Entering My Horsegirl Era
Don’t let your dreams be dreams!
Table of Contents
Horseback Riding
Album Pre-release at LA Arboretum
Grunion Run
Quail Hill
Horseback Riding
I’m finally living my childhood dream and taking western horseback riding lessons! A few people have told me that I should take up a sport or go to the gym… so here I am! Surprisingly, the horse world mostly works through word of mouth. After making a bunch of calls, someone eventually passed along a list of trainers who were still taking students and that’s how I met my trainer! I wouldn’t have found her otherwise since she doesn’t really advertise and just relies on people sharing her name around. She’s a professional D1 barrel racer and super amazing and I have so much to learn from her.
I was excited to be back at a barn again but honestly a little surprised at how much I had forgotten. Each lesson starts with getting the horse from the stall, grooming, and tacking. What used to be muscle memory now takes active thinking. The other day I grabbed the saddle before putting on the saddle pad and my trainer reflexively threw on the pad for me while she was on the phone and I just stood there completely embarrassed. A rookie mistake. Time to learn everything from the ground up again.
The palomino quarter horse on the left is Coach. She’s super patient and sweet, but she’s definitely not a fan of working. It takes a lot of effort on my part to get her trotting or loping, and she doesn’t need to be told twice when it’s time to stop.
The red roan (I think?) quarter horse on the right is Maverick. Also a sweetheart and he loves to please so he’s always ready to go fast! I think he recognizes me now. When I go to his stall, he’s usually standing at the far end, but as soon as he sees me, he’ll nicker and come running up to the gate to say hi! <3
The first few lessons were kind of discouraging because I just couldn’t sit the trot. I was bouncing all over the place and couldn’t figure out how to stay balanced. It’s one of those things you really have to feel for yourself. People can describe it a million ways, but nothing prepares you like actually trying it. Having a good trainer definitely helps though. I think I can sit a slow trot now, but it’s still my weak spot. My trainer had me try riding bareback on her personal horse, Daisy, to try to get a better feel of the muscle movement. Walking felt great, but once she started trotting I immediately started slipping off since I had no grip and nothing to hold onto. She noted that I need to work more on my core strength.
Loping/cantering on the other hand is so much fun! It’s a faster speed but surprisingly easier to sit. I feel like I’m flying with the wind at 30 mph, but once I looked back at a video of myself I realized it was more realistically maybe under 10 mph…
I definitely need to work out more because the horses aren’t even breaking a sweat and yet I’m the one constantly out of breath during my lesson. And I know what you’re about to say!! The horses are doing all the work, you’re just sitting there! Let me tell you, it’s a full body workout. The regular lessons have gotten me to a point where I no longer get saddle sore but my core still feels sore after every ride. In fact, after my lesson I made dinner and then just completely crashed on my couch until I woke up to my morning alarm and realized I needed to get ready for work. How do you sportsy/gym people do it? What’s your secret??
Now I’m always counting down the days until my next lesson at the barn and the horses always bring a smile to my face. I still have a lot to learn before I master the basics, but here’s a list of what I hope to do (realistically or unrealistically):
Half-lease a horse to go on solo trail rides regularly (and go birdwatching haha)
Move/wrangle cattle at a dude ranch (actually going in August)
Go on multiday horseback packing in the Sierra Nevada backcountry (probably next year)
Learn barrel racing??
Buy a horse????
Album Pre-release at LA Arboretum
This wasn’t really nature-related but I thought the event venue was fitting. One of my favorite bands was releasing a new album this year and as a special event they emailed out an opportunity to attend an album pre-release. I thought, well the chances are impossibly low but why not and signed up for the raffle. A couple days later I received an email saying I was selected and that the exact venue and time would be released closer to the date!! I felt super lucky to have been among the 50(?) to be picked.
Once I got the details the day of, I rushed out of work, fought LA traffic, and arrived at the LA Arboretum, and I think they found the perfect venue (in my personal opinion). The Arboretum is known for its free-roaming peacocks, and sure enough, one greeted me in the parking lot and walked me all the way to the entrance like a feathery escort. The event coordinators took my name and then also locked away my phone so that people couldn’t leak any footage/songs ahead of time. I loved the entire album but the funniest part was every time there was a heavy metal riff or drop, a chorus of peacock calls would erupt from the trees in the dark. Probably telling us it's dark out, please shut up already. Everyone laughed every time it happened and I thought it added a nice element to the whole experience.
I couldn’t take any photos but they released a promo video of the event and I found myself in one of the shots, heh! And I was given a metal token with a feather to commemorate being a part of the listening event. Very fitting!
Grunion Run
During the spring and summer months, a magical event occurs under the light of the full moon. The Grunion Run. As high tide waves break on the beach, grunion swim as far up the slope as possible to spawn. California grunion are found only along the coast of Southern California and northern Baja California and unlike other fish, they come completely out of the water to lay their eggs in the sand.
The biologist from the Wildlife Refuge that I volunteer at invited people to join her on observing one of the grunion runs along Surfside Beach at midnight and I decided to join. She asked if I was good at identifying birds at night and as I looked into the vast darkness, I said I regretfully am lacking in that skillset. I heard birdwatching with night vision goggles is becoming a thing now. Do I need to get into that too? This was another cool night time beach activity to experience though!
Quail Hill
Birdwatching Notes:
Learned to listen for the Grasshopper Sparrow call. Sounds like a high-pitched kip-kip-kip zeeeeee (like an insect buzz) and it’ll call while perching on top of a tall stalk. Unless someone pointed it out, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it. I need better hearing…
Captured shots of the two blue gemstones: Blue Grosbeak and Lazuli Bunting. The group leader heard them first before stopping to look for them.
Saw a male Mule Deer!
