Month: January 2021

Is it just me or has it been a really long week? I cannot handle anymore meetings or metrics. Someone wake me up when Q1 is over.

A few fun little noteworthy things have been happening this week, though. First and foremost, I finally did an official wither tracing of Presto’s back. Getting him to stand square and still and make sure the flexible curve was straight and flush with his body on both sides at the same time was about as fun as it sounds. I still don’t actually have any appointments with saddle fitters yet, because (and this is shocking) I haven’t heard back from them. I figure the local ones get another week to respond before I try to book something remotely, but at least now with the tracing I have… something? Visible proof that his withers are shaped like a mountain, at the very least.

On a maybe more fun note, Eventing Nation announced that they now have a Patreon. After all the drama last year I sit firmly on EN’s side, and I was happy to be able to toss a little bit of financial support their way. There are 3 membership levels starting at $5 a month that each come with their own little perks, so it’s not much of an imposition. Plus if you sign up early you get an EN Yeti mug (or wine tumbler, if you’re into that). I just cancelled my Horse and Country subscription so it pretty much equals out cost wise. I’ve never joined a Patreon before so this is a new one for me but we’ll see how it pans out.

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On a semi-similar note, I’ve become completely and unequivocally OBSESSED with the First Pets’ fan page Instagram account The Oval Pawffice. Like… new President? Cool. First female VP? Fan-freaking-tastic. BUT THE PETS. I don’t know who is behind this account but they’re brilliant. I am so entertained by it and it’s friggin adorable. Plus they sell some merch and a children’s book about Major, the first rescue dog to call The White House home, and part of the proceeds go to pet charities.

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Yesterday Emily was telling me about these little pig stools that her trainer had found to use as jump filler and OMG y’all I had to have them. They’re PERFECT, and naturally I immediately spiraled into a very deep internet rabbit hole looking for something similar that was giraffes or monkeys or unicorns. I came up blank. But if anyone sees some economical little (like 18-24″?) things like this that I could use to add some pizazz to jumps, send them my way. I can’t wait to get the pigs. I’ve never put much fill on my jumps at home because shows that actually had fill were usually the only places Henry gave enough of a peek at the fences to jump clear and I didn’t want to take away that peek. For him keeping the jumps at home more boring was my tactic. Presto needs to start seeing interesting stuff now though so that when we do get to shows with fill, he isn’t taken by surprise.

One of my favorite online horse shops, Corro, has taken notice of our favorite ball-loving monkey. They seem to like Presto’s ball videos as much as I do, and they definitely don’t seem to mind how many balls I constantly buy from them. They reached out and offered Presto a free ball (buy 537, get one free? LOL) which was super nice of them and considering how quickly he murders them I’ll never refuse a free one. They were also kind enough to set up a link where Presto fans can get 10% off their first order (it will automatically apply the coupon code when you go to checkout). Recent favor aside, I’ve been ordering from Corro for over a year now and have been really pleased. Fast shipping, free shipping over $50, and the one time there was an issue (FedEx damaged my shipment) they were very quick to replace it, no problem. They don’t have a ton of inventory yet but they have a lot of the basic stuff that I seem to order on a regular basis (plus my glittery Cavallo boots came from there). Pro tip: check your follow-up emails from them after you order too, they often put additional coupon codes in them for next time.

Last but not least, it looks like (fingers crossed) Red Hills Horse Trials will be getting a live stream this year, and I’ve been asked to put together a book of all the entered horses with their breeding info for the commentators to have for the live stream. That means – correct registry information, where the horse was bred, pedigree, any interesting facts about the horse’s sire or dam or siblings, etc. Usually they’re only given the entry sheet, which may or may not even have a correct age, much less any detailed information. I’ll try not to go overboard with what I include but I’m excited for the opportunity and hope the commentators are able to use the information I give them. Is there any other info you always find yourself wishing they would mention on live streams? Let me know! Once I know more about the live stream I’ll post links and dates.

Happy Friday everyone!

Yesterday we talked about a change with USEA that reformulates how points are tabulated… now lets talk a little about rule changes! Specifically – the ones regarding dress.

The changes to the eventing rules were announced a few weeks ago, and their dressage dress code updates look like this:

5. DRESSAGE TEST.
   a. Horse Trials (Beginner Novice through Preliminary)—protective headgear—any color helmet will be allowed; tasteful and discreet accents such as a different color or modest piping or crystal decorations, are acceptable, including National Flags; Coat—any single color jacket will be allowed, including tweeds and pinstripes, tasteful and discreet accents, such as a collar, cuff, lapel, piping, of any color, or crystal decorations, are acceptable. Tail coats are not permitted; Shirt— of any color and design, tasteful and discreet accents, such as a collar, cuff, piping, are acceptable with stock and pin, or choker, or tie; Gloves (if worn)—dark color, tan, beige or white; Jodhpurs, Breeches—light color or white; Boots— black, brown, or other dark hue, modest piping of a different color is permitted, field, jodhpur or a black or brown full grain smooth leather leg piece and matching leather boots. Chaps and/or half-chaps are not allowed. Members of armed and police forces, service dress, regulation headgear and spurs in accordance with EV114.
   b. Competitors at Beginner Novice through Modified may compete without a jacket. In such cases, shirt – long or short sleeved with collar and without neckwear, any color and design; tasteful and discreet accents, such as a collar, cuff, piping, is acceptable, neatly tucked into riding breeches.
   c. Horse Trials (Intermediate and Advanced) As above, with the exception gloves and coats required. Tail Coats permitted. Members of armed and police forces, service dress with gloves, regulation headgear and spurs in accordance with EV114. Members of armed and police forces, service dress with gloves, regulation headgear and spurs in accordance with EV114.

Basically it made any color coat or helmet acceptable, rather than specifying colors or tones, and gave you more options all around for colors and whether or not you have to wear a jacket. It didn’t really get a lot of chatter amongst the eventing crowd that I saw, mostly just some “oh cool”s in passing.

And then this week USDF announced some rule change proposals that would be similar – any color coat, and also the possibility of dark colored breeches.

And omg. I think I’ve seen people discussing and/or arguing about this on every social media platform by now.

Most people seem to be in favor of it, especially the coats. But there’s also a lot of pearl-clutching from some of the self-proclaimed “traditionalists” (I’m starting to hate that word). Some of them are a little spun up with visions of how everyone will be wearing yellow and lime green and hot pink coats and it’ll be SO DISTRACTING. But um, let’s be honest, 1) nobody is really gonna wear that, 2) some of them are already so covered in bling and/or patent that they’re basically a mirrored surface – colored jackets aren’t worse than that. Ok, maybe two people will roll out a crazy color coat or something. Most folks will just keep on keeping on with what they’ve got thought or maybe there will be a splash of boldness here and there. No one will die from it, I promise. Just avert your eyes. We’re all used to doing that anyway.

The breeches seem to be getting more of a mixed reception. I personally think allowing dark breeches would be great, but then again despite the fact that I am a lover of navy and white, I am not a traditionalist. Despite how much I prefer my whites to tan, if it was widely accepted to wear dark breeches you’d never see my cellulite ass stuffed into white breeches again. And if it were really up to me I’d get equestrians into some actual modern athletic apparel like every other sport in the world. Maybe we’d look less like butlers.

But anyway – some dark gray or navy or black breeches don’t seem like the end of the world to me either. There IS some precedent for the look, after all, with military uniforms.

Not to say that a lot of people would go with a monotone, but dark breeches in the show ring aren’t completely unheard of. There’s certainly nothing more traditional than military dress.

I think the great thing about these rule changes it that it gives people more options. More options to buy what they actually like, more options to feel comfortable and happy with what they’re wearing, and more options on what to buy and how to spend their money. Want to keep wearing your black and white? Great, no problem. Want to go get that coat you’ve always wanted but couldn’t wear? Do it, girl, YOLO. Want to burn your white breeches in a fire pit and never have to wear them in public again? Well… maybe wait to see what rules actually pass first.

Me though, I’m all for it. Even if I’m sitting over here in my corner clutching my navy and being boring.

What are your thoughts on the rule changes or rule change proposals? Would you buy a “wild” colored coat or wear dark breeches if you could?

I admit that I have a bit of a hard time caring about year end awards. Back in the day (gosh, maybe 15 years ago now) when I was caught up in the oh so competitive world of our local h/j circuit, I definitely cared. Gotta show in the same divisions all year so you can get more points, definitely always do the under saddle even if you only get a low ribbon because every point counts, look through the points the second they’re posted online, and so on and so on and so on. It only took a couple years of that for me to realize how absolutely idiotic it was. If you went to every single horse show you’d end up racking up enough points to get a year end award pretty much default, and what did that really prove? You’re good at filling out a show entry?

You’d also see people entering tons of classes, trying to rack up rider points. There’s a time at which you cross the line into excessive and I’ll go out on a limb here and say that 20+ classes in a weekend is well beyond that. Sometimes it was just… ridiculous. I’ve seen people make some seriously bad decisions for themselves and their horse just in the sake of trying to rack up as many points as they can get, and it left a sour taste. When I really thought about it the whole thing just didn’t sit right with me, and I’ve never chased points since.

And while I definitely don’t think you see this situation as much in eventing – after all, you only have one opportunity for points per show – I have seen people enter more shows than they otherwise might in order to try to get more points. The whole “quantity” method of point tabulation has never seemed like the best way. It feels like we’re rewarding the wrong thing. I felt like I’d always rather see some kind of average, or a different way of doing the math that didn’t just go for sheer quantity.

It seems I’m not the only one that thought that way, because this week USEA announced that they’ll be changing the way they tabulate points, going from a basic quantity method to a “quality” method. It’s a bit complicated and intricate (details here if you want to read) but basically it calculates only the rider’s top 6 results, and they have to be MER’s in order to be counted.

I definitely like this method better, although I still think it doesn’t really dissuade the folks who want to show their horses’ legs off in order to get more points. They could still just go to tons of shows in a quest for getting the best “top 6 results” they possibly can. Then again, I think (hope?) those types of people are few and far between in this sport. It does, however, kind of even up the playing field a bit for the people who can’t afford to show as much, if their performances are good. If you only show a handful of times a year but hit it out of the park every time, you now actually stand a chance in the year end points against people who are showing every other weekend. This points method isn’t foolproof or perfect, but it’s definitely an improvement, IMO. It seems more fair all around.

It’s interesting to think about how this method might work in the h/j world though… would it? Theirs is far more complicated, given all the classes and the fact that they have no such thing as MER’s. And at the end of the day would it even really change anything with the true pointchasers? Meh… I’m not sold on that one.

I won’t even pretend to understand how the dressage world does its awards, I feel like they’ve got special prizes and awards for literally every scenario. Ride a one-eyed Bashkir Curly that never scores over 50%? There’s probably an award for that, and it likely includes a wine glass. (Joking, dressage people, don’t get mad at me. Ok I’m not really joking, y’all seriously love your awards. And wine.)

What do you think of the new changes? If you’re not an eventer, do you think something similar could apply to your discipline, and do you think it would be better or worse?

I swear this kid spends most of his time thinking I’m a ridiculous human. Which is ironic because I spend a lot of my time thinking he’s a ridiculous horse. Honestly, we’re both right.

But anyway, on Saturday this big kid did a thing… his very first “formal” jumping session! He’s hopped over a couple logs before and I pointed him at a few jumps when we went on our last off property outing, but this was his first actual structured at-home jump school.

Last week I set up a very basic grid (a trot-in one stride) with just poles on the ground and trotted him through that a few times on one of his hack days. Since the SO was here this past Saturday and he actually wasn’t in a hurry for once, I asked him to be my groundperson so I could ride Presto through the grid and have SO build the elements for us as we went along. Kind of an essential step that is a real PITA to do while you’re alone and without a groundperson, unless you like getting on and off a billion times. I do not.

We trotted through it once just with poles, then built the second jump to a crossrail (which he just trotted over like he was bored), then progressed to both jumps being crossrails.

Then a crossrail to a little vertical.

Then the vertical became a wee oxer.

Then the oxer got a little bigger and wider.

If anything he was a little over eager most of the time, wanting to take a canter step over the trot pole coming in, which combined with his big gangly stride made the distance short. But for his first attempt at anything like this, I was super pleased with him. He was forward and straight and seemed to understand it right away, like it was easy for him and he enjoyed the game. Next time I’ll modify it a bit, giving him more trot poles coming in to see if we can’t take that little canter step out before the crossrail.

It was also SO’s first time ever setting jumps for me so he got to learn all this fun lingo like crossrail, vertical, ground line, trot pole, oxer, etc. Have to admit, he took to it pretty fast too. We’ve got two quick learners in the house. AND, he hated a couple sets of rickety standards and rusty jump cups so much that he was like “where can I buy you new ones, this is awful”. So ya know… I uh… did him a favor and sent him a link to some standards and cups. I’m a nice person like that.

I definitely do need some more standards though, I don’t really have enough to make a full course with oxers, and I will certainly never refuse someone who wants to give them to me. I may have also sent him links to some flowerboxes and fillers too. Ya know, just in case he wants to be extra thorough.

I think we might have a jompjomp pony on our hands though, y’all!

Another week with 3 successful Presto rides! Considering I basically never leave the farm, fitting in 2 horses is still harder than it should be. It’s our absolute busiest time of year at work and I find myself drowning under meetings and emails and general extra volume. We’ve had a lot of rain in the forecast too, although pretty much none of it has come to fruition, even on the days with an 80% chance of rain. It all keeps barely missing us. Which is helpful for my productivity with the horses, but not so good for the grass (which is already nowhere near as plentiful as last year). It’s weird to be in January saying we need rain. I won’t complain about the lack of mud though.

Last week for Presto’s arena ride I decided it was time to play around with a baby dressage test. I’ve never tried to string elements together like you would in a test, and I’ve definitely never tried to do things at specific places in the ring. Mostly I’m just trying to get this drunk brontosaurus of a baby horse with all 4 legs traveling in mostly the same direction and in something resembling a rhythm. Still a work in progress, some days. I had taken a look through Intro B and C – the tests for the two HT divisions I’m considering entering him in at the March show. I figured we’d run through most of both of them but there were two things in particular I knew we’d need to work on – halting through the walk (it’s possible that the brakes might be installed a little tight on this horse, he’s real good at trot to halt), and just that one teeny 20m circle of canter. Legit never tried to canter this thing for just one 20m circle. It’s a big strung out baby horse, I wasn’t even sure if we could canter just one 20m circle.

I spent a few minutes warming up then starting diving right into it, mostly just actually stringing movements together with a solid plan of where they needed to happen. We played with a couple turns onto centerline (easier on this creature than Henry – how?), halts through the walk (lol), and trying to make actual 20m circles at specific places (how round does a circle really have to be?). Then I tried the canter circles, which was… as challenging as I thought it would be. The transitions aren’t that terrible but his canter is still a bit all over the place so it’s definitely more like a wiggly unbalanced 23 meter oval. Theoretically it’s sorta close though. Not as bad as it could have been?

We threw some free walk across the diagonal in there too, which is more like a cross of him being like “oh thank god, a break” and “WHAT IS THAT OVER THERE THO? CAN WE GO SEE?”. Lazy sightseeing, maybe? There is a lot of room for improvement all around. BUT, I think we can actually put a test together that at least stays within the confines of the arena and executes the movements we’re supposed to, so there’s that. We finished up with a few baby leg yields and then called it a day after a total of 19 minutes.

His official opinion is “dis dumb”. He’s not sure why we have to do this silly stuff when we could just go hack around the field instead. He’s kind of at a fun point though when things are very slowly starting to click into place, but he’s been looking extra growthy again so I don’t want to push too much. Managing those giraffe limbs can’t be easy when your body is doing… whatever his body is doing.

It’s really funny riding him and then riding Henry, especially back to back. I’m not sure I could have two more opposite horses if I tried. They feel absolutely nothing alike.

I did finally get a response from one of the local saddle fitters, and she does have a few monoflap jump saddles in her demo lineup that I could try. I didn’t ask what brands or models because at this point I’m willing to try just about anything. I think she sells Adam Ellis, Black Country, and Albion though. Still waiting to hear back about an appointment, but hopefully next week. That’s the only development on that front.

Presto did have another exciting day this weekend, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow!