A Lovely Day

Maggie made up a poem about our cat catching a rat:

Kitty, Kitty
Goody, Goody
Pouncey, Pouncey
Mousey, Mousey

I thought it was cute.

I started the day with breakfast with Jackie. She took me out b/c I have been working on the website. It's not a great website, but it's still nicer than the old one was with new pictures. Then Jackie and I came back to the barn and we rode together. I had some new students drop by and I just sat on Freeley and chatted with them a little while. It was really nice.

Freeley seemed so happy to be out and be ridden today. He was alternatively perky and lazy and we had a nice time.

I had some clients to see after that but I got to come back and ride again in the evening while Maggie rode Deli. I rode Liberty and Cat rode Bobbie, one of our lesson horses. I told her that she should sell Merlin and buy Bobbie b/c they were well suited. Bobbie is a great lesson horse and she could probably get a cut on her board as well! Liberty didn't have a single temper tantrum tonight and he was really good. A couple of times I had to remind him to do some things differently, but he seems to be settling into the idea that working is easier than being a brat. I have been using a martingale, but the one I used tonight was too low set. I like the stretch rubber one better, or I may use my running martingale, but the Arab Martingale was too restrictive. I'm just so proud of how he's coming along.

Maggie is going with me to the trail challenge this weekend after all. The lady who had scheduled the lock in for the cheer leaders changed her mind or something. Suddenly it was tentatively scheduled and it's been put off for 5 weeks. No one else thought it was tentative. I was so angry. This person is always making plans and then changing them, often at the last minute and whenever I have gotten mad about it she tells me that I'm throwing a tantrum and she won't stand for it, or that I'm crazy or something. It's never about her lack of good behavior. This is a woman who bought her kid a horse and then was too lazy or busy or something to let the kid go ride. So, they moved the horse closer and they still don't take the kid to go ride. Now they found someone to freeload the horse at their place, and they still won't go ride. I love the kid...one of Maggie's friends...and we're always asking her to go riding with us and they won't let her come with us b/c they think I'm crazy (not crazy, just incredibly pissed off at how inconsiderate this woman is and how everyone else seems to tolerate it)...Me thinks I am not the crazy one.

Now, to be fair I'm sure they are busy and I know that horses aren't their thing but only the kid's thing, but I don't get how they can let the kid get a horse and then be ready to sell it less than a year later. Maybe there are things going on that I know nothing about, but I have been burned too many times after making plans to find out that mom's had a better offer, or something came up. I have never forgotten about the time I planned an elaborate camping trip to go try a horse for them to have her tell me 2 days before that something had come up and she couldn't come and I would just have to deal...I had several people arrange their schedules for that to have her blow all of them off. That was the first time and I hadn't learned the ins and outs of that relationship at the time. I won't bend over for her anymore.

I had been trying to get back in the mom's good graces all year so that the girls can play together, but it's not happening. The last time I let them play was at their house and she had a fit when I asked her to meet me to get Maggie back. I even said that I would do all the transport from now on, but they still won't let her come to my house. So, they will just have to be school friends. And I'm torn about saying anything directly to her about the school fiasco b/c I know it will do me no good. She'll just tell me that my kid misunderstood about the lock in being a definite thing and how I'm crazy b/c I make a schedule and want to keep to it. (Unlike this lady who never will plan anything!)

Ok, enough ranting. It's time for bed and I can't change anything.