Two Rides, One Awesome Day

Saturday, July 12th   92°  *Counting this as Sunday's ride too, since it was nearly midnight :)
1) Solo ride - Morgan - 5-10 minutes
2) Bill & Majesty - Left at 11:02 pm, Arrived at 11:43 pm

Ran errands in town all day and arrived home about 6:00 pm.  There was a gymkhana scheduled that evening, but we weren't planning on riding in it, though T & Red had entered.  Went out to feed the horses, and as soon as Morgan saw me she called out and came to the gate of the turn out.  She even shoved a bit to get closer to the exit.  I explained that it was too hot to ride and I had to leave in 10 minutes.  She stood stolidly at the gate, so I let her out then went and grabbed her bitless bridle and hopped on bareback.

We followed the south fence, exiting the property by going down a slight embankment.  Walked a bit, then up a larger embankment as we came in the West driveway of the property.  She started to trot (which is what I normally ask her to do), but I was unsure of myself so I slowed her to a walk.  Came around the tack shed and followed the East fence line to the North driveway, then turned and trotted back to the tack shed. I slid off and hugged her hard.  Fed everyone, then headed to the gymkhana to cheer for T & Red.

Got home from the gymkhana about 10:45 pm.  The moon was fabulously full and the weather had dropped to 92° which is almost bearable.  Bill suggested a midnight ride, so we dashed outside to see if the horses were willing.

Morgan was taking a nap ... there was some commotion at the turn-out gate, but she slept through it

I called her name softly as I approached and she got up to greet me

Simply adore my Morgan!

Full moon over Morgan's saddle

It was so bright outside that we could see well enough to ride in the streets near our house, but being out seemed to get everyone's dogs barking.  Morgan's hooves were still a bit tender, so I kept her in the sand as much as possible ... which meant we startled more than one rabbit.

Took this picture just to track what time we got home, but it made me giggle

She's sticking her nose in the tack shed asking for her treat

We wandered around, just enjoying the moon, our horses, each other, and the quiet of the night.  

I refer to rides like this as "Meditation in Motion"