Month: July 2016

If you’re on facebook, you’ve probably seen a little bit about Seaver and their new smart girth and girth sleeve. It was a project featured on Kickstarter (it ended a few days ago so if you didn’t get in on that, you’ll have to wait until full production/availability sometime next year) that quickly surpassed it’s original production goal. It’s really fancy and does all kinds of cool stuff, but short version: it’s a girth that takes metrics about your horse’s performance and sends it to an app so you can analyze it. It should surprise exactly no one that a) I backed their project b) I’m ridiculously excited about this.

Seaver isn’t the first wearable to hit the market – some of you may remember or have contributed to the Equisense/Balios Kickstarter. Their’s is a fairly small plastic sensor that attaches to the girth via a special strap. Similar concept that provides similar data. I wanted to back their Kickstarter but just never committed, since I really wanted heart rate and respiratory rate data too. I figured I’d wait for it to hit the market and see what the reviews were like, then consider it.

Then the Seaver campaign started, and I was drawn to the idea of an all-in-one piece plus the heart rate/respiratory rate data. So of course I caved and backed the Kickstarter while everything was still 50% off. All of the information about Seaver, the products, and the technology is still up on the Kickstarter page, for those who are interested in learning more. At the very least you should watch the first few minutes of the promo video, just because it’s cool:

 

Pretty incredible all the information that this thing can give you.  Like the Balios, not only can you analyze your rides and track fitness, you could also potentially spot soreness or unevenness before it becomes apparent to the eye. The technology is cool, for sure, but the potential benefits of the data are even further-reaching. Here are just a few of the things it can do:

Since Seaver reached not only their original goal but also their stretch goal on Kickstarter (yaaaaay), they’ll now also be including a way to measure your horse’s stress level, too. How, I don’t really know. French magic? We’ll see.

Given how much just a decent heart rate monitor can cost, the prices on the girth sleeve (between $123 and $200, depending on when you backed) and the girth (between $270 and $370) were pretty reasonable in the Kickstarter. It’ll be interesting to see what the final retail will be, but I’m encouraged by those prices, all things considered. Pretty darn fancy gadget for that price. Hopefully it works.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BF1NxZxouy1/?taken-by=seaverhorse

 

Did anyone else contribute to Seaver’s (or Equisense’s) Kickstarter campaign? Surely I’m not the only data loving nerd that is really interested to see how it works and what all it does. I can’t wait to start playing with it, and see how they do sales-wise when they come onto the regular market. I hope it does all the things they say it will… it could potentially be a really useful tool for me and Henry!

We haven’t been doing much since we got back from Arizona, which is totally by design. I feel like we worked really damn hard for many months leading up to it, then Henry spent a lot of time in a trailer, then showing on hard ground, and he deserves a little bit of a mental and physical break. Honestly, I want one too. I’m not ready for another damn trot set yet.

I’ve “ridden” him three times in the 10 days that we’ve been back – two bareback road hacks, and one half road hack/half canter around the arena and jump 3 tiny fences. Which I really only did because I wanted to more thoroughly try out the fancy breeches a friend bought me as a gift (more on those at some point). Henry spent most of that ride pretending to buck while I tried my hardest not to laugh. Bucking… not Henry’s forte, but I’m glad he’s feeling good.

It’s also just really hot and humid here, and the ground is officially so cracked that riding outside of the ring isn’t safe. And you know how Henry and I both feel about riding in the ring all the time?

During his little mini-break I’ve tried to leave him alone as much as possible. He doesn’t really like being fussed over and pampered, so he’s been enjoying a lot of MeHenny time. Except for that one bath where he just looked tortured and sad from start to finish. Meanwhile I’ve been doing those adulting things that I pretty much suck at doing on a regular basis, like laundry and errands and making food and hanging out with non-horse people. Ok, I still haven’t done those very well either, but better than usual counts right? And we’ve caught up on some Netflix, finishing Stranger Things (anyone else having some trippy dreams after watching that?) and the last season of OITNB (which I probably need some therapy for).

We’ll start getting back to regular rides this weekend, slowly amping back up to a heavier workload. Hopefully this little reprieve is what we both need to feel ready to come out swinging for the fall season, because I have a lot of work to do before our Training debut in October…

If you follow me on Instagram you already know a little bit about this, but I have a Devoucoux Loreak (henceforth known as The Unicorn) coming to me on trial. Yeah, I know, just a few days ago I said it probably wouldn’t happen until winter, but let me explain.

Last week, the SO and I were driving to dinner and I was rambling on about our adventures in Arizona. I mentioned the saddle frustration… how much I loved Trainer’s saddle, was hoping I could make something cheaper work, yet failed at that and now was really sad about it. He chastised me for not buying the best saddle in the first place (he’s very much That Guy, he prefers to buy perfection right off the bat). I totally agree with his theory, but when perfection is like double your budget and you own a horse (aka 4-legged money burner), reality is harsh.

He asked me how much they were, and I told him the new price (mind boggling) and the used price (less mind boggling). He said “that doesn’t really seem that bad”. Thank goodness for an SO that comes from the world of road cycling, where a fancy bike can easily be 10k. I told him it was a fair price for such a nice saddle, it’s just not a realistic figure for me right now. I had to sell the current one first, save up for a few months, hope I found the right saddle at the right time, etc etc. Then he said “Well, I can always buy it if you find one you like.”.

Stop. Back up. Wha-what? Did you just tell a horse person that you would buy The Unicorn saddle? My one and only? My Eleanor? I must be dreaming. Am I dreaming? Or just dead. Is this heaven? No wait, can’t be heaven if I’m there…

I may or may not have geeked the hell out, professed undying love and devotion, promised him I would pay him back (because that seems like too much money to just TAKE), and then immediately texted my trainer to let her know to be on the lookout for one like hers. She in turn contacted the Devoucoux rep she always works with (thanks Sam!), who happened to have a buffalo Loreak just like that in my budget, and boom. It was literally a matter of hours.

The Unicorn is on it’s way to me as we speak. I have a trial period, but the panel specs are right on so I’m hoping it works. My only hesitation is that it’s a 17.5 and I might need an 18, so we’ll see. I’m trying not to get beyond ridiculously excited, but still…

I must have racked up a crapton of karma points somewhere along the way.

This is it, you’ve made it to the end of the Coconino posts! Congratulations, and I’m sorry for all the rambling.

I really had to do this post for me… I feel like Coconino was meant to be a learning experience. I walked away knowing a lot more about myself, good and bad, and with a greater understanding of why I do this. Some of it was a little hard to swallow, but maybe that makes it even more important to remember.

It’s ok to make mistakes. This could also be “it’s supposed to be fun” or “you can’t win ’em all”, and man do I struggle with this when I’m in the heat of the moment. I absolutely hate how it feels to dismount and know that I haven’t done my part. That’s difficult for me to work through mentally, and I tend to stew on it and let it fester. But this is not a sport where perfection is possible, and it’s not supposed to be. There will always be something I could have done better, and because I am but a mere mortal, sometimes I will make completely moronic mistakes. Everyone does, that’s part of it. I have to get better at forgiving myself, letting it go, and remembering that this is FUN, otherwise I’ll burn myself out. And while, no, I didn’t walk away from the N3D with the placing I wanted, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had at a show in my entire life… because it WAS.

My horse is a badass. Ok, I already knew this, but, for real though, have y’all met this creature? Henry continues to impress me at every single show with how brave he is and how much he loves cross country. He just keeps getting better and better, and he’s so incredibly confident in himself. Week 1 was by far the hardest course he’s seen and it was pretty much a piece of cake. He is legitimately knocking on the door of Prelim (uh, with Trainer obviously, not with me) and I’m just awed by him. How did I get this lucky?

Summer camp will never stop being awesome. This trip was like the best adult version of summer camp ever. We basically spent two weeks camping in the woods with our horses… which, now that I think about it, makes it better than any summer camp I ever went to as a kid. The only thing missing was the campfire and s’mores, but we had wine, so fair trade? I made several new friends, had a great time getting away from the real world for a while, and got to play with my pony for 13 days straight. That needs to happen every year because it was therapeutic beyond belief.

The Classic 3 Day format is an art. While I had a good idea of what the long format was all about before we got there, reading about it and actually doing it are totally different things. Spending more time on my horse on XC day, gauging how he felt during Roads and Tracks, and feeling how bold and forward the steeplechase made both of us… it was phenomenal. I do completely understand why the long format went away in the first place, but man, I wish there were more of these Classic events. I would choose them over the regular format in a heartbeat. Steeplechase was a huge lightbulb moment.

I need a new dressage saddle. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to do a difficult job when you don’t have the right tools. I really didn’t realize just how much better Trainer’s saddle was until I rode in it twice and then went back to mine. The right saddle makes everything feel so much easier. Shoulda just bought a Loreak in the first place. But, I do have some news on that front…

Oh, show jumping. Considering I came from h/j land, you’d think I’d be better at it.

At our past few recognized events I’ve managed to royally mess up stadium somehow. Not at schooling jumper shows, those all seem to go just fine. Not at derbies, those have gone fine too. Usually not when the jumps are bigger, since I have to ride better at those. But slap a USEA label on it, put me in a ring full of Novice sized fences, and watch the little monkey dance! For real though, what is my deal?

I seem to have a problem applying a plan. I go in the ring, my mind goes blank, and I fumble around like a total moron. So at this show I was EXTRA DETERMINED to listen to the plan, learn the plan, and execute the plan!

Surely you can see where this is going.

But before we could get to all that planning, first we had to pass the final jog. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more anxious at a show before, with the vet and Ground Jury examining my horse and watching him trot. The ground was really hard at Coconino, most of the Roads and Tracks was literally on the road, and the XC course had rocky patches that were just unavoidable. Even with icing, poultice, and hoof pack, paranoid doesn’t even begin to cover it. I was definitely feeling glad that we’d done a lot of conditioning on hard ground.

Luckily they declared mine “ACCEPTED!” really quickly, so we made it past that hurdle. Accepted is my new favorite word in the entire world.

After the jog we hurried over to walk stadium, and I spent the rest of the morning going over and over the course in my head, replaying Trainer’s words. Keep the shoulder up here, a slight counterflexion here, turn exactly here, keeping coming forward here, etc etc. I had that shit down pat.

SURELY you can see where this is going.

I got on for warmup and Henry felt great. Still very forward, not at all tired from the day before, and all the distances were coming up perfectly. Everything felt great. I walked up to the arena, thought the jumps looked TEENY TINY, and started feeling really confident.

SURELY YOU CAN SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING.

We went in, picked up a good canter, and jumped 1 and 2 just fine. I actually stuck to the plan, and it worked! Go freaking figure. Then as we were coming around to 3 I clearly heard Trainer’s words in my head “make sure you go a stride past where you think you should turn, the angle is deceiving!”. So I made very sure to wait before I turned. Except I waited 2 strides instead of 1, and when I turned I found myself lined up perfectly with the standard. Henry was super confused about where the hell I was trying to go, and I tried my best to get him back toward the middle, then basically laid on his neck (because I dunno, that always helps?) while he struggled to put in one last teeny tiny stride, which forced him to pop straight up in the air over the oxer, taking down the back rail on the way down. Bless him for even trying. Many cookies for that poor horse, he is long-suffering. Someone call PETA.

There are no words. I wish I could tell you that our 3 Day experience ended in triumph and victory and accolades, but nope.  Unfortunately those 4 faults dropped us down out of ribbons, which was really disappointing, but you just can’t get away with mistakes in a really competitive division like that. Luckily our team still won (woot, Anchor Equestrian!) plus USEA is kind enough to provide pretty cool little 3 Day completion ribbons, therefore we didn’t walk away totally empty handed.

So uh… yay for not falling off?

One more Coco post tomorrow, and then we’re officially done talking about it. I promise.