$100 bill y'all

Today was the day I finally felt the unknown pleasure of having a $100 bill pressed into my hand at the end of a ride. But more on that later...

The nights are getting cooler now. I know this because I now sleep with the use of a sheet almost every night. Which is GREAT for the mosquito situation, as I don't lie awake waiting for the fuckers to pounce. They don't seem to go for much other than my legs, a bit discriminatory since my arms are just as lovely and full of juicy bits, I'd have thought...

We had just a few rides booked today, the first of which was mine. A 9am start, so it was a quick saddle job - well, as quick as we could, the mud still persists (although last night was the first we didn't have rainfall in a while) and the horses make sure they roll right in the middle of it before brushing time.

My 9am ride was actually an older couple from American (surprise surprise) who had been the farm a couple of days earlier to check it all out. I appreciate that (wish I had the tenacity to do it myself but really I go riding anywhere) and was glad they came back. Only for a one-hour beginners walking ride, though, as they had another younger lady with them that didn't seem to be related, just maybe a friend from their resort.

The ride wasn't that exciting, but they were nice people and told me about some good dude ranches in the States I could maybe work at. Actually, they explained what exactly a "dude ranch" was, because I didn't really understand the term. Turns out they're kinda like horse resorts, where people stay, eat and ride all in the one property. Sounds like just the kind of place A and I could work at - me on horseback, him in the kitchen. Don't worry, I've already worded him up.

My next ride was an American mother and daughter combo, with a heavier mum who I had to change a saddle for as the first one she didn't fit into. And these are western saddles we're dealing with here... so it's fair to say she wasn't going hungry anytime soon. She also had a particular aversion to going downhill so I had to restructure the 2-hour trail to include more uphill climbs and flat paths. Thankfully, we stopped to chat quite a few times so that burnt extra minutes.

Then came my sunset ride... 2 couples, also American, probably about my age and nice enuf. The weather was perfect so the fire was no problem this time, no wind or rain to contend with, and the only complaint I could find was the sunset was blocked a little by clouds. But they roasted all the marshmallows we gave them and felt tipsy before the end of 2 champagne bottles, so I guess they enjoyed their time.

At the end, one of the guys did the shifty handshake/tip-giving gesture with one note and I assumed it was a $20 or, if I was lucky, $50. Imagine that! No, no... I was way off... $100!! For a 2-hour ride for 4 people! Here I was hoping they enjoyed themselves! Maybe it was because I didn't alert them to the rat that scattered around the fire looking for leftover marshmallow, maybe they were drunk, maybe they felt sorry that I had to handle and step on mostly thorny, dry plants to make their fire or maybe they were just really generous people... but thank you, thank you, thank you!!