Pictures from today's ride

Our trails are really pretty right now, so on days when neither of us work, Karen and I are getting out and enjoying them.

Today was warm, and Olive was sleepy.

She barely woke up for the first part of the ride.

Kaffi was just as quiet.

We later referred to this as the "boring" part of the ride.

Since Karen hadn't ridden Kaffi through water yet, we decided to go to the big crossing and check that milestone off their list. 

Neither of us had ridden through here in a long time. The creek looked wider than usual, but definitely still passable.

Both horses were a little snorty, but entered willingly. We got about three quarters of the way through without incident.

Then Kaffi fell into a hole of sorts. The water was really deep, and he stopped dead in his tracks while he figured out what to do next. Olive was right behind him, and she was on a mission. She wanted across that creek right now, and she didn't care that Kaffi was in her way. She couldn't go to the left because of a floating log, and the reeds were blocking her to the right. So she did something only Olive would do.

She jumped over Kaffi.

Technically, it was just over his hip, not his entire body, and he was standing in a hole. But still. That was a wow! moment I did not see coming.

She cleared him without issue, then trotted up onto the bank, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I stayed on - didn't even lose a stirrup! - but my phone, which had been in my hand, went into the creek. I got off to see if I could find it, and Olive objected to me getting in the water. In the chaos that ensued, Olive broke her headstall. 

At this point, Karen took charge. She dismounted and gave me her dropped noseband to use for a halter. Then we stood for a bit, while the water settled. Eventually, Karen walked over to the creek and found my phone. It was wet but still working. I snapped a quick photo as a proof of phone life.

Then I looked up and saw Kaffi dropping to the ground for a roll.

Karen told me that when Olive rose up from the water behind her, she sounded like a breaching whale. When Kaffi was lying in the dirt on the trail, I told Karen that he looked like a beached whale. We both thought we were pretty funny.

Mud pony.

No one felt like going through the water again, so we walked home on the scary side of the creek.

The path took us by the Aurora Sports Park...

and a big junkyard.

Apparently both horses had met their drama quota for the day. They were extremely well behaved.

By the time we got to the red tree, I was pretty tired of walking.

I clipped the reins to either side of the dropped noseband and rode Olive back to the stable.

I'm not joking here. That was a really good ride.

In fact, it was the most fun I've had in a long time, especially once it was over and we were reliving every exciting moment over drinks.

I probably don't want that ride every day, but I sure am glad I got it today. That was just so much fun.