Jumping!

Got to jump in my lesson yesterday, yay! This was the first time jumping since last spring (where I only had 3 lessons in jumping). The horses were on a program all summer designed to get them in really good shape so they wouldn't all go lame when the hard work of the fall term (and new riders) started. Didn't work, most of them went lame anyway, but it was a good thought.

Anyway, I jumped Dually, a bit 16-something hand thoroughbred. Wow the power! I did 4 jumps in a row, 3 of them about 1' 9". A lot for a beginner like me! My instructor, who was a different one than what I had in the spring or summer, gave me some good tips, like arching my back more. It was so much fun!

Can't wait until next week, maybe I'll get to jump some more!

Tomorrow I will be starting nanowrimo... National Novel Writing Month. I won't be writing a "novel" so much as a collection of memoirs. My sister and mom are doing it, too. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with all my other school work while I'm doing it!

Happy Halloween everybody!

Oh man that was rough

Rough couple of weeks; I've been very busy and have had a lot of stuff going on! I'll hopefully catch up this weekend, but it will take up a few posts.

So last time I wrote I was at the end of spring break and hadn't gotten much homework done. At the last Equestrian Club meeting (March 3rd), I was voted as the new Parliamentarian and on Tuesday March 24th we had a get-together with the old directors and the new directors. It was a lot of fun! We had lasagna and rolls and salad and lots of good deserts. The old directors are staying on until the end of the term, with a transition time for the new directors. Normally the new directors aren't elected until April or May, I think. We just hung out, weren't planning on having a meeting or anything, but ended up discussing a few things. One of the horses, Chico, had swelling in his back legs. No lameness, just swelling, probably from kicking his stall. We also have Maryland Day coming up, on April 28th. It used to be Ag Day, where the Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) college had a fun day. Now the entire university does it. I only know about the things the AGNR college and clubs are doing. The Equestrian Club is having a horse show, with halter, equitation, hunter hack and jumping classes. I'll probably be doing an equitation class, and maybe a hunter hack class. They're also doing a fundraiser by taking picutres of kids on one of our horses, then printing the pictures and making frames in horse shoes. The Animal Husbandry Club is doing an animal show where students show pigs, sheep, steers, etc. That's just a long explanation about what we were talking about at the get-together.

The next day, Wednesday, I had another great riding lesson! We did some more jumping, harder jumping. Sara, our instructor, had us doing 3 jumps in a row by the end of the lesson! It was a lot of fun, and I could really feel my improvement. I was surprised that she had me doing 3 jumps in a row, since this was only my second time jumping! There were two cross rails, and a normal jump at about 18 inches. I got a nice ego boost. Sara's friend was there, and said she couldn't believe it was only my second time jumping. I'm not saying I looked perfect or anything, I was leaning too far forward and didn't keep my lower leg still enough. And I'm sure plenty of other things. But it sure felt good! I felt balanced and in control.

Next post: 4-H judging and a possible job!

Another Friday, Another 2 Tests...

These past two weeks have been insane! In my last post I mentioned how I had been sick. When I went to the health center that Wednesday morning (over a week ago), I had a fever of 103 F! Tuesday night and Wednesday were the worst. I was taking tylenol, but didn't want to take too much; my husband the medic said I should only be taking the tylenol every 6 hours (they were very high strength), but they were only keeping the fever down for about 3 hours. So I was trying not to overload my liver with fever reducers, but I was desperate for relief. We didn't have a thermometer, so I don't know what my temperature was at that time, but I bet it was around the 103 it was the next morning. I didn't get a note to get out of classes, but they did run tests to confirm I had the flu, and not something else like mono (since I've never had it before). My friend from back home came in Wednesday, and I picked her up from the hotel where the conference was being held, after she checked in. We both came back to my apartment and fell asleep for like 4 hours! She was jet lagged, I was sick. Wednesday was supposed to be my riding lesson, but I was in no shape to go, no matter how much I wanted to. Thursday I was feeling better (it helped that my husband came home that night), and Friday I didn't have a fever, although I was still sick with stuffy nose and very draggy. I only went to one class Friday -Physiology - and we had a pop quiz! I hadn't done the reading, but I got full points on the quiz, from using my common sense and memory from Anatomy class.

My friend and I went into DC on Saturday, and spent all day there. We went to the International Spy Museum and the National Art Institute. The Spy Museum was very cool, although maybe not worth the $18 to get in. National Art Institute was free, of course, and very educational. I felt so sophisticated. I was still recovering from being sick, though, and was completely exhuasted by the end of the day. My friend and I were worn out and falling asleep at my husband's friend's house, where we went for dinner and watching movies. Sunday I took her to the airport (awwww, so little time), then started studying. I had a biology test Monday, which I think went well despite not having been to class all the week before (on account of being sick). I had two tests today - one in organic chemistry, one in physiology. I don't think I aced either one, but I don't think I bombed either one. Organic Chemistry was worse, of course, but there will be a curve at the end - everyone's in the same boat as me... Organic Chemistry is VERY hard! I am so relieved that those two tests are over, I was very stressed about them. I didn't have enough time to study. Wednesday I had my riding lesson (the first one where I got to ride, yay!), and so didn't get home until almost 8. Then I had to do my biology and calculus homework. Monday and Tuesday I had done some studying, but not much, so most of my studying for the two tests were last night. And that's not exactly good study habits!! It's over now, though, I'm so relieved.

So Wednesday was my first riding lesson, it was so much fun! I almost always have fun riding, but this was an extraordinary day. I jumped for the first time! I've never jumped before... except that one time in my western saddle... that was just bad. I didn't do amazing, but I didn't fall off, and my instructor said I did "good." She was just so happy that the 4 of us in the lesson know how to ride decently well. That's why we're in the B lesson! Ha ha. I'm still sore, though, two days later... I haven't done that much two-point since I was playing polo!

Well, I'm all caught up, and hopefully life won't be so crazy the next couple weeks, and I'll do a better job of keeping up with my blog.