Building JUMPS!! and New Spring Babies!

Spring babies have arrived! On Sat. and then on Monday, Linda's two goats Sheba and Gertie gave birth! FINALLY! What a long wait! The two littles I'm holding are less than 24 hours old in this picture. Finn, pictured with Miles is also not quite 24 hours old in that pic, taken on Sun., as it was taken before the one's I am holding, (as of now) no-names. They were born late Monday night at 2am-ish.If you check out the size of my hands compared to them, you can see how tiny they are. I have medium sized hands and bone structure, so go from there... As you peruse further you will see me with Sheba's babes Bethany (Linda's pick) and Finnigan (Finn) my pick cause he was "almost" a St. Patty's Day Baby. Oh. And I'm Irish so I like the name....:) Then you can see our jump building endeavor further down, which I will get more into there....

On Sunday, when we went out to see the babies, as Linda had just gotten home from Boston on Sat, where she had been visiting her mom and dad. The very next day was her Birthday, so I was surprised (yet totally thrilled) when she told me that in lieu of riding we would be working on building JUMPS! She told me to meet her at Home Depot the next morning, and I was NOT late! We had talked about building jumps, but I had figured that I was going to have to do it myself. Linda has a lot on her plate, and jumping is more my obsession, not hers. It was only while we getting the jump standards cut to 5 feet instead of 10, that I looked at her and realized what was going on. (YES, I can be an idiot at times, but I do eventually get it..:)

Linda has a slight interest in jumping, but she doesn't even have a horse that she can jump at the current time. She brought me back a beautiful padded bridle bag to match the padded saddle bag she got me for Christmas, as a belated Birthday present. When she gave me that, and told me it was "part" of my present. I didn't expect more and told her so. She takes wonderful care of my horse (some months for free) and the amount I do pay her is, well, let me put it this way, NOT MUCH! So I just looked at her as the cute guy was sawing our wood, and got it. "Oh my God, you are doing this for me aren't you?" (Totally didn't even get it until that moment...) I was like, "You don't even have a horse to jump, and well, WOW!" She just looked at me and said, "Yep, Happy Birthday!" I was really touched. She figured out the PERFECT THING as a gift, and she proceeded to help me build jumps on HER birthday! We got it all home, and since she had purchased jump cups while in Boston, she proceeded to drill, and I made stripes! The standards in the pic are going to be painted white, and they have a 3'9 foot height max. Of course, that is down the road, but I believe in goals, and why not do them right while building, eh? We purchased enough for three jumps and finished part of one, at the lowest (12 inches) due to the fact that we decided we needed a super long drill bit to go all the way through the standard. Once we finished up, after commenting that we would rather be building jumps and teaching baby goats how to nurse ANY day over our jobs as RN's, Linda left to go help some folks move mulch, and I set out on a SOLO endeavor. I don't like riding alone. Since I broke my shoulder it has just been something I avoid. Yep. Fraidy pants. And sick of that baloney! I have decided that since Linda is so busy these days, that is just NOT GOING TO FLY! So I rode alone. And we jumped our new jump, and took lots of ground poles that we also bought for beginner practice. I took Jackson up to the new jump--just to sniff and get acquainted--and instead of looking at it, he proceeded to walk over it. I cracked up. We enjoyed our practice and worked on rounding his back and impulsion from behind, as well as our jumping. He was AWESOME! I could feel it, (head down, and on the bit with impulsion from behind!), but I dare not get too big-headed. Next ride is another challenge. I know just because I get something once there are no guarantees that our next ride (lesson on Wed.) will necessarily pan out! Humble is what a good ride makes me.  A great ride is great. But don't count on it being the norm. JOURNEY with no destination but work and more work! BUT!!!! He loves jumping so far!!! Thanks Linda, for making me feel special and helping me build my dream (literally and figuratively)!