a local jumper show that's a pony club fundraiser and I asked Trainer A if she wanted to take Cinder. Cin hasn't been out since our last show in August, so I figured this would be a great knock the rust off outing for her. A is still figuring out what height she wants to do with Cin. 

 

Cin's biggest fence to date. Wish I could have gotten media of it.

A hasn't been jumping Cinder that high, and we were actually talking a couple of weeks ago about how high Cin has gone. We figured she's done mainly 2'6", with a few 2'9" fences. I was supposed to go up yesterday to watch A jump her, but we forgot the IL lesson schedule had changed and A had to ride before I could get up there. A popped her over what was set up for the lesson, including this solid 2'9" oxer, which both A and I are pretty sure is the heftiest thing Cinder's jumped. 

Odie is A's second homebred, and she's hoping to keep him for herself

A said Cinder was perfect and ready for next weekend. I doubt we'll do a 2'9" round, but there is a 2'6"-2'9" gambler's choice class so maybe. Here's hoping for a fun and successful start to the 2023 show season!

December Photo Dump

 Since I’m behind in blogging, I figured I’ll just speak through photos instead of trying to get everything down. And hopefully the formatting works; I’m stuck in an airport typing this on my tablet. 

While we had some good rides at the beginning of the month, the cold weather plus a full and busy barn (IL had been at shows for 7wks and everyone is finally home again so the barn is BUSY), Cinder got a little amped and we’ve had some tense rides. A is also pushing us in the flat work and man is real dressage work hard. 

Cinder was a very good girl for A and went in the water jump with zero hesitation after not seeing it for months. She also isn’t phased by the vineyard getting installed on the big hill.

I audited an Anne Kursinski clinic and it was awesome. She’s a very old school type clinician and I was glad I wasn’t riding in it. I did get a few great takeaways (count out loud to your jump from farther away than you think and proper flat work is key). 

Cinder had a gas colic and while she seemed to come out of it well, I wanted to hang around the barn till we had poop. Trainer A offered me the ride on Sal while I was waiting. He’s a 21yr old, ex-1.45m jumper who was a stud till he was 19. He’s been teaching beginners how to jump for the past few years. He is so much fun! It felt weird riding a horse that isn’t mine, but he’s so well schooled it was great to just focus on myself for once. His owner has offered A a breeding to him so we’ll have a Sal baby to play with next year!

Two days after her colic, the temps dropped into the single digits and Cin’s barn saw snow and ice. Horses stayed in for three days, getting some arena turnout time. By Christmas (the fourth day) it was almost 60 and the ponies were psycho. I lunged Cin on Christmas and rode the next day where she proceeded to spook at the tree that’s been in the viewing room for weeks. We did lots of circles and transitions but she was still convinced the grinch was out to get her. 

We started 2023 by having a fantastic ride where she was soft, listening, and just over all really fun. We had the barn to ourselves and I think the quiet atmosphere really helped. We had a lesson the next day and while the barn was relatively quiet, both of us were more tense. It didn’t help that A really asked a lot of us in the lesson and I let my frustration at not being able to get what she wanted show. I know progress isn’t linear and that Cin is only 5 and has had an easy few weeks, but sometimes when you’re in the middle of that slough it’s hard to remember. Here’s hoping for more consistent good rides as we head into Cinder’s six year old year!