R&R was wonderful! It didn’t go too fast, of course it could have gone slower but overall it was perfect. We didn’t do all that much. We hung out at home, spent two nights at Lake Travis, rode horses together, ate out, saw “Land of the Lost” and reconnected. The reconnecting was the best part. Talking about what is important to us, reevaluating our goals and dreams. Maverick and I are in a great place right now. Deployments physically separate families however if you have a strong foundation nothing can come between you. That’s not to say that it wont be hard, only that it will not destroy you. I learned that from the last deployment, our first. It was such a hard time for me.
In horse news Big Daughter G had two playdays this past weekend. The first I have no idea how she did, it was done kind of odd, no age groups, the exhibitions were done after the main run which does not make sense. Exhibitions are done so you can fix mistakes you might have done, a signal given to the horse wrong, tack that might be feeling funny, why bother doing it after the fact? That doesn’t help anybody. It was frustrating, I wasn’t happy with the entire thing. It was good practice for her though. They had different patterns to run, so we’ll keep going just for practice alone. The greatest thing was Maverick got to see her run before he left the next morning.
Her Saturday playday was so much better. I really like the way Temple Longhorn Riding Club does things. They keep the grass mowed, big deal to keep bugs from attacking you. They have a snackbar, exhibitions are done before the main ride and they run by age group. Big “D.G.” placed second in barrels and straight away. She got a no time on poles due to her leaning and Tasha going around the poles. Tasha did what she was told though
. Overall Big “D.G.” did very well and we’re so proud of her.