Strange Ride

All we had this weekend was rain!  3 days off, and I never crossed the river.  My sister and I just rode Cruiser and Ranger on the hill--over and over.  2 of the 3 days, we just got in before the rain started, again, and those days, Cole didn't go on the hill at all.

Friday was a surreal day.  It was dentist day at our boarding stables, and nearly everyone was out.  We use our vet as a dentist, so we weren't involved with it.  Cole was in fine form, having blown some steam off first, as you can see in the picture.  Anyway, as we worked, people started to gather and just watch us.  They were all milling around.  Some people brought their horses in the arena, and just stood there, watching...Many of them never saw me ride him before, as they typically don't come out in the mornings. 

Cole started getting compliments right and left.  Remember his awesome trot?  Seems like the more people watching, the better it gets.  Finally, John came out to watch.  Though I usually see him in the mornings, I have never ridden Cole with him.  I like to ride Cruiser first, and John leaves by the time I ride Cole.  Besides, John rides too fast on that huge Saddlebred, and he makes me nervous.

Anyway, John used to be a professional trainer in the saddle seat world and is still a horse show judge.  When I saw him watching, I was curious to see his reaction to Cole's trot.  After all, he has been around the horse world more than most of us, though he rides and trains very differently than me.

His response, "Wow, you have a $50,000.00 horse.  Dressage people would pay a fortune for him."  I guess that meant he liked him.

Don't worry--I'm not going to sell him.  My boyfriend put a for sale sign on his stall a few times, but we keep taking it off.

Cole is going to be my next awesome trail horse, regardless of how pretty his trot is.  We just need it to stop raining so I can start training him on the trail, again. He has only been across the river three times this year. 

After our ride, people just gathered around us, petting him and talking to me.  Cole is now a celebrity at our stables.  I thought they were going to ask for his autograph.  They just seemed to want to be around him.  I know it had nothing to do with me.  It was really, really weird.