Yesterday, Zelda and I went to a Hunter Pace. It was one of those perfect spring days, sunny but not too hot and hardly any bugs.

I hadn’t been sure I could go, so I showed up without a partner. Just my luck, a friend from the hunt was also there looking for someone to ride with. Even better, he also rides a black draft-x mare, named Jolie. We were a perfect matched pair. BTW, Jolie is an interesting cross — half Percheron, half Tennessee Walker.

Zelda was a bit disappointed that there were no hounds. When she gets off the trailer and sees a bunch of other horses, she goes into full hunting mode. It took about half the pace before she settled down (note to self: always bring Zelda’s hunting bridle to these events, not her snaffle), but she was a good girl. There were tons of dogs, walkers and strollers out on the trails and she was a complete lady, if maybe a bit too strong.

I really enjoyed the ride. I love the park where the pace was run. But the best part? When I got off, my left ankle didn’t hurt, even though I had forgotten to tape it. This was the first serious ride (more than an hour of trotting and cantering, with some walk breaks), where I didn’t feel like my left ankle might collapse when I dropped the long distance down from Zelda’s back.

The cherry on the cake? We got fourth place.