Elias

Just got back from Värmland, where we went yesterday to visit one of Andreas' best friends - Maria - her husband and baby (Elias, above). We celebrated their recent marriage, Elias' 5 month birthday and their being able to move back in to the house (it was in need of some tlc and not ready for life with a baby before) and had a huge barbecue and sat outside long after midnight, it was so warm. A great party indeed!

Today Maria made me ever so happy by taking me (and two of the others) riding before we needed to go back to Göteborg. Friend's of theirs have Icelandic horses, and they live quite near, so at lunch time, off we went. As some of you may now, about this time of year last year I was riding in Iceland, and the one thing I didn't get to try there was the flying pace (the fifth gait that some of the Icelandic horses have, but not all). Today I rode a horse that could do it, and without knowing exactly how I managed to get her there, suddenly there we were, in flying pace, flying past Ellen on her horse who was in full gallop! I've ridden a bunch of horses in "piggy pace" before, and that's quite a bumpy experience, almost like a trot, but the pure, flying pace felt very similar to tölt - I felt like I was in a comfy chair, and Ellen was laughing afterwards over the fact that there she was going up and down in the gallop while I suddenly appeared from behind her, just zooming past, face at an even level all the way :) Needless to say... IT WAS AWESOME!

I hope you've all had great weekends too! (I know a few of you have been ill though, or just really, really tired, and I SO wish I could send you some of my energy after this wonderful day!)

Backblipped yesterday