Home again

It's been awhile since I updated! Week two was a ton of fun, especially with the regional jumper championship. I have some videos on YouTube that I'll have to post later. Florida ended up winning gold in the children's championship and us adults won bronze! I also won sixth in the individual event (that damn first class!) but a Floridian took home gold which was awesome!

Team Florida before our victory gallop! 

Nick sporting his ribbon

And of course we had orange braids to represent Florida 

The drive home was extremely long. It took about 7.5 hours and we only stopped three or four times. I had Taylor for company and the first thing he said was that he wanted to sleep! Absolutely not, on a trip like that, you have to keep the driver awake.

Almost 500 miles in one day

I came home to find a pair of shoes that I'd ordered (yay for new shoes!) and my diploma. Now I just have to get it framed, I guess. I don't really know where I'm going to put it but I don't want to just stuff it away somewhere; although, that'll probably be what happens.

I've been staying pretty busy by  picking up hours on the days that I'm not scheduled at Banfield at my parent's store. It's pretty easy, mindless work. I've been sorting cards, sticking stuff in sleeves, and pulling selected cards out of boxes. It's pretty nice to have an extra source of income too. I've been riding my two year old again, and he's been perfect! He's starting to understand which lead is the correct one, which has been a challenge since he'd only pick up the right lead in the beginning. I know we're a long ways off from worrying about that at all, but it's such a good feeling when something like that comes together! Bruno has been great since we got his left stifle injected as well, I think he was just a little unbalanced. Switching the bit on that horse and getting his stifles injected is the best thing we ever did to him.

Another fun thing I've been working on is teaching myself ASL. I should probably be focusing on regaining fluency in French, but ASL seemed like a fun, new challenge for now. I watch a pretty bad TV show centering around a deaf girl and I noticed myself picking up some basic signs, so I figured I could actually actively learn it. I only know really basic stuff so far: "Hello," "how are you?" "my name is..." "what is your name?" "see you later," and I'm trying to teach myself Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, so we'll see how that goes!

My dad ended up emailing me and telling me that work is forcing him to take seven weeks of vacation. He's thinking of going to Wales to practice his Welsh, since he didn't think he'd make it to America in time with me leaving and everything. I told him it'd be nice if he tried, but I'd understand otherwise. I haven't seen him since I was about ten, I believe.

Registration for WesternU opened on the first. It's basically just a placeholder, because first years don't get a choice of electives. Unfortunately, I had a hold on my account because they apparently didn't receive the health clearance forms I faxed in ages ago... So I faxed them in again, and emailed them just to be safe. Turns out my doctor ordered the wrong titer for Hep B. Which I got revaccinated for due to the results of the titer. WesternU said I should be able to ask him to just call in the order to the diagnostics lab, but he did so yesterday after they closed and today I got off work after they closed, and tomorrow they're closed for a holiday. I'm hoping to show up at 7 AM, when they open on Friday, so I can get in there before I work at 8:30.

End of week 1!

Week 1 ended pretty well! The horses were great. Nick ended up champion in his adult jumper division, and Bruno even managed to get a fourth in his hunter classic! Bruno is definitely not a hunter so I was pleasantly surprised by that. I think switching his bit made him a lot happier. We showed in the schoolings today and he was really excited but he was also willing to work and to listen which was nice.

Bruno hacking in the big field

Nick ended up showing in the Grand Prix ring the last couple days of the horse show, which was pretty fun! The Grand Prix ring at this show is actually the ring that was used for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics so it's amazing to be able to show in there. Our first class in there was so fun and so crazy. We had to canter up and over a hill, jump a vertical and then turn left and canter up this bank right next to the bleachers (I could have leaned out and touched them!), jump a one stride, and then turn left and come down the hill to jump another vertical before continuing to the rest of the course. I was really worried, thinking Nick would spook or balk or something, but he didn't care at all. So proud of him!

Nick over the liverpool 

Pretty!

We went to Six Flags on our day off, on Monday. I'm not really a roller coaster person but it was still fun! I ended up going on a log ride and then one of those water rides where you sit in this round raft thing with about eight people. I guess it's like a tame copy of whitewater rafting (which I definitely want to try one day!). I bought tons of candy too, that I'm currently munching on.

Hanging out with Bugs

The train track was pretty!

Pretty archways 

Tim bought a Green Lantern cape

Trying on hats

The hat I got for Demie!

We saw Man of Steel after Six Flags too, which was really good! I love all the new superhero movies coming out. I still really want to see the new Iron Man too, but I think it's out of theatres by now. I want to see Epic and World War Z too. We went to see the Purge yesterday, which was really good too!

Ended up getting mani/pedis too. Only my second ever!

Nick had to jog for his regional adult jumper thing today, which was interesting to say the least. I had to wear breeches, tall boots, and an orange polo shirt. Nick had to be in a normal hunter bridle with a plain snaffle and a leather lead rope. No boots, nothing covering him. He jogged great, I think he just thought the whole thing was kind of dumb but kind of fun. We got a bunch of free stuff from our sponsor, Cavalor. By a ton, I mean a TON. I got a shirt, a regional championship hat, a USHJA hat, a couple interesting bags of feed from Cavalor, and a saddle pad that I have to show in for the team event. Plus I got some free pamphlets and stuff like that too. Oh! And a regional championship bag. 

Waiting to go in to jog 

I'm a jogging pro by now

The next couple days should be fun, I just hope my team doesn't get bumped on day one!

I showed in Apopka this weekend, just at GOHJA, a local show. Bruno was pretty good, pretty much got 3rd in everything. I didn't ride him all week, so I'd call that an overall success. 

 Taylor took a photo of me waiting to show in my adult equitation and I promptly screen shotted it. 

I leave for Georgia on Tuesday which should be super exciting! We've already started laying out all the stuff I plan on taking (for the horses, anyway, I always pack my personal stuff the night before). My next couple days consist of a lot of laundry and working. I work 9-4 tomorrow and then I'll be packing because I work 9-2 on Monday and then I plan on schooling Nick, trying to ride Wally and then go paddle boarding (for the second time ever!) at Lake Claire again with Taylor. 

I left Bruno's front boots on his stall when I went to Ocala and came home to them missing. They were six or seven years old and still kicking it so it wasn't a real loss, but I was trying to avoid buying anything new since I leave so soon. So, mum went on eBay and bought me a new pair with the memory foam, or whatever it is. We'd actually said we buy those when my correct pair died and they just never did. I have to say, Eskadrons are a hardy brand. 

Bruno in his new boots. They look so clean!

Of course, we found the boots in someone's tack trunk as soon as the auction finished. Oops. Now the old boots will be Wally's to destroy when he grows into them. 

I've been looking into the HPSP scholarship from the Army lately. It's a pretty good scholarship, but it's also very hard to get. I was pretty concerned that I'd go to vet school and then graduate and have to serve as a soldier so it was pretty relieving to find out that your active duty actually consists of being a veterinarian. In hindsight, that only makes sense. Unfortunately, when I tried to request more information, they said I had to be 21. So, I guess I'll be going to talk to a recruiter when I get home from Georgia. Jerry is going to go with me since he was in the Air Force and he'll understand the actual Army talk more than I will.