Not this year

There is a tree on the way to our trail that turns a deep, vibrant red for just a few days each October.  

Olive's ears, 2022

One of my favorite October traditions is to take pictures of...

Stealth's ears, 2021

and with that tree.

Jennifer on Stealth, Karen on Thunder, Mary Jo on Scarlett, 2021

I love the Red Tree...

Lucy, 2020

and I love these Red Tree pictures.

Olive, 2022

Last year, I adopted a four year old Mustang mare. 

May 2025

She was gentled, but had not been ridden. Accordingly, last year's Red Tree photos were unmounted.

"This is fine," I told myself. "Next year, we'll do it with me on her back."

That has been the goal for an entire year.

first sit, November 2025

We have worked slowly but steadily to make it happen.

June 2026

When we needed help, we got help.

August 2026

We are so close...

October 2026

but the leaves on that tree have already started turning...

and I know we're not quite there.

I have ridden Sage outside the ring...

and Rain has ridden her off the property.

She's walked by that tree a million times, but not with a person on her back.

I'm pretty sure I could get her there if I was really determined. 

I know Rain could.

Honestly, though, I don't think that would be pleasant for anyone.

We're close, but we're not quite there.

It's okay.

I know we'll get there - later rather than sooner - when the time is right.

October 4

It's October.

In fact, it's October 4.

Usually, by October 4, I've written a post or three about how October is the best month of the best season of the year.

I'm predictable that way.

Well, not this year.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still glad it's October.

October is the best month with the best events and activities.

But also, this year, October is a month filled with challenges.

I'm okay, but also, I'm tired.

Sad, too.

That's why that blog hasn't been updated since September.

But today is October 4.

That's an important day around here.

Happy birthday, Braymere blog! You are now old enough to vote.

Search and rescue

When I was a teenager, I spent four summers working on the horse staff of a local day camp.

Instead of owning property, the camp was based at Hahamongna Watershed Park.

Formerly known as Oak Grove Park, this park spans approximately 1,300 acres between Devil's Gate Dam and the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains.

It's a vast, wild space with interconnected, multi-use trails, a creek and, sometimes, quicksand.

A person could get lost in there.

A camper could get lost in there.

During my third summer, the powers that be arranged a lost camper drill. One of the older kids was hidden somewhere in the arroyo, and the entire camp went into lockdown (campers and counselors) and search (non-counselor staff) mode. As part of horse staff, I was on the search team. We were each given a part of the park to search. Then we mounted up and headed out. 

I chose to ride Cinnamon, that good pony who'd brought to the camp.

We knew this was a drill, so I wasn't feeling any urgency. Instead, I was enjoying a rare solo ride on one of my favorite horses. 

We made our way to the dam, trotting and cantering as the trail allowed.

Every now and then, I'd remember to call out the missing child's name. Imagine my surprise when one of those calls received an answer!

After ascertaining that he was okay, I asked if he wanted to walk or ride back to camp. He said ride, so I pulled him up behind me, and we rode back to the logs, where the rest of the camp was assembled.

riding double - or triple - was a common occurance at this camp in the 1980's

There we received a hero's welcome. Even though I knew it wasn't real - or even deserved - that felt really good.

That's my one real-life search and rescue experience. It was really fake and really fun.

Dog and Pony prep, part seven

It's called Ridiculous Performance, but that doesn't actually mean all the entries need to be ridiculous.

Some can be completely conventional. For example, class ten - Where's Timmy? - sounds a lot like Search and Rescue to me.

Which is convenient because I just happen to have this old search and rescue saddle blanket in my stash.

When I say old, I mean old. This was one of my first cross stitch projects ever, and boy, does it show. I ran out of floss partway through and finished with almost - but not quite - the same color. Even worse, there were significant measuring errors. The blanket is long and narrow and doesn't work with any of my English or Western saddles.

Thankfully, I have other options.

With an assist from my friend, Anne, I bought this beautiful Australian saddle by Steff Honrath back in 2020. I've never shown it.

October 25 will be the day.

Once that was sorted, I moved on to the most important part of the entry: Big Dog.

Or more precisely, Big Dog's search and rescue harness.

A quick Google search showed me that canine search and rescue harnesses come in all sorts of styles, most of which are red. This one is kind of a mish mosh, and it's blue to match the saddle blanket.

The signage - such as it is - was designed on my laptop, printed on printer paper and glued into place. Simple and cheap, my favorite!

The pieces of this entry span over twenty five years of my tackmaking career. It's very satisfying to see them together like this.

As much as I love ridiculous performance, I'm glad there are opportunities for more conventional set-ups, too. I am really enjoying the flexibility of this class list!