Summer is probably the longest season in Israel. Technically, it’s supposed to be fall right now, as we are nearing the end of September. The temperature during the day, however is 30 degrees Celsius. Usually, you can still wear summer clothes up until mid-November, so I am not expecting a change of wardrobe anytime soon.

The early mornings, however, which is when we ride, are delightfully pleasant. I aim to start our ride around 6:30am, and it’s great – we get to see the sun rising, the stables are super quite and we have the arena all to ourselves. Well, it’s us and the crows, mostly.

I started riding with the whip again a few months back. It seems that Talo needs it as a sign of serious work being done, and it did bring us back on track. Next week we have a riding lesson with a trainer from the Netherlands, who has trained us twice before. Since I don’t have a regular trainer anymore (long story), it would be nice to have a professional look at us and see how are we doing.

We’ve also been riding with a bareback pad from Barefoot lately, and it’s been great. I usually use it twice a week. It’s very comfortable and Talo seems to like it. It really helps improve the seat and it also gives me a natural-ride kind of vibe. I love it!

Other than that, things are pretty much routine. Winter will come, eventually, and with it – the green, green grass that Talo loves so much.