Not enough hours in the day....light!

I was having a very hectic day at work yesterday, and met a colleague from our parent company who I know only a little. It was one of those crazy days and we both looked frazzled, but our visits to the coffee machine for extra strong shots of caffeine kept on co-inciding.

At our first 'ad-hoc*' meeting over the coffee machine we exchanged the usual 'not enough hours in the day' type of chat to meet our respective deadlines on our projects, hers a School Project, mine a University one, and so on.....

Our second 'chance encounter*' again at the coffee point led to my revelation that I liked to ride horses and hers that she owns a horse that she struggles to keep fit in the winter months due to our ridiculously short winter daylight hours....'not enough hours in the day', once again, but entirely a more interesting discussion.

Irish Sports Throroughbred gelding, and absolutely stunning boy. And I don't work Mondays or Fridays'....serendipity*? We agreed to pick up the opportunity to work collaboratively* on the exercising of her horse when we both have a minute in our day to catch breath

* strangely when I am not riding horses I can usually be found promoting innovative 'workplace design' planning offices  to encourage lots of 'ad-hoc meetings / chance encounters / serendipitous exchanges / collaborative working'' and so on but I will spare you horse lovers the detail of this aspect of my life! That said if it wasn't for the coffee point.....

Sam: not giving me an easy ride...again

 

My lovely Sam has been giving me a rough ride on the painting front, and I had to start him again. I am roughly back where I was a few days ago, although I hope with a little finesse. I now need to keep a nice light seat until the finish line. Please Sam, give me a break and let me finish in a little more style than last time I rode you!

Living the dream

I had a brief period of living the dream in my twenties.

I took a half lease in a former racehorse horse called Sam who frankly was rather beyond my riding ability. I came a cropper when he went for a gallop in a much too small field one day, suffering a nasty break to my arm. It scared me off for a good 15 years.

I recall going to the stables to collect my belongings, arm in cast, and everyone sharing their tales of broken legs, arms, toes, fractured collar bones and concussions and thinking "Are you all completely mad? Why do you still ride?"

Fifteen years on, I know the answer.....I ride because I must. Despite the risks, there is nothing quite like being around horses, the exhilaration, the bond and the trust that you have to build each time you ride. The nerves that kick in when the bar is raised a notch higher than you feel comfortable jumping and the rush when you clear that jump.

I would still love to live that dream again, although I might sense check my love of a thoroughbred!