Pick yourself up, dust yourself off....

It's been a couple weeks since I have blogged, but for good reason.  Lots of things have happened that we must catch up on, so let's not delay the inevitable. 

First off, I turned 36 last week.  Smokey also turned 5 last week as well (his real birth date, not the Jockey Club birth date).  Both days were fairly nice weather wise, and really the only way I wanted to spend my birthday was at the barn.  Smokey was fairly good, I tricked him into taking his left lead once after going through some trot poles, but then he figured my trick out and started being tense and antsy.  We worked through it, and ended on an good note. 

Now, on Smokey's birthday (Friday, Feb 17th)...well, I'll let the picture tell the story:

I really don't want to dwell on all of the details, but obviously Smokey and I parted ways and I ended up in the ER on a Friday night.  You can clearly see the fracture on the right side just below the wrist.  The good news is that I don't have to have surgery...the bad news is that I'm in a cast for 6 weeks and there will be no riding until April and thus, no Paul Frazier horse show for me.  Now, I'm really a do-er, and to need help doing everything is just frustrating.  I'm trying to sit still and let people help me do things, but most of you who know me know how difficult this is for me. 

The details you do need to know are the following:
1-Smokey had no malicious intent to unseat me.  He was throwing one of his tantrums, forgot about the rider on his back, and off I went. 
2-I rode the bucking for quite a while, and I'm pretty proud of that.  I think that if it were a timed saddle bronc run, I probably could have received a score in the 80's.
3-After I fell, he stopped, turned around to look at me on the ground and, according to Krista, had a look on his face like " Ut-oh".  Yeah, ut-oh is right.  I'm not sure horses feel remorseful, but honestly, I am certain he knew that he took his tantrum too far this time.  Horses that are proud of unseating their riders tend to gallop away with their head and tail high in the air.  I have been on the receiving end of that type of behavior in the past...where you have to chase down your horse that has conveniently found his way back to the barn...or running up and down the fence line tormenting other horses in a pasture. 

Of course, several thoughts of doubt have gone through my mind...maybe I'm too old to be fooling around with a young horse....maybe I'm not a good enough rider to retrain a racehorse....maybe I should give it all up and keep my feet on the ground...WAIT JUST A COTTON-PICKIN' MINUTE!!!  I cannot imagine my life without horses in it!!  I mean, just look at all of the professional riders out there that are much older than me, riding tougher horses than me, jumping bigger jumps, and falling off just like I did.  My equestrian idols didn't get good by doubting their abilities and quiting after every fall or broken bone....they got up, dusted themselves off, and got back on the horse. 

So, this is me, amateur-rider-slash-very-amateur-eventing-and-dressage-trainer saying "Yes, I fell off my horse....and the one thing that really made me mad was that I couldn't get back on and try again at that time".  Until then, Smokey will be meeting a new friend....so, more to come on that story!!

Kristen....the one armed woman!!!