Honestly, I'd be kidding myself if I wondered why. Not only have I not been able to ride as much (thank you morning, afternoon AND evening sickness!) but I am not thinking about it the same as I used to. I'm not working towards the same goals as I was before I got pregnant. In August/September, I was eagerly anticipating moving up to Adult Amateur classes for next year's show season - now, I'll be lucky to be back in time for Pre Adult classes at Northwest Spectacular. I mean, that's probably the best case scenario. It doesn't bother me, it just changes the way I look at my favorite activity. Now when I ride, I mainly focus on what I'm doing that day, that moment, and thanking the Lord I had the energy to climb into the saddle. I also want to be able to give Keenan as much exercise as I personally can for as long as I can so that he doesn't have to be a burden for anyone else just yet.
That brings up another transition that is taking place at Triple Rise right now. Sarah is leaving us next week. She'll be graduating from U of O this spring and really wants to buckle down and ace her last two terms - I think having a full course load on top of her job was really stressful for her this term and she doesn't need that when she's staring down the barrel of the graduation gun. After graduating, she wants to move on and work at other places around the country. When I talked to her, she mentioned some job offers in California.
We all found out about this last week and although I am MAJORLY bummed - I cried, I'll admit it - I know that Sarah absolutely needs to do what is right for her. She is 23 years old and has been in Eugene for a very long time. And, as much as I love Oregon and adore my barn, Eugene is not exactly the hunter jumper capitol of the world. Sarah has so much talent and SO much potential - look what she managed to do with me in two years! - and she really owes it to herself to get out there and aim for the big time. I think she wants to ride for some big name clients - some very fancy horses with rich owners - to make a name for herself, and then eventually would come back to Oregon to start her own barn.
As much as it pains me to lose a trainer who had become such a dear, dear friend and mentor, I am actually really proud of her for taking a good look at her life and making a tough decision that will likely turn out to be the best one she'll ever make. Again, I love Mike and Mollie and everyone at my barn. But I know how ambitious Sarah is - heck, the girl was like 21 when she decided to go pro - and I know how talented she is. She deserves a chance at the top. She will be missed, but we've all met our new trainer Rachel and she seems totally lovely. She even paid me/Keenan a huge compliment tonight when she referred to him as "one of those horses I always hoped I'd get a chance to ride and now I finally have" (she is from this area so she watched Becka compete him in the Children's classes several years ago).
SO...yeah, lots of things are changing. But, you know, change can be good. Keenan still doesn't like to be curried, Rapper still nickers at me when he hears me walking up to his stall, Sophie is still hilarious and Mike still jokes around with me. Life moves on and it's my responsibility to roll with the punches.
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