Month: December 2016

This post took me a lot longer to write than all of the other posts this week put together. I was all gung-ho to set these very specific, measurable, ambitious goals so that I can charge headlong into 2017. Then I sat there for a while and reflected on what my real challenges were in 2016… did the goals I had written down address that? Would they help drive me to fix the areas I really needed to work on?

Trainer said it quite well at our last XC school… I had gotten very frustrated at my inability to do something perfectly and started to just shut down mentally, and she took me aside for a lecture that was a combination of “suck it up buttercup” and “you can do this” where she called me Type A. For some reason that part stuck in my head and I kind of laughed at that on the drive home. I’ve never been accused of being a Type A personality ever in my life. Those people are super high strung workaholics that are mega organized and get anxious about everything, right?

Eh, turns out no, it’s not quite that simple. I started looking into it and while my general personality is only a little Type A, when it comes to riding, I’m about as severely Type A as they come. Super competitive, super intense, and never satisfied with anything. My biggest struggle this past year was letting go of my own mistakes and trying not to overanalyze or put too much pressure on myself. No one can ruin my own good time like I can. Therefore what’s my biggest problem? ME.

So with that revelation in mind, I scrapped almost all of my original goals and started again. 2017 is to be the year of “chill the hell out and have fun with it”. I’m not aiming for anything super ambitious, I’m not setting out an intricate show plan or worrying about qualifications or scores or points or any of that stuff. This year I’m fixing my brain (I am my own worst enemy) and working on having confidence in myself.

Complete at least 4 Training horse trials – schooling or recognized, whatever. I don’t care how I place or what our score ends up being (that’s a lie, I care a lot, but I’m trying to convince myself not to care) I just want to complete and put a deposit in the confidence bank.

Score under 35 in dressage at Training – it would be nice to get a respectable dressage score, even if I don’t finish on it.

Take at least one lesson a month – I’m hoping we’re back on track with this now, but it’s still worth writing down.

Attend another course/seminar related to the Young Event Horse program – I had so much geeked-out fun at Fair Hill, I really want to continue that education.

Get Baby Horse registered, inspected, and microchipped with RPSI – This is all fairly obvious stuff for a baby, but it’s a milestone, so here it is.

Get Baby Horse lifetime recorded with USEF – This is kind of a reminder to myself, because if you do the USEF lifetime recording the same year they’re born, it’s $35. If you wait til they’re 3 or older, it’s $200. He may or may not ever actually need to be USEF recorded, but for $35 let’s do it.

Chill the eff out, you psycho – ha, j/k. But really, dial it back like 12 notches in general.

 

Finish half marathon under 2:40 – I feel pretty confident that 2:40 is doable… I did it in 2:15ish in 2013, but I’m also definitely nowhere near as fit now as I was then (at the peak of my triathlon “career”). 2:30 would be the stretch goal, but I’d be satisfied with 2:40.

Keep running 3x a week – even after the half is over, I want to keep running just to keep my fitness level up. It’s helped a lot.

Work on my core strength – The rest of my lower half has gotten so much stronger from running, but my core is definitely still lacking. If I want my dressage to get better, I need to work on that.

Take a non-horse related vacation – Chicago in the summer, maybe?

 

Look at me, over here ready to chill out and relax in 2017…

but I’m gonna try not to do it like that.

 

 

P.S. If anyone has some Christmas money burning a hole in their pocket, Riding Warehouse has 20% off sitewide through the 2nd! Time to stock up on Henry’s favorite rock salt and some new clipper blades. Even the sale stuff is 20% off! Hope no one’s 2017 goals included “control my spending”…

Some of you may have noticed a lack of riding photos lately. Or an overabundance of really fuzzy, kinda far-away ones. Or a ton of “between the ears” shots.

Yeah well… that’s because I always ride alone. Literally in the past 2 months I’ve ridden in the same space with someone else a grand total of twice. In a lot of ways, that’s a great perk. There’s never anyone in my way, no one ever comes in and changes all my jumps around or messes with what I’ve set, and I rarely have to share the crossties with anyone. The fields are pretty much mine to do with as I please, since the only other people that use them are trail riders. And of course, when I royally screw up, there are no witnesses to my idiocy. All of those things are awesome.

The downsides are that there is never another rider around to bounce ideas off of, or anyone to put a rail back up for me. And trust me, there is a limit to how many times I will get on and off to put rails back up or raise/lower jumps (usually that limit is 1, because lazy). Those things aren’t too bad, but they do make for a lack of media. The only pictures you get are from the times where I set my phone on a barrel (or bungee it to a tree branch with a hair tie, which did actually happen) and point it at a certain spot. SIDE NOTE: now accepting donations for a Pixio or Soloshot…

It also means that there is much less of a social aspect to my barn time, and it’s more about me and my horse. For the most part, I really love that. No distractions, just pure Henny time.  We’ve had many a one-sided conversations. But… sometimes a girl wants someone to hack and have a chat with, ya know? Granted, a busy barn is NOT my thing, so I’ll choose solitude any day over that.

I suppose I can’t have it both ways, and that’s the (admittedly small) price I get to pay for all of the other perks. It does get a teeny bit lonely out there sometimes though. Until I remember that people like Bobby exist, and then I’m like “meh…alone is probably better”.

Last week things got a little exciting on the internet when a thread was posted on COTH about an individual’s personal experiences with a particular trainer. Threads like that aren’t too uncommon, but usually they’re vague and don’t name the trainer or give a lot of details about their supposed transgressions. This one, however, did just that, and provided a veritable laundry list of complaints and bad experiences. The poster even said she had evidence to back it up and had consulted an attorney.

I’d already seen the beginnings of this situation unfolding on facebook, since I’m friends with some of the other people involved. Knowing both the accuser and the accused (not well, but I’ve seen them both at shows), I didn’t find a lot of it too hard to believe. But of course I kind of gave it the ol’ “Well, it’s probably half true” eyeball, because that’s usually the case. Of course, even if only half of it was true, it was pretty mind-boggling.

What I thought was really interesting though, complaints and situation aside, was the initial knee-jerk public response to the thread. A lot of people blamed the poster for putting her horses in that situation, or for not getting them out sooner, or called her a pot-stirrer. At one point someone even posted personal information about the poster’s occupation, which has absolutely zero bearing on the matter at hand. Initially, it sure looked a lot like bullying and victim-blaming instead of people trying to get genuine clarification on the situation.

This isn’t the first time that’s happened, and won’t be the last. For some reason that seems to be the MO of the internet in general, which seems to make a lot of people hesitant to say anything. When it comes to a client calling out a professional, the automatic assumption is pretty much always that the client is wrong… yet usually if you just ask the right questions, it’s pretty easy to get the gist of what really happened and where the fault my lie. While I certainly think that it’s 100% correct to meet stories like this with healthy skepticism and to do your own research before you cast judgment, it makes you think… is this why more people don’t speak out against well-known professionals?

Because the more that the thread went on, the more people came out of the woodwork with stories about this trainer (both on COTH and on the poster’s personal facebook page). At one point it was just nuts to see how many people had similar experiences but had been reluctant to speak up publicly. And of course, that was the point at which the tide began to turn in the COTH thread and people started to support to the poster, rather than attack her or point the finger (and the point at which several of the rudest comments from the first few pages magically went *poof*).

It was so interesting to watch this unfold, from a social and psychological aspect. On one hand, when you go so far as to publicly call out a professional, you have to be prepared for a lot of questions and some criticism, and rightly so. On the other hand, there was some downright bullying behavior from people who suddenly changed their tune later. A few people still criticized though, saying that they didn’t think making such a public display of their grievances was helpful.

I absolutely do see the potential harm if someone is hurling false allegations, but I was really glad to see this poster be brave enough (and it’s sad that it DOES require bravery) to speak out and be unafraid to name names in the process. While I had already seen enough of the trainer’s methods at shows to never give her my business, this person’s experience plus the experiences of everyone else that subsequently came forward and shared similar stories really sealed the deal on staying as far away as possible. And now that all of it is out there for everyone to see and discuss, there’s no burying it. Will it actually have any impact on her business? Well… probably not really. I mean, people like Paul Valliere still do just fine (which is a whole ‘nother subject entirely – wtf, horse world?). But at least the information is out there now for anyone who may Google her name.

What are your thoughts on public “whistle blowing” like this against trainers and industry professionals? Do you think all of it should be kept behind closed doors, or do you think it’s important for the public to hear about these things? And, maybe more importantly – why do you think there tends to be such a mob mentality type of reaction with bullying and victim-shaming, rather than intelligent questions or concerns?

Finally – a long weekend! I really needed that, my brain was running on fumes. Plus since the weather was warm (for real, it was 80 and humid) it meant I was able to squeeze in lots of pony time.

On Thursday after work I went out and set all my jumps back up (damn wind) and raised a couple. I need 3’3″ to look small again before our Training debut, lest I canter up to the base of an oxer, pick 15 different spots, and then curl up into fetal position at the base. Not that I’ve ever done that before or anything.

I set everything 1m – 1.10m and set off to our little warmup flower boxes… and sucked. Rhythm was not happening, none of the jumps were coming up right, and I kept staring down at everything. After the 3rd Epic Butt Save in a row, Henry finally laid on the brakes at the next one and pinned his ears back at me like GET IT TOGETHER, WOMAN!! Sigh. Times when I really wish I had my trainer around. So I walked a lap, picked up the canter again, went over my mental checklist of How to Ride, and finally things started working out a lot better.

It still wasn’t exactly a great display of riding on my part, but at least I wasn’t chasing my horse to nothing and then abandoning him at the base. I managed to do the course without any major mistakes and decided to quit on that note. No use torturing my saintly pony.

The next day I decided to give both of us a little bit of a mental break and pulled out our fancy custom neck rope from Reins for Rescues.

It was a dreary foggy day, but we set off through the fields on a bareback and bridleless adventure. I love having a horse that can be jumping 1.10m one day and then hacking bridleless through the field the next day. We meandered around all 120 acres for a while, I let him pause to graze for a bit, and then we called it a day.

The next day it was back to the dressage work, which he was a little tense about. He also didn’t meet me at the gate that day either, which he always does. He just glared at me as I walked out to get him, like “oh Christ, it’s her again”. I swear he was still mad about my shitty riding on Thursday.

He got Christmas off, and I shoved him full of all kinds of treats. That seemed to do the trick, because yesterday he once again met me at the gate, ears pricked.

I did another dressage ride, with a really long walk around the pastures first. By the time I picked up my reins and went to work he was really super. And for the first time ever, I actually succeeded in getting him to do a real canter-walk transition. Like… with no trot steps and not on the forehand and dragging me! MIRACLES. As soon as he did that I immediately stopped, loosened my girth a hole, unbuckled his flash, and was done.

It was a fun long weekend with Henny, and lots of variety. So fun, having a horse like this. We never get bored.

This is my 3rd year participating in the Blogger Gift Exchange, and the 3rd time I’ll say this: I always feel really sorry for whoever gets me. I know I’m really difficult to shop for and I can never think of any good hints. Yet, for the 3rd year in a row, my Secret Santa (this time it was Kaity at Leo the Saddlebred) managed to hit it out of the park.

I’ve mentioned here before that I seem to collect hats. That didn’t start on purpose, but now I always try to nab a ballcap with my favorite brands or shops on them whenever I can. Kaity took it one step further and had one embroidered with Henry’s hashtag: #hennythingispossible. And in our XC colors, no less!

She also included tons of treats for Henry, some chocolate, and some cute socks. Many thanks, Kaity! Henry has already eaten 75% of the treats… all the peppermints went into his usual Christmas Day bran mash:

 

Aside from all the treats and his mash, I also got Henry a new Ogilvy baby pad for Christmas (boy is he thrilled… I feel like saddle pads are the equine equivalent of a human getting socks) and our Lund anatomic girth arrived around the same time so I’m pretending that was a present for him too. Shhh… don’t tell him.

As for myself, it was a very adulting kind of Christmas. From the SO I asked for a cover for my horse trailer (for the long wet months, since the sides are open) and a clothes steamer. Yeah I know, a clothes steamer… am I 50? Whatever, it’s a little handheld miracle machine when you’re a super wrinkled type of person who also hates ironing.

The SO also dragged me to the mall with him on the 23rd to pick up a few last minute gifts that he needed (he’s one of those people) and when we walked into the Gift World store, I locked eyes with this beauty and had to take it home.

Merry Christmas to me! SO is not thrilled about the new addition to our dining room. Meh… shouldn’t make me go to the mall two days before Christmas. I love my ridiculous unicorn salt and pepper shakers, especially considering the living room is filled with his fancy horror movie posters. Now our house just looks super confused. Plus I picked up a tiny little laughing Buddha that is now sitting on the mantle. That store is amazing.

I also got a couple of fun surprise gifts from friends and family, including but not limited to:

Remember these custom Tucci Marilyn’s that I’ve been lusting after for months? Guess who’s finally getting measured so they can be ordered??? I AM SO EXCITED. Especially because my show boots have giant holes in them. My friends are the best ever.

And, some of you may recall that time I asked for a wheelbarrow full of money. My dad is a smartass… a very very clever smartass. He made (yes, made) me exactly that:

If that’s not impressive, I dunno what is. Dad Humor: level Pro.

Overall our Christmas was pretty quiet… we had Indian food for lunch (my most favorite tradition), took the dogs to the barn to run around, hung out with my dad for a little bit, and then capped it off with the Doctor Who Christmas Special. My kind of holiday.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! Did you get or do anything fun?

But he still wants to say:

“Merry Christmas, everyone! 💚 Henny” 

(I had to type it for him since hooves and keyboards don’t mix)

This is your official reminder about the Willow Tree Warmbloods logo contest! You have until January 2nd to submit your entries and we’ve only gotten a handful so far. I also have a couple of notes to add:

There have been additions to the winner’s prize pack! Aside from the custom painting, Lund figure 8 bridle and reins, custom ornament from Hamer & Clay, saddle pad or jacket featuring the logo, Leistner brush, and a free download of the All Ears app, you will also get a super cute Ogilvy baby pad with the Hamer & Clay logo. Only a few of these exist and they are not for sale!

We’ll also be offering Riding Warehouse gift cards to the top 2 runners-up.

One other thing: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read the rules on the original contest post thoroughly before you submit your logos. We’ve gotten a few that say “Willow Tree Farm” instead of “Willow Tree Warmbloods” in particular. Unfortunately that means they’re automatically unusable, which makes me sad. Please don’t make me sad.

It seems like everyone else in the world is off work and/or traveling for the holidays right now, but since this is our super busy time of year, I’m stuck working. This makes me extra grumpy. Thus I’m posting about a few things that are making me happy right now (in general) lest someone near me get stabbed.

Electro-acupuncture

I marveled on here already about the magical voodoo that was Henry’s first appointment. He had his second appointment two weeks later, a few days after our XC school. He was still a little bit out in all the same places, and still a bit sore in the SI, more so on the right. Overall though, he was considerably better than the first appointment. There was a noticeable increase in the range of motion of his right hind, and he was generally less sore all over.

This time she bumped up the needle size a little bit, but basically hit all the same spots. When she hooked up the electricity I noticed that Henry seemed to, um… like it. He isn’t a horse that drops very much (his junk is his business, he says, and if you try to touch it he will kick your face off) but I looked up to see him completely dropped and slapping away at his stomach. NEVER seen him do that before, ever, not even remotely close. The vet just said “Oh yeah, I get that a lot.”. That’s awkward, Henry. I guess he really likes being poked and electrocuted? Then she started probing in his butt crack for some ligament and his good time was quickly ruined. That was one step too far, I guess.

The acupuncture continues to make him feel great though, so we’re keeping on a regular schedule.

HUG blankets

This horse has worn 5 different brands of blankets in the 3 years I’ve owned him. Aside from the fact that he’s excellent at ruining his clothes, every single one of them gave him rubs on his shoulders. I tried lots of different cuts and never had luck with any of them – even WITH a shoulder guard. Since he shredded his blankets last year, I decided to go for a new approach this year and bought him a HUG sheet and blanket. So far, so good; nary even a broken hair to be found on his shoulders even though he’s been wearing them a lot lately. I don’t typically review things like blankets, so this is probably the extent of what you’ll see from me on this subject, but I definitely recommend these if you have a delicate flower.

Thumbholes

Ok, this could more specifically be called “The New Riding Warehouse swag”, but it’s the thumbholes on the half zip that are making me happiest at the moment. I’m pretty sure I owned every piece of clothing from the first collection of RW branded stuff – it’s all super reasonably priced, but good basic items of apparel that has their logo on it in a tasteful way. When they released some new RW branded items this fall I was quick to snatch up a few more things, because I’m not sure if you’ve noticed from the amount of whining we’ve done, but Texas has had some seriously intense (but thankfully fairly short-lived) cold snaps. I’ve been layering like a mofo.

Cheap layering pieces that have the embroidered logo of one of my favorite tack shops? That’s not a hard sell for me. I’ve basically been living in the softshell vest and/or half zip pullover (because THUMBHOLES!) for the last couple weeks, and they’re fantastic for this roller coaster weather.

Which… it was 70 degrees yesterday, and that went a long way on improving my mood. Too bad it’s supposed to rain all weekend.

I’ve slowly come to the realization over the last 6 months that my horse is finally not green anymore. He’s legit “broke”. Like… more broke than I am educated. This is a first for me.

I’ve always had green horses. Forever and ever and ever, green horse after green horse after green horse. My education has always exceeded theirs, and it never really got to the point where I felt like I was sitting on an animal that knew more about it’s job than I did; I sold them and moved on to the next project before it got to that point. Even as a kid, I grew up at a barn where I rode whatever I was told to ride, and usually those were green or sometimes semi-rank horses.

like – “first person to throw a leg over it” kind of green

My first horse was, uh, not exactly rideable (I got run away with A LOT) so while he was experienced o/f, he wasn’t a horse that taught you how to be a good rider. Mostly I just tried not to die. Every once in a while I would luck into getting to hack one of the fancy jumpers in the barn, and there was the summer I got to ride and show the semi-retired one (and ate dirt), but I never had a really well educated horse and therefore I never really got a super intense, intricate education. Every horse I had after the first one was very very green, either off the track or not started at all. I come from the school of Get ‘er Done.

My very first dressage ride back on Henry after his rehab I came to the very obvious conclusion that he’s not only caught up to me, he’s surpassed me. The trainer rides he’s had this year put more polish onto the education I’ve given him, and he learned things from her that I have yet to replicate. For me this is completely uncharted territory.

At happy hour last week with my horse friends I started telling them about this, and what a strange thing it is for me. This is a place I haven’t really been in before. I’m really good at making a green horse quiet, I can deal with all kinds of idiotic behavior, and I think I’m pretty good at giving them confidence and making them rideable and putting on the basics of flatwork and jumping, but when it comes to the real minutia, the things that take lots of finesse and separate the “sufficient” from the “good”… I’m lacking. Like Karen touched on in her post yesterday (a product of this exact happy hour conversation), the ride has evolved from being mostly reactive to being solidly proactive. I used to have to swing a leg over and see what kind of horse I had that day, usually spending most of the ride getting him to relax and come into the contact. Now I can just get on and go to work, and as long as I ride him well, we can have a good ride pretty much every time. If we’re going to get better from this point, it’s on me.

The good news is, it’s made me a lot more aware. More aware of exactly where my body is and exactly what I’m doing. If one thing isn’t working, I try changing little things until I get what I want. I often catch myself sitting a little too far to the outside, or being a little too restrictive with my inside rein, or blocking him with my seat bone, or whatever other stupid tiny thing is making a big difference in my horse. Mostly it’s a game of always asking for more – more bend, more balance, more angle, more lengthening, more power, faster responses. Better with my hands, better with my body, better with my seat. Every single step has become very deliberate for me, and if I want to ride the horse to his potential, I really do have to ride every single step. At this point the horse pretty much knows all this crap, it’s just a matter of me being able to a) get it b) develop it further. Sometimes I miss the days where trotting around quietly on a loose rein or picking up the correct canter lead were our main priorities. (not really)

I brought this up to trainer last weekend too, and I thought she put it really well – “You’ve done a great job of making him really rideable, now you just have to learn how to ride him.”. This is the part I’ve really never really gotten to before. Not having a green horse anymore – it’s a little daunting. But on the other hand, this is kind of a really fun point. This is the point where I actually get to work on myself as a rider and start learning all that minutia that I’ve missed out on for so long, and my horse gets to help me. We’re flip-flopping our roles in this relationship.

I’m finally starting to really understand the phrase “Good horses make good riders”. As trainer pointed out – I’ve got my good horse… now I just have to learn how to ride him.

No biggie?

I think it’s close enough to the end of the year where we can officially call it. Pretty sure we can all agree that we’re ready for this dumpster fire of a year to be over anyway, right? Let’s usher it on out by taking a look at how Henry and I did with our 2016 goals.

Qualify for a Novice 3-Day – We did it in our first recognized show of the year at Holly Hill!

Compete in a N3D  – It took a lot of budgeting, but we made it to Flagstaff, AZ to run the Novice 3 Day at Coconino. Cross Country day was the most fun I’ve ever had on a horse in my life. 100% worth it.

Place at N3D – This one we did not do, and it’s no one’s fault but my own. A couple of small mistakes (one in dressage and one in stadium) cost me a ribbon here. Henry was super though, so although I was super disappointed in myself, I had to let it go.

Move up to Training – This one isn’t so clear cut. Henry ran two Trainings with my trainer (placing 1st at one and 4th at the other, with double clear XC at both because Henny), and I did a Training derby (we won our first TIP award!) and Combined Test with him. We signed up for a recognized Training in the fall but ended up having to scratch due to a minor injury. Now we’re slated to run our first Training HT together in January. Maybe 3/4 credit on this one?

Make an actual 15m circle – Not that my 15m circles are perfect by any means, but what was a major struggle a year ago is nbd now. Proper bend is amazing.

Go to at least one dressage-only show – Yeaaaaaaah no, sorry DQ’s. Technically I did try this, I sent an entry in to a dressage only show that said they’d let you do USEA tests, but then the organizer called me and said they in fact weren’t offering that anymore. I don’t have room in my brain for more tests, so no.

Keep Henry happy and healthy – Despite my best efforts, he kicked a fence in turnout and had a teeny tiny fracture that relegated him to aquatherapy for six weeks and caused us to miss the whole fall season. Really he’s been quite spoiled this year, between rehab and acupuncture and chiro and massage… I’ve spent a fortune trying to keep him happy and healthy. Go figure that he takes himself out by kicking a damn fence. This one was out of my hands.

Get a 4-legged bun in the oven – Due March 17, 2017!

Get the trailer 100% road-worthy –  After some new tires, new walls, new pads, some roof work, and a paint job, Betty White was my leading lady this year for sure. I can’t even imagine life without a trailer anymore. I’d be screwed.

Success Rate: 64%. Ouch.

 

Be more fit – I actually did this for once! I’m running regularly now and have a half marathon planned for January.

Be better about budgeting  – I mean… I’m not destitute yet, so? For real though, I’ve made progress this year, despite some huge expenses (ahem new saddle). I managed to make the two week trip to Coconino work, Henry got to spend some time at the spa, and I didn’t go into debt over it. I think I’m getting a little better at balancing all of this and figuring out how to make my plans fit into my budget.

Buy a truck – My car died right around New Years, so I finally got my upgrade. She’s not fancy by any means, but she is a super important piece of my puzzle and I love her to bits.

Do a little better about balancing horse stuff with real life – I think I was better at this than normal. Probably because Henry was out for most of the fall and I had no other choice. Whatever, still counting it. I will say, at some point I should probably take a “vacation” that isn’t horse related. My only trips this year were Flagstaff for shows, Philly for AETA, and Maryland for the Fair Hill YEH Championships. Which… to me all of that sounds amazing but I suppose at some point there should be non-horse vacation? Like… with the SO? Meh.

Get another tattoo – My dad and I got tattoos together, because we’re cool like that.

Live boldly –  I feel like, for the most part, I went out and did the things I wanted to do, even if I was intimidated by it or if it seemed impossible, so I’m giving myself the green here. As far as the blog goes, I’m still over here trying my best to keep it open and honest and real. That will hopefully never change.

Success Rate: 100%. Obviously I didn’t aim high enough.

Even though our fall season didn’t go as planned, we still did a lot this year. Ok, maybe not in the way of recognized shows (we only did TWO!) but we did everything from indoor eventing to a jumper show to a long-ass road trip. More importantly, we learned a lot. Training looked borderline deadly at the beginning of the year, and now it looks totally do-able. Henry is a lot more well-trained and our partnership has only gotten stronger. More importantly, I think we both had a lot of fun. It might have had it’s ups and downs, but overall I think it was a pretty good year for us.

Thanks to all the people and companies that have supported us, followed along, and provided encouragement… you are more valuable to us than you know. On to 2017!