Greetings! As I look out my office window, it is snowing hard. We can’t complain too much because we need the moisture badly. My friends from Hawaii are coming next week to visit and I am afraid they might be a little shocked at the weather. About 8 years ago, we got 5 ½ feet of snow on May 5. So in comparison to that, it has been a mild spring. But I’d be happy to have some warm sunny days Yesterday, we had a 12 hour photo shoot and today I am exhausted. My marketing director, TV show producer and personal photographer is Heidi Nyland, http://www.wholepicture.org/”>www.wholepicture.org. She is an incredibly talented photographer, journalist and marketing professional; she is also a SLAVE DRIVER! And while I’m whining, I’ll also say she’s responsible for me having to write three columns every month, not to mention the blog 😉 But I do love her. I am sure she’ll upload some pics to the blog.

For the photo shoot, we shot pictures for a year-long series of articles I am doing for The Trail Rider magazine. We must have saddled and un-saddled a hundred times on 5 different horses; not to mention how many times I had to change clothes and put more make-up on top of an increasingly dirty face! Aside from new bio shots and stuff for my website, we also did pictures for articles on despooking, side passing, extending the walk, teaching a horse to stand still for mounting and ground tying. I never knew smiling and riding at the camera could be so much fun. Looks like we’ll be riding indoors today. On days like this, it sure is nice to have the indoor option. The weather’s bad enough that my farrier cancelled his appointment today and he’s pretty tough! As much as I’d like to crawl back in bed with a good book, I’ll get myself motivated to ride.

I’ll be in central CA this weekend for a horsemanship clinic, where I am confident it will be warm! I’ll leave on Friday, work Sat-Sun, then come home on Monday. So if I don’t get a ride in every day I am home, I miss too much time on my horse. Dually is not a horse that can sit around for long. In March I had some back to back trips that caused me to be away from home for 11 days. When I finally got home and rode, he was a wild man! He does like to go. After a couple days of loping miles of circles, he was back to normal. Next weekend (Memorial Day) we are headed to a guest ranch in Granby CO for a Versatility Ranch Horse clinic and competition. It’ll be my first competition this year. I am not sure we are ready, but after the competition, I’ll for sure know where my weaknesses are! I’ve got a big group of friends coming for what we are calling the first annual convention for the Yehaw Sisterhood (even though a few brothers are invited too). I am really excited about it; more so the time spent with friends at a nice resort but the clinic and competition are a bonus. I just hope it doesn’t snow. Until next time. Please visit Goodnight’s sites for more information and training tips:
http://www.juliegoodnight.com
http://www.horsemaster.tv