Month: December 2019

Emily over at May as Well Event (have you seen her cute little palomino mare? She’s one of my favorite blogger horses.) came up with a really great idea for an end-of-the-decade 2010’s photo challenge. The rule is that you have to pick one photo, and only one photo, for each year of the 2010’s. Which is… way harder than it seemed like it would be. Thank goodness I’ve had facebook forever so that I could at least tell which year was which. Things really start to blur together over time. But then it got really hard narrowing it down to just one. I found myself picking more “pivotal moments” photos rather than the best or prettiest.

 2010

I owned Sadie in 2010 but she was just a 3yo, so while I hacked and trail rode her a few days a week, most of my “real” riding was on catchrides. It was also still back in my h/j days. This was Otis, a Holsteiner gelding that I hadn’t ridden until the day before the horse show. We did the adult hunters at that show, and I still vividly remember paying that bill (which, coincidentally, is the day I realized I would never really be able to compete at the level I wanted to in that sport, even though I’d keep trying for a couple more years).

2011

In 2011 Sadie turned 4 and went to her first couple horse shows in the hunters, mostly with my trainer at the time. However, I also started leasing an Oldenburg gelding from a friend. I brought him back from a ligament injury and started showing him in the jumpers, which was a real aha moment for me. I hadn’t done the jumpers in many years, and now I remembered just how much I really loved it. Suddenly I really didn’t want to do the hunters at all anymore, despite having a homebred that was specifically created for the hunter ring. Oops.

2012

Luckily Sadie, now a 5yo, was totally down for a career change and humored me without complaint.

2013

Between 2012 and 2013 the shit really hit the fan in my personal life, so I made arrangements to lease Sadie out for a year to get myself back on track. The person I leased her to turned out to be Michelle of Willow Tree Warmbloods, which of course was the beginning of something epic even if we didn’t know it at the time. Granted, I only managed to make it about 6 months without a horse before I had a mental breakdown, and Sadie was now pregnant, so naturally I impulse-purchased Henry on facebook. At the time I reasoned that he’d be a resale project to keep me occupied until Sadie’s foal was weaned and she was ready to come home.

2014

Henry and I started the year in the jumper ring, dabbled in a couple hunter classes, and by the end of the year, through a series of very serendipitous events, somehow found ourselves at Henry’s first horse trial. I hadn’t evented since 2003, but as soon as I left the start box I was hooked all over again. Henry also seemed to really love it, although he was a little bit spooky about XC at first and had a definite aversion to down banks.

2015

We came out swinging as eventers in 2015, and I set the goal of qualifying for AEC’s since it was the last year for it to be held in Texas. We showed a lot with Bobby and got our BN AEC qualifications secured by May, then moved up to Novice in June. We moved back down for AEC, placed 10th individually (Bobby won!), and our team won the Adult Team Championships. After AEC we moved back up to N and now I was definitely mega-hooked. It was also becoming really clear that my “sale horse” was definitely… not.

2016

Our big goal in 2016 was the Novice 3 Day at Coconino. We secured all of our qualifications throughout the spring, and then in July we were off to experience our first classic format. Roads and tracks still stands out as some of the most fun I’ve ever had on a horse, and it was also when things really started to click for us on cross country. I came back from that trip feeling like Henry really understood what the game was all about, and I was finally figuring out how to really ride it.

2017

This stands out as one of the best and also one of the worst years I’ve ever had with horses. Presto was born, and we all know what happened after that. I’m still not okay and probably never will be. But he pulled through, time and time again, and I put in my first season at Training level with Henry, something I had honestly never thought we’d get to. The jumps were starting to shrink, and our confidence was starting to grow.

2018

Things started really coming together for Henry and me in 2018. The XC was now the easiest phase, and the dressage was slowly but surely improving. Now the bugaboo was stadium… ha, go figure. By the end of the season we managed to pull it together and finish on our dressage score a few times at Training, finally getting some good placings at the level at recognized shows. We decided to keep riding that wave and in December we did our first Preliminary, where I crossed the finish line and bawled like a baby. I’ll never in my life forget how that felt.

2019

This year we did three more Prelims. Each time felt a little surreal, since I never actually imagined we’d ever get to that level. That was certainly never the goal at any point, it just… happened. Henry proved his heart and his love for the game by turning in a clear XC round at each one, even at Coconino which was definitely the toughest XC we’ve ever faced, with questions the likes of which he’d never seen before. He gave me the round of my life that day, eating it up like he was having the grandest time. It’s one of the highlights of my life, much less my year. To have brought this horse up the levels, and to see how hard he tries for me… that’s the part that makes it so extraordinary for me.

It’s been a crazy decade. If you’d told me in 2010 that I’d be eventing at Preliminary by 2019, have an eventing-bred son of Sadie in my barn, and be absolutely head over heels in love with both horses, I would have thought you were definitely off your meds. It’s interesting, the places life takes us. Goes to show that sometimes fate has better plans in store for us than we could ever have come up with on our own.

As you guys probably know by now, I love to travel. Ok, specifically I love to travel to do horsey things. Our Europe trips are actual dreams come true, and it seems like with every trip we get a little more crafty at how to cram as much stuff in as possible.

But, while Europe is my favorite, there’s definitely plenty to do stateside as well. I could travel from event to event and farm to farm pretty much all year long and stay busy and happy, I’m pretty sure (hey lottery, wanna help me test that theory?). But, ya know… money. And real life. I have to prioritize one or two things a year and balance that with horse shows and vet bills and all that other stuff too. Therefore I usually start plotting any trips pretty far in advance. This year we hit the FEH/YEH Symposium in Ocala over the winter, and then Burghley/France late in the summer. It was an expensive year for me otherwise, so while I had originally hoped to also hit either Kentucky in the spring or Fair Hill in the fall, it just didn’t happen.

Looking ahead to 2020, there are a few events on my radar. I’m guessing I will probably have to pick 2, but I haven’t completely decided which ones yet…

First and foremost, I definitely want to get to Morven Park in the fall for the first ever 6yo 2* and 7yo 3* to be held on American soil. I think this is huge, and I want to be there and support it however I can. Morven will be priority #1.

I am watching with rapt attention to see how Equitana’s line-up starts to shake out. It’s a trade fair, it’s an exhibition, there’s shopping, there’s education… I mean, it’s got my name written all over it. I’m just waiting to see more about who all is going to be there for the clinics before I commit. The tickets are cheap but the travel part never is, so I want to make sure the trip seems worthwhile.

On a more far-reaching, international note, I think my next “pie in the sky” Europe trip goal is Millstreet in Ireland. I don’t know if that’ll be possible in 2020, but if not, hopefully 2021. I’ve been itching to get to Ireland, and Millstreet has a lot to offer in one show – young horse classes for 4 and 5yo, a 6yo 2*, ERM series 4*-S, a 4*-L, a pony division of the 2*, and of course… a trade fair. Plus there are a lot of stallions/offspring I’d like to see in Ireland (ahem, Tullabeg Fusion) and it would be cool to fit in a 3 or 4 day riding adventure too while we’re there. Gotta get the most of out one trip! This of course would be the most expensive one though, so… not sure whether or not I’ll be able to swing it with everything else going on in my life next year.

If Equitana and Millstreet both end up being a no-go, then that opens up the possibility of Kentucky or Fair Hill 5*… those are always back burner options that I would love to get to, but aren’t as high up on the priority list.

Anyone else started planning their 2020 events and travel yet? What’s on your radar?

On a note related entirely to the title but not at all to the actual content of this post, back in the day I used to ride a TB mare named Jezebel who’s sire was, no joke, Mr. Sparkles (he was Deputy Minister x Buckpasser, what I wouldn’t do to get my hands on another by him now!) and I really did NOT appreciate that name enough at the time.

Anyway.

Presto’s Christmas present (the one from his horse mom) arrived this week, and boy are they delightfully sparkly. Navy glitter does not disappoint. They’ve almost got a galaxy-esque look to them.

They’re from Punk Ponies in New Zealand, and considering how freaking far they had to travel, they arrived pretty quickly, just a little over a week from order to arrival. Their size chart said the boots run small and they definitely were not kidding, I ordered the Extra Full and they fit. Presto is built more like a TB than a WB and typically wears horse sized things. When I took them out of the bag I was a little worried the elastic might not reach around his cannon, especially given how hairy his legs are right now, but it does. Albeit not with any room to spare. If you have a particularly large and big-boned horse, I don’t think you’ll have much luck getting these to fit.

The quality is decent, not like Prestige or Veredus level when it comes to plush sheepskin open front boots, but then again these were only $66 USD for a full set – extremely cheap for boots – so that’s not what I was expecting. The lining of course is fleece, and I’d say they’re more comparable to the LeMieux fleece boots that I’ve seen, which seems more than reasonable to me given the price point. We’ll see how they hold up. Given that they’re…. glitter…  it’s not really something I’d use on a daily basis, more for “special occasions”.

The main draw of these, after all, is how they look. Let’s be real, you’re not buying them because you want the best or most practical boot on the market, you’re buying these because you want some damn glitter in your life (or holo, or patent, or camo, or floral, or whatever other spectacularly weird shit you’re buying from this place). In that regard, they certainly deliver. Once you get a bit of distance there’s nothing particularly eye-catching about them, but up close, boy do they ever twinkle. Which, maybe I’m easily amused, but I think they’re hilarious on Presto, with his punk rock forelock, copious side eye, and giraffe legs. I’m kind of thinking of them as his super hero uniform… without them, he’s Presto, but put the boots on and BAM Captain Sparkles.

Yeah I know, I am for sure going to pay for this some day.

Speaking of which, we continue to creep closer and closer to his 3rd birthday. Less than 4 months to go! I had originally planned to put a few very basic w/t/stop/steer rides on him this month, but then all the sudden he started looking like a weird giraffe/llama/moose hybrid again. Great, another growth spurt. Just what he needed. I may or may not have exclaimed “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?” at him when he went from lovely to heinous seemingly overnight. The neck is… something else. So those plans are on hold for now. No rush. It can wait until his body isn’t so weird and gawky and unbalanced.

For now I just bring him in, put his sparkly boots on, and giggle like a complete lunatic at the sight of it. That’s not weird right?

I fully admit that my idea of fun stuff and other people’s idea of fun stuff might not align, but… maybe there’s something here for everyone? This is my collection of the noteworthy stuff that’s happening so far on the internet this week. Don’t worry, it gets less heavy as we go along.

First of all there’s the video that literally everyone needs to watch, whether you’re pro-Safe Sport or anti-Safe Sport (ok perhaps especially if you’re anti). If you’re involved in equestrian sport, Safe Sport concerns you, and it’s your job to educate yourself. Period, full stop. Last week at the USHJA convention they live streamed a Q&A with SafeSport’s Michael Henry. Fair warning, it’s long, but I just listened to it during my commute and barn chores. The first hour and 20 mins or so is Michael walking everyone through the SS process, addressing a few common misconceptions, and clarifying what exactly they do. During this time he drops some pretty interesting statistics, like the fact that in the 2 years that SS has been open, they’ve had over 4000 cases and resolved 2800 so far across all sports. And of those, only 800 have resulted in any kind of violation (ranging all the way from a warning letter to a permanent ban). Only 2% end up with any kind of temporary measures (which can range from a no contact order up to a temporary suspension) in place while the investigation is ongoing. And of all the cases where a violation was found by SS, less than 1% got overturned in arbitration.

The Q&A part starts after that, and fair warning, it’s… cringey. Some of the anti-SS people are doing themselves no favors by being blatantly ignorant about the basic facts, and attempting to repeat complete falsehoods even after they’ve been corrected multiple times. If you want SS reform, by all means make it your cause, but at least get your facts straight and understand what it is and how it works. Otherwise you just look like an idiot on a video that the crowd in the room (and everyone watching) is laughing at. Awwwwkwaaarrd.

Moving on, I mentioned Monday that I’d listened to several of the live stream lectures from the USEA convention, and thankfully they’ve started to put some of them up online for replay. One in particular that was of great interest to me was “Why Aren’t US Event Horses Lasting Longer?”. If that’s not an attention-grabbing title I dunno what is. The panel for this one was particularly good: Erik Duvander (team coach), Matt Brown (ULR), Max Corcoran (a lot of things, but especially a top groom), Sam Watson (ULR), Dr. Susan Johns (vet).

click here to watch

They talked about everything from footing to frequency of events to basic rider choices. Yes, the discussion was geared toward top level horses, but IMO a lot of it applies all the way down the levels. The consensus was that while our harder footing tends to get much of the blame, it certainly can’t hold all the weight since other countries with equally hard (or harder) footing don’t have the injury rate that we do. The thing that really stood out to me were the stats based around how often horses were showing – the numbers they used were regarding horses at the Advanced level, of course, but still highlighted something that I thought warranted consideration even at the mid-levels. They found that with horses who had 3-5 starts per year, 71% of them had careers of 8 years or longer, whereas with horses that had 6 or more starts per year, only 22% had careers 8 years or longer. Is it perhaps both a blessing and a curse that people can event year-round in this country if they want to?

They also talk about our allowed usage of NSAID’s (some other countries don’t allow them at all and have totally clean sport), and how quick we seem to reach for them to alleviate symptoms rather than look more closely at the possible root cause. I think that’s also a fair point to consider, and something I see a lot. Horse feeling a little sore? Give it some bute and carry on!

I’ve been thinking about many of their points and chewing on what might translate (or not) to us folks further down the levels, but I feel like people should watch the entire discussion and see what they get out of it for themselves.

On a more fun note, EquiRatings fan voting for their Horse of the Year 2019 awards is in it’s semi-finals!

All of the horses I voted for in the first round made it through to the semis (yes ok I’m a traitor to my country by not voting for Tsetserleg, but he was up against friggin HALE BOB, one of my absolute favorites of all time, I just couldn’t), although my brain just about exploded at having to choose between Vanir Kamira and Rioghan Rua. Like I might have been sweating a little, cursor hovering back and forth between them, trying to pick. The polls are on the EquiRatings facebook page, and since it’s fan-based it’s more fun, so eventing fans – go vote!

Last but not least, I found out on Monday that I was the recipient of the Event Riders Association Amateur Impact award for 2019. I hadn’t realized before that ERA did special awards, but it’s a pretty cool honor and I already have someone in mind to nominate for next year. I know that Nadia was the one to nominate me this year, and it was really kind of her to think of me and throw my hat in the ring, so many thanks to you Nadia! This was definitely a highlight after what has been a bit of a challenging second half of the year.

That’s a lot of stuff happening for it to only be Wednesday.

Have you guys watched any of these videos yet? Thoughts? I’m really itching to discuss. We’ve got everything from SafeSport to drugs to show frequency to top event horse popularity all contained in one post, surely there’s something here worth talking about!

The good news is – knock on every wood surface available within reach – Henry has been sound since he got his fancy new sneakers put on. I gave him almost a week to acclimate, and to make sure that he’d stay looking good. He proceeded to gallop and perform sliding stops in his turnout everyday to the point where he took at least 5 years off my life in the process.

He’s a feral creature at the moment. Over a month off has done absolutely nothing for his brain cells, I’m relatively certain they all had a fight to death and now there’s only one left standing (and it’s a psychopath). There is a lot of snorting and tail flagging which I can only assume is the winning brain cell’s version of a victory celebration.

I decided to bring Henry back really slowly, since we never were quite sure why he was lame in the first place, and I don’t really trust it. We’ll very slowly ramp things back up and see how it goes. I’m in precisely zero hurry and would rather take way too long than rush things and increase the risk for re-injury.

So last week I finally swung a leg over and we went for a hack.

Correction: we tried to go for a hack. He’s so wild that it was more like a power march that often ended up sideways because there was a plant or an animal. Or because there wasn’t a plant or an animal. Either way. Terrifying, according to Henry.

On Sunday I hopped back aboard, this time adding a few minutes of trot to our hack. Which was, admittedly, a lot of borderline jigging and some seriously athletic teleportations. Early in the ride a big huge bird took off from a tree behind us. I didn’t get a good look at it, as Henry was already halfway to Houston, but it was a really big one. Naturally he spent the entire ride after that spooking at birds. Big birds. Small birds. Moving birds. Still birds. Invisible birds. Relatively certain we encountered every bird or non-bird but bird-like animal in the county. The best part was when they would stir in the trees after we’d already passed, and General Last-Remaining-Brain-Cell would take off first and ask questions later. If I die, it’s because of birds.

But his trot felt really good (I’m trying to ignore the fact that he clearly loves these stupid, massively expensive glue on sneakers) so… we’ll just keep taking it one ride at a time. Yesterday afternoon in turnout he was absolutely SPRINTING down the fenceline, farting and bucking like he was trying out for the damn rodeo while I yelled “OH MY GOD PLEASE DON’T DO THAT, IF YOU’RE LAME TOMORROW I’M GOING TO EAT YOU”. Horse really needs to get back to work before he gives me a damn heart attack.

Speaking of hearts, we got a new toy to try out, so I’m excited to put this on him today and see how it works. We might not get any particularly interesting data for a while (except spooking) but it’ll be fun to play with. Y’all know I love horsey technology. The Hylofit is definitely much easier/less complicated than the Seaver, although they’re a bit different in what data they collect. We’ll see how it goes! I can’t wait to see how my heart rate compares to his. At least I don’t spook at birds.