The FANTASTIC news:
On Wednesday night, for the
first time ever, I cleared a low
jump while riding a horse. It was the first time I had ever jumped and it was a
success! Needless to say I was
overjoyed at this new development. I even did a second jump. It was the most
exciting thing I have
ever accomplished.
(the
picture above is of course not me (I wish) but I cleared a jump as high as the lowest pole in the picture)
The Not so Fantastic news:
As I attempted to do a third and final jump my horse decided that she didn't want to and
swerved sharply to the left of the jump. I was crouched in as good a 2-point position as I could, ready to jump, but the sharp swerve
threw me hard to the left and I crashed to the ground, landing on my back/left side. It was
raining hard and yet I laid there, on the sand, for a good 15 minutes
before I could move any part of my
lower body. I was
twisted oddly and my trainer said that I had hit my head extremely hard (thank goodness for helmets) and she thought at first that was why I was
not moving. It took another 15 minutes to stand and then I couldn't stay standing for more than 2 minutes
without fainting.
Long story short (too late!) I somehow got myself home (I think I was a bit in shock) and have been in
tons of pain. I can hardly walk and even sitting is uncomfortable. But it
could have been worse. I have never fallen off a horse so I suppose it was high time that I did ;) My trainer assured me it was
nothing that I did wrong--my horse just got stubborn and refused to jump. I am actually more anxious to get
back on because I want to continue the great streak I was having until the fall. And I am not going to let it scare me.
All riders fall off occasionally and I am just hoping to now
count myself in with a more experienced crowd ;)
(note: neither picture is of me but I wanted to give some images to aid in my descriptions)
I love the old world charm and antiquity!
In this room there is great warmth that pervades. The dark wood paneled wall and great fireplace just begs for coziness!
The first of the grand beds. This room is filled with what looks to be antiques but the main piece of the room is definately the bed!
This room looks extremely cozy but you can tell it is of a different era than some of the other rooms. 
A more Oriental feel in this room and even a modern touch with the sleek four poster bed.
This bed, to me, is the crown jewel. I stared at this bed forever when I first saw it. The dark, intricately carved wood; the paneled canopy: ultimate luxury. This is a yes please (pretty please).
