Cob Jockey

I haven't blogged in so long, it's crazy.  It's been a long two weeks, with a trip to California, epic food poisoning, a horse show, and work work work.

Let's start with California!


I booked my flight for very early on Sunday - like had to wake up at 3:30am my time early - so I could get out there to meet some bloggers!  Olivia of DIY Horseownership was SO wonderful to put together a pretty big meetup of Bay Area bloggers.  Last year for this conference I met some bloggers and missed others, so it was awesome to meet so many at once.

Do I look sleepy?  Holy hell I was sleepy.

My ride was Pixie, a draft cross with a heart of gold.  I specifically requested something that wouldn't challenge me, going on 3 hours of sleep, and Pixie totally delivered.  It was like riding a big comfy couch.

(Emphasis on big - my hip flexors hurt for two days after this!)

I know ya'll have read recaps on this ride on several blogs by now so I'll keep it short, but the whole thing was amazing.  There is a winery with a hitching post (and trees) for horses 1.5 miles from Olivia's barn, and the trail goes through dense California forest and winds along serious hillsides with steep drops by the side of the trail!

Olivia even gave out party favors: bags of her famous homemade horse treats.

Between the wine, the friends, the amazing spread of food that magically appeared (through some amazing pre-planning by Olivia and her husband) and the horses, it was an amazing afternoon.  I felt so bad though, because I felt like I was in a lack of sleep induced fog.

I turned down rides on the other horses when we got back because last year during this conference, I had two free nights to play with ponies, and figured I could come back out and ride after I had gotten some sleep.

Unfortunately I didn't consider the fact that I actually made some connections with the guys at this conference last year and this year I got many dinner and drink invitations I couldn't turn down.  (People that could give me jobs later, industry chatter, etc) Needless to say I lived to regret the decision to turn down the mule and mustang rides, and didn't get to go back.  Thankfully, with the job I have, this is not my last trip out to Silicon Valley, and you can bet I'll make a stop there next time I'm out there.

Olivia, thank you so much for putting this together, it was amazing and an unforgettable experience.  And Nicole, Michelle, Fig, Kate, and Megan, it was AWESOME to meet all of you!  Let's do it again sometime!