field trip :: happy birthday to me

for my birthday (hey there 48!) we took a Saturday to visit the Marciano and brunch at Canter's.















these people. my heart. blessed.



oh. and carrot cake too.

3 days 3 ways

eventing is the goal for k. she participated in her first this weekend. day one, dressage; day two, cross-country, and day three, stadium jumping.

day 1



day 2



day 3



she took the flying pony and came in 5th out of a class starting with 17 riders. not too shabby for a first go! and pink is kaira's color :) we are very proud of them both.





doesn't hurt that we get to do this with some of our favorite people.

Derby time!

Day 1
pack up and drive to Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles
set-up camp, bathe horses, walk your x-country course, feed horses, eat dinner, feed horses again, walk horses, sleep















Day 2
up at the crack of dawn
get your show clothes on and start braiding that mane! (good thing your groom is a pro), tack and head down to the warm-up arena
intro derby dressage test
back to stall to change clothes and tack
walk your jumping course
head to the warm-up arena
JUMP!




























cool off and head home.

we spent thursday and friday of this week doing just that. k has been working towards this for over a year now, and it was quite a thrill. she did amazing for a first go. great dressage test. clean stadium jumping, then came out of the water at the wrong spot and got off course for a moment and took an unassigned jump before realizing what was happening and getting the pony back on track to a strong, beautiful finish. she had her friend and mentor (ty and her new horse ember) at her side - and her super-groom sister keeping her calm and making sure everything was just right.

she can't wait to do this again.

goodbye middle school

Gaspar De Portola Middle School is known for its Sallys. (Sally Field and Sally Ride are both alumni.) But in our house its also known for its Glickmans (Renee, Marty, Drew, David, & more recently Emily ♥️). Well today the last one of our clan passed through. Congratulations K on your 8th grade culmination! Valedictorian with Distinction.

CALNET 18

>



working on the pony's dressage game at a local schooling show...

NY NY

one of my favorite places in the world

an inspiring trip for a seminar on artist endowed foundations and time in some very special artists' spaces, hosted by the Aspen Institute's Artist Endowed Foundations program.

IEL #3 (and last of the season)

ended with the final banquet and friend and team member jillian getting reserve champion. these friendships will last a lifetime. until next year!

Mission Pacific

starting to realize if you can't find me on the weekend, its because I'm with one of the girls at a horseshoe...









(and that this has become much less of a place for me to write down my thoughts / concerns / complaints / dreams and much more of a photo album. and I'm good with that.)

Camelot - with Kaira

As I've mentioned before, our beloved Phantom is not cut out for eventing. Dressage, and hunter - ok. But not jumping and not the rigor that goes into a three-day event. So K is working with a schooling pony. Taking her for a test-drive so to speak. Kaira is a 11 year old Haflinger with A LOT OF GO! (Reminds K of Curio, I think.) We will see where this takes us...

p.s. the hunter / jumper world is very different to dressage. this barn mom is learning a lot too!