Well, now I've gone and done it...

I took Arizona on a hack today, since the ground was too hard to really ride, we just meandered along on a loose rein, me occasionally reminding him that we walk with PURPOSE! and when I put my leg on it really does mean "GO!"

So, as we were walking along, Arizona mentioned that he'd been talking to Taco (WHEN do they find time to talk?! I mean, really?!) and Taco had mentioned to HIM that Stacy often takes his dictations and lets him post on her blog. Well, apparently blogging is something really Ari is really excited about, he just never got a chance to do it because he says its too hard to type with hooves, he really needed someone with fingers to type for him. So, I told him I hadn't been blogging much since spring, and that really offended him. So, as we went along on our hack, he dictated for me and I promised I'd post it this evening for him.

So, without any further ado, Ari would like to review this summer for you! I took these words directly from his mouth, so I can't be responsible for anything he says. Also, he's a little ADD, but I think we all knew that.

"Well, its been a crazy summer for me, lots to do, places to go, people to see, but overall I'd say it was a successful one. If success can be measured by bags of carrots, I'd say I came out a winner, because mom does this great thing when we go to shows. She buys a giant bag of carrots and whenever I go back into my stall she gives me one. Or two. Or ten. It depends on things like if I was 'good' or 'brave' or 'okay.' Usually if she says "You were such a brave boy!" I get lots of carrots, which is really neat, because I'm usually really 'brave' on the phase she calls cross country. I don't know why she calls it that, but its where I get to run up and down hills and on grass and jump over trees and walls and things. Anyway, I try to be really brave, but sometimes I get distracted by things like noise or bright lights. Mom says I can't help it, though, since I only have one eye. Aunt Amy tells her that's silly and I just use it as an excuse, but really, it is distracting! Try running up and down hills with one eye closed... its really much more difficult than you think. Which is why I think I should get bonus points, I mean, I can do anything most horses can do, and I do it with a handicap.

Anyway, I digress. At the last show we went to, well, not the last one, because the last one mom sprayed me with glitter and we just trotted around in that stupid indoor sandbox with the radio blaring, the last one with the running and jumping, I did what mom called a "move up."

It was a lot of fun! I jumped jumps that were higher and I even had to jump out of the water over a log. I showed off how athletic I was that day because I wasn't running very fast, and its hard to jump when you're going slow. Of course, mom doesn't really understand that all the time, so I try to help her out. Oh, but speaking of water, I really don't like jumping into water. Mom has obviously never seen all the horrible things that lurk in the water.

You just have to be really careful when you jump into water. It could be really deep or some kind of creature could try to eat me. I like to take a really long time to check it out, but mom says that won't work when I start jumping higher. I always put my toes in the water, because she says I have to, something about flags, but then I stop to take a good look. Sometimes she hits me with that pink whip thing, which is rude, but I just ignore her and take a long look around anyway. You can never be TOO careful, you know.

So anyway, that last show was here in town. I got to spend a night at Aunt Susan's, which was really scary, because I was in a big field, alone, but I could see Brandy and she didn't seem too worried, so I just ate some grass and then the next morning we went over to Brownland. I LOVE Brownland. I got to do dressage there, and then stadium jumping. Mom rode me and Brandy and she told us both we were wonderful. She thinks Brandy is much better at jumping than I am, but I would like to point out that Brandy and I BOTH knocked two rails down, so I think we're both about equal. Of course, Brandy and I were talking on the trailer and we agreed that if mom would get out of our way more, we could jump better, but we try pretty hard to accommodate her errors because it makes her give us more carrots when we help her. I did pretty good in dressage, but Brandy didn't too half bad either. I guess I should give her some credit for being in the top six after dressage, because she actually really sucks at dressage. Well, we can't all be as good as I am. Mom says she needs to learn to be submissive, but I just fake it, so I've tried to tell Brandy about that, but she's too much of a hef-fer. Thats what mom calls her, anyway. I would never call her that to her face. She'd probably sit on me.

I tried to tell Brandy she looked really pretty in dressage, but I don't think she believed me. I just can't win with that mare!

I got to go home that night, which was awesome, because mom couldn't catch me the next morning. When she finally did, we went to Percy Warner for cross country. I got to watch Brandy do cross country- she made it look really easy, and since I was second I decided to make mom work for it a little bit. She quit riding me to the fake ditch thing, so I ran away from it. I wasn't scared, I just didn't really feel like it. Then I jumped everything else, but the was a big brushy thing that was near the end and I was kind of tired, so I ran away from it, too. But other than that I WAS really brave. It didn't matter how big the jumps were, I can jump anything. Brandy got a ribbon that day, it was white, I think, but since I outsmarted mom on cross country, I didn't get one, but mom says I did good anyway.

Before that, mom took me to Poplar Place, in Georgia. Its one of my favorite resorts to go to. The stalls are huge and cushy, and I can see ALL my neighbors and there is lots of ventilation and shade and the footing in the arenas is really neat. This time, the cross country wasn't on grass, though. I mean, I could see the grass, but the footing was kind of crunchy and smelled a little like the peanut butter crackers I like to eat. Mom said I was REALLY brave at Poplar Place, and I got to take home a red ribbon, too! On cross country, mom rode me really hard to the first two jumps, so I couldn't stop like I wanted to, and then at jump 3, I really thought I was going to get to run away from it (!!), but she spanked me with that hot pink whip thing REALLY hard. Well, I showed her, I started running as FAST as I could and I jumped everything she pointed me without even thinking about it! I thought maybe I was scaring her because she kept making this weird noise, but looking back at it, I really think she was laughing. I just kept running and running, even down the big hill, and then I thought I was going to get to run UP an even bigger hill, but she turned me through the woods. It was really hot that weekend, but I got lots of carrots after cross country, so I must have done good. Mom says my dressage wasn't very great, but it must have been decent, since I was in second.

 

Before stadium it started raining like crazy!! I could tell mom was worried when the lady came by and said they may have to cancel it, but we ended up jumping anyway! In the rain! Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on jumping over things when Nessy could be hiding anywhere in the arena? All that water. I jumped well, though, when mom let me. She let me go forward which is what I've been telling her all along, but sometimes she wants me to go REALLY fast and then I get what Aunt Amy calls "flat" and I hit rails with my feet to punish her. Mom should really know better.

The show before THAT was a farm in Louisville. I went to that farm, once, a long time ago when I still lived at Murray State. I think Mom called it Flying Cross. I didn't get to do much that weekend, though, because my foot REALLY hurt. Mom tried to make me feel better, but I just couldn't make myself push though the pain. I tried really hard though, for Mom, since she kept putting my foot in that bucket with warm water in it and giving me carrots even though I hadn't even done anything! I love going on road trips, though, so I guess it wasn't all for nothing! And I got to hang out with Elby. He's really nice, even though he chews on wood. Sometimes my best friend Sam chews on wood, too, I've tried it, but its not very good.

In July, I was at Poplar again, but this time a whole bunch of my friends from the barn came! Piggy- the little dude- was there, and my old girlfriend, Moose! Jazz came (I'm a sucker for spots, but I can't let her know I like her because mom says I'm not allowed to have a girlfriend right now, plus, I think Brandy and I are kind of "talking") and so did my buddy Noodles, I haven't seen him in awhile, but we rode together in the trailer and talked the whole way! Audrey was also there, and  Aunt Amy came with Elby and Baby Flo, too! I hadn't seen Elby in awhile, but he said he was better than ever, so maybe he was on vacation?

It was an awesome weekend and I think Mom had a really good time. The best part was seeing all my friends riders have such a great weekend! They all learned a lot and thought the resort, Poplar, was really cool, too! I got lots of love that weekend, but some of the kids spent more time with that short little horsewithpaws, Tex. He makes loud noises when there is food around, and that kind of annoys me. I'm very sensitive, you know. But Aunt Amy seems to really like him, and I don't want to make her mad. Mom says she'll take away her stirrups. I don't know what that means, but I might not get carrots if it happens, so I'm nice to the horsewithpaws. He is kinda cute. I guess.

Even before that, we went to Indiana! That was a fun trip too! Not only was Baby Flo there, but big Flo came and so did Taco! I got to stay next to Flo in the resort- it was a little more like camping than a resort, but I love Flo because she's really easy to annoy! I kept making funny faces at her. I think she made faces back at me, but I couldn't really tell.

Penny Oaks was kind of like a trail ride with jumps when I went out on cross country! I was very brave there, too, but I did decide not to jump the house looking thing. I thought I saw something off to my right and I wanted to check it out.

It was too bad I did that, though, because mom said I would have had a blue ribbon after my dressage. I'm not so sure about that, it sounded like there was a war going on while I did it!! But luckily I'm kind of used to the sound of gun fire, but maybe there were cannons, too. Who knows, with a show grounds next to an army base! Show jumping there was kind of twisty, but I jumped everything! Mostly I was really excited for my friend Megan and her horse, Big Flo. Mom said they did something really good, something about Training level. I think maybe she cleaned something at Training Level? I don't know how you get a cross country course clean, but I think Flo and Megan did it. Taco helped, if I heard correctly.

In May, mom took me and Brandy to the Kentucky Horse Park together! We had a really long trip there, but thats when I started thinking that maybe Brandy was interested in me because she tried to get really close to me the whole way there! She ended up just kind of sitting on me, but its hard to snuggle in a trailer, so I'm just assuming that she was hitting on me. She's really forward like that, she wouldn't just bat her eyes at me like some mares, she just pushes her big... er... lovely... rear end in my face and kind of tells me how it is. "Me and you buddy, we're a thing. Don't let me catch you looking at any other mares." So, like I said, I think we're talking... whether I like it or not. It's okay, though, because she is kind of cute with that long forelock and that apple bottom...ahem... sorry...

Ugh...I was hoping mom wouldn't pick that picture... I SWEAR I'm not looking at that Irish mare, I'm just gazing off into the distance, but Brandy insists that grey was in my line of sight. *sigh* Women.

Anyway, I think Mom told you about MayDaze already- so I guess my job is done here!

Oh, Mom would yell at me if I didn't mention this, but she got one of those big horse box things and the thing that pulls it. I think she calls it a rig? I was worried for a while after she got the big smelly puller thing because she calls it Truck Charming. I think its a fairy tale reference, like Prince Charming, maybe? I was worried she would love it better than me, but I don't ever see her giving him carrots, so I think I'm okay.

I like her horse box thing, though, mostly because she gets to keep all her stuff in the front, so my clothes and brushes are always in there when she needs them!

Anyway, if you liked my blog entry, you should give mom some carrots to give to me. Success is only measured by carrots, remember, and I want to be successful. I'm going to try to keep mom on her toes and keep updating this thing this winter, because she has opposeable thumbs, and its such a waste that she doesn't use them to type!"