When Life Gets In the Way of Riding

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When Life Gets In the Way of Riding

DT's Jennifer Mellace shares lessons she has learned in patience and gratitude this winter.

As the temps fall into single digits and a nasty snow squall rushes by my window, I’m stuck at my desk dreaming of warmer days and of riding Bubba again.

My friend Stef—the one who introduced me to Bubba and trainer Ali Calkins—takes the best photos of Mr. Handsome. I’ll savor each one until I can get back to the barn for lessons. (Credit: Stefania Schuller)

Unfortunately, it’s not just the snow keeping me from riding right now. My lessons have been put on a temporary hold due to finances. Life has dealt my family some expensive mishaps these last few months, and our pocketbook needs to play a bit of catch up.

Let’s see … since November several household appliances have gone, including our fridge, the hot water heater and, just this week, our clothes washer. In addition, my little dog, Pip, had an odd neurologic event over the holidays, which (after several vet visits) landed us at a neurologist (Cha-Ching).

After a health scare earlier this month, Pip is back to being his adorable little self. (Credit: Jennifer Mellace)

Fortunately, he’s doing 100-percent better and we’re crossing our fingers that it was just a one-off thing. Throw in a dental appointment for my 90-pound dog, Cora, and Christmas, and I’m left with not a lot of lesson money. It’s definitely not the end of the world, I know. Things could be much worse and I’m very thankful that they’re not.

In the meantime, I’ll enjoy our new appliances, be grateful for my healthy dogs and swoon over my friend Stef’s fantastic pictures of Bubba until I see him again.