Ridin', Reinin' and Writin'

"You're spreading yourself a little thin, aren't you?" my neighbour said last Monday as he watched me load mares to take to the vet clinic in Williams Lake for ultrasounds. Since I had just returned from a show in Kamloops a few hours before, I can see why he said that. As noted, that was a week ago and things have not slowed down much. In the ensuing few days, besides regular chores, I bred mares, tilled and hoed my garden, coped with a leaking washing machine, gave a few riding lessons and rode my reining horses every day. Tomorrow morning, I am loading three horses for a show in Prince George.

I do sometimes put too many jobs into a day. And sometimes that kind of planning catches up with me. At the Kamloops reining show, I planned to pick up my broodmare at the clinic the other side of Salmon Arm on Sunday morning. I had a class yet on Wolf, but I thought I had time to make the trip and still get back to show. I rode Wolf at 5:00 AM (I was the only person up!), fed him and pulled out of the grounds at 7:00. When I returned with the mare, the NRHA representative met me.

"I assume you scratched this class," he said.

"No, I did not," I replied. "Why?"

"Because it is almost ready to start!"

The next 15 minutes were a blur. I ran for Wolf, saddled, put on a long sleeved shirt and a hat (no chaps), and headed for the warmup pen. Two horses had already run. I would like to report that I won the class or something, but not so. It was an expensive schooling run.

My neighbour was right - I spread myself pretty thin sometimes . . . and sometimes I pay the price. I'm going to fix that this weekend...