Changes

Changes are usually supposed to be for the good. Personally, I'm not a fan of big changes. Little changes, sure. Especially good ones. But not all changes are good...

I took Jetta for a hack on the trails today since she's heading up to the barn tomorrow (!) so I won't have another chance for a long time :( The trails are just so good for them - they're mostly shady so it's comfortably cool, there's plenty of hills to give them a good work out and lots of different trails to take so you can spend an hour or two out and about. I long-lined Jetta which was a tad interesting after not being ridden for a week. Then we headed out. Jetta was definitely feeling good so I made her walk up the first little hill then let her choose her pace up a bigger hill - she took off in an extended canter - whee!!

This was Jetta's first time out on this particular trail all alone and she did really well. While she didn't spook at anything, she did look quite a bit, especially when coming around corners. Cause you never know what might be hiding there! And let's not forget that stumps and logs are horse-eaters.

(Note: I may have already whined about this before. I'm too lazy to go sort through the archives and check, so you might get to hear the whining again.Or if you're not in the mood, you could just stop reading here :)

Anyways. We found a cool new trail that someone had cleared and had fun exploring that for a while. Then I was coming up the hill at a canter when we "uurrch'ed" to a stop. There were people picking blackberries on the trail and had their large (giant) four wheeler blocking the trail. I said hi, they asked me if I was Lauren (?) I said no and told them my (full) name. "Oh, do you board over at L's?" I told them that no, I live in the white house next to the C's place. (Sad that that's how I have to refer to where we live. We used to be the "big white house on the hill" but now are dwarfed by the yellow mansion that's behind us.) They didn't offer to introduce themselves, but I knew that they were the family building their mansion on the hill that overlooks the neighborhood. I know the man's name but it would have been nice if they had all introduced themselves! Especially because I haven't met them yet. I didn't want to be rude and say, "And you are?" after all, I'm pretty sure that they must have bought the piece of land that they were picking berries on and while they don't own all of the trails, I was essentially trespassing. Sigh. I scooched around their quad and said goodbye and trotted off.

I guess now I'll definitely need to make sure I have their permission to ride on the trails. Sigh. I hate how things change. I've lived here for almost 12 years and have been riding the trails for almost 11. While we've never owned the land back there, we've always had the owners' permission. It used to be that a small group of people owned all that land (close to 300 acres) and they never did anything with it so we had permission to go on the trails and what not. We tried to buy a portion a couple times but they could never decide if they wanted to sell and how much for, so that plan failed. A few years later a developer bought all 300 acres and divided it up and started selling it. We tried to buy 30 to 60 acres but he wanted to charge us $9000 an acre which was absolutely ridiculous, especially because we know he bought it at $2000 an acre.

The trails used to be in such a way that there were two loops - kind of like a figure 8. But since it's been divided up and sold, one loop is non-existant because it's been all fenced in and there are now cows on that land. The other loop is kind of all wonky now because there's a house built in the middle of it. My brother and I used to ride up there and there was this little flat ledge that we would bring lunch and make a picnic up there. There were four perfect stumps for sitting on. That's where they built their house. So now you have to double back and can't make the full loop because you'd end up in their backyard.

It's nice that someone has become interested in maintaining the trails, because we sure never did, though they were always useable. But I feel that the cost is too high - there are now three mansions (I mean freaking huge houses) behind us. We no longer have the great view that you move to the country for and it's like we live in a suburban neighborhood with all the traffic that's up and down the driveway next to us. Of course the sound carries so you get to hear everything. A fourth mansion is on its way up. Ugh. Can't tell I'm a little bitter, can you? Lol.

My dad used to mow a figure eight in the grass on the flattest part because we don't have an arena. I'd ride up there all the time. Now there's an arena on it and I can't even use it when I want to - I can't use it when the owner's riding and I can't use it for lessons. I feel bad when I use it every day because I don't pay to use it and I don't help maintain it. I don't really mind that much that I can't use it as much as I'd like because after all it is her money and her property, but I just wish for the way that it used to be.

I'm not in a very good mood to begin with today, so this just made me want to cry today. Especially since I mentioned the meeting on the trail and my parents told me I should double-check with them to make sure it's ok to ride back there. I guess one neighbor has their permission to ride back there, but the other neighbor asked if she could ride back there and they told her no. Gulp. I blame my emotional mood all on the stress - I have to pack the trailer tonight so I can take Jetta up to the barn tomorrow. On Tuesday I got roped into giving a speech to the local Rotary group and I haven't written what I'm going to say yet. Also on Tuesday I have my final French exam and turn in all my papers and I still have a lot of work to go. Add that Jazz is going to her new home on Friday and I want to ride her a bunch before she leaves and that I need to get the horse blankets washed, my room cleaned and the rest of my stuff moved into my apartment this week, I'm a little on the edge.