My new life

The animals and I are settling into a bit of a routine. I’ve been dog sitting for my landlord so Nikita and I typically take Casey out for some exercise in the morning and evening. Casey is a 100-lb curly coated lab; he is about twice as heavy as Nikita and about that much more energetic (I think he is about half her age). They get along fine and he’s a pretty nice dog, so it’s not a bad way to earn a few dollars.

I’ve been riding a bit, mostly helping Nikki out when she is short of time and needs to hack more than one horse. Riding out is what I really love — I could hack all day, every day. It will certainly help me get in shape, as I’m not sure that I could really sit a trot for very long. My riding gear is always in my car, just in case I come across a random horse to ride. I’d hate to have an opportunity come up and not be prepared!

I keep a post office box at a small general store not far from where I live. It’s close to 100 years old and has a great selection of wine, products from local artisans and all the basic essentials, plus a small post office at the back. I love checking out what they have, but mostly I just check my mail. One day, as I was leaving, a woman rode down the street, ponying a second horse. The sight almost made me cry; this is why I am here — there is a horse on every corner and many people’s lives revolve around horses. I love it!

My new home

I spent a weekend looking at places to live — from “tenant” houses on farms to barn apartments to historic houses in small towns. I must have driven a few hundred miles and looked at more than a dozen places. After all those miles, the place I found is just 5 minutes down the road from Nikki’s — on the same road — and less than 10 minutes from Middleburg (epicenter of Virginia horse country).

My new digs are an apartment over a (currently unoccupied) barn on a small private farm. The place is quite new and very clean (particularly relative to some of the places I saw). It has one bedroom and an open concept kitchen/dining room/living room. There is a fireplace (!) and tons of windows. The best part: my new landlord was fine with all my critters — a big concern of mine now that I am a renter. 

The great news is that he has no interest in putting horses in the barn, so it is mine when/if I want it. I’m really hoping Winnie — the grey horse I rode in the spring — is available as a “free lease”. There are miles of hunt trails behind the farm so it is possible to ride for hours.

I will probably wait a little while before moving a horse into the barn, but it is very exciting to have a horse at home as a possibility.