Month: June 2021

The good news is, I’ve sold most of my breeches that don’t fit me anymore (the brown Horze are the only ones left) and was able to pick up a smaller size in the same model. The bad news is, the smaller size still doesn’t really fit like I’d want it too, the waistband is pretty gappy. I think that in addition to my size changing, my shape has also changed a bit since I started doing a lot of core work and weights. Sadly I think it’s time to admit that my favorite go-to Horze Grand Prix breeches are no longer the best fit for me. Cue lots of crying and possibly a toddler-style temper tantrum.

You know what I hate? Trying to find breeches that I actually like and that also fit. I like so few things, when I do find something I like I tend to latch onto it. Hence me having had 6 pairs of those Horze breeches. Now I feel back at square one with no idea of where to go really (well ok, I went to Dover and looked at what they had but found a grand total of two models I even liked the fabric enough to try on). So, I’ve found myself perusing different websites a lot, seeing what all is out there now that might at least look promising. I’m very grumpy about it, as you can imagine, because I was also really spoiled by the ~$100 price tag of those Horze breeches and trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m probably not super likely to find ones that I like as much that actually fit and are that cheap.

But I did find myself falling down the rabbit hole that is Riding Warehouse. I’m so indecisive on breeches I’m having a hard time even figuring out what I want to try. The ones that caught my eye the most in their shop are probably the:

Catago Elina. The price is definitely right.

and the Ariat Prelude or Tri-Factor. I like the price of the Prelude but I can’t decide how I feel about the fabric from the pictures. Granted, I don’t love the back design of the Tri-Factors. I also have a slight distrust of Ariat in general. Bleh.

Anyone worn any of those and have some feedback? Or suggestions for any other breeches that have the same super stretchy fabric of the Horze GP but fit smaller in the waist? I really need to try on the RJ Classics and the Romfh Sarafina again. The RJ’s used to fit me ok, they were just a little lower rise than I preferred. The Sarafina didn’t fit me that well then, but now… who knows. I am on the struggle bus in a big way.

It didn’t take long for me to become frustrated and lose interest in the breeches section of the website, and soon I found myself wandering around the rest of RW, updating my wishlist. Such a dangerous feature. It’s been a while since I really looked at what new stuff they’ve added though, and there were a few things that definitely caught my eye. Like this Micklem girth.

That’s pretty. I also don’t love either of my current girths so I’m always on the lookout for a potential replacement. This one is at the top of the list. It’s like they made it just for me, putting all that navy on there.

There were also a couple shirts I liked, the new Lucy shirt from Romfh

which yes is kinda see-through in general, not just in the meshy spots, but it also seems very breezy. With a sports bra underneath it’s fine. No one ever really sees me riding at home anyway and the thought of getting a nice breeze is extremely appealing.

I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I like this Horseware top.

On one hand, I love tie-dye. I also love navy and green. I’m not totally sure if I love the execution here (I like it better from the back), but I’d still 100% wear it.

The other things that made the wishlist were more basic – Megan is sponsored by Pro Choice and has these pads for XC so I’ve gotten to see them in action and up close.

Henry has sheepskin ones of course but I really like these pads for Presto. I’ve been impressed by all the Pro Choice pads I’ve seen lately, they’re really nice and have a lot of well-thought-out features. It pulls up into the spine really well, the lining is really wicking, and I like the reinforced area at the leg. Plus the white with navy trim option is pretty, and it’s a proper navy, not too bright. I’ve been going back and forth between this one and an Ecogold pad for him but I think this one is gonna win in the end since it’s considerably cheaper.

The last thing to make my list is the new Deluxe version of the Quick Knot braiding clips.

Y’all know I love my original Quick Knots, so I’m keen to see what the 2.0 version is like. Granted, I still have like half a pack left from the ones I bought a few years ago, so I don’t have a need for more anytime soon. Someone else try them out and tell me how they compare.

What’s making your wishlist lately? Any other new stuff I “need” to see?

I haven’t done too many updates on the house since I first moved in, mostly because there hasn’t been much to say. We ordered a sofa in November that JUST CAME a couple weeks ago, and I had kind of held off on putting together everything else in the living room or decorating the rest of the house. I wanted to see how the sofa looked first, since I’m terrible at envisioning how things will look in my head.

But now we have a sofa, AND a table, AND a rug, AND a TV, so like… things are getting pretty serious. We also finally put something up on the wall – two little shelves above the couch. We still have plenty left to do and more stuff to put on the walls, but I haven’t gotten that far yet. Still though, I haven’t done a walkthrough video tour since it was first delivered, so I figured I’d show y’all how it’s looking now that it’s got stuff in it and has been lived in for a while.

Honestly, I love it. Definitely a lifestyle change but having less space to keep clean or heat or cool or accumulate junk has been really nice.

I think we can all agree that I owed Henry some jompies, yes? It’s been a long time since he did any jumper classes, and I think I royally pissed him off a couple weeks ago when I took him to an event, made him do dressage, and then scratched the actual fun parts. I swear he’s been a little peeved at me ever since.

I typically don’t do much with him in the summer since he doesn’t handle the heat very well, but so far we’ve had a fairly mild summer (for us – it’s only been in the 90’s) so I thought we could get away with doing a couple jumper classes at a show nearby. I entered the 3’3″ but said that if there weren’t any other 3’3″ entries to just throw us in the 3′ instead. I always feel bad when I’m the only one in the division and people are having to stay longer and set jumps for me. And since we were really only doing this for fun, it didn’t matter what the height was. Also, uh… I literally can’t remember the last time we were able to jump a full course. It’s been months.

I had a cold last week, and Saturday of course dawned hot and humid, so I admit that I waivered a bit all morning and didn’t really want to go. But 1) I also knew that this was probably my last chance to do any shows with Henry for the summer, 2) Hillary was bringing Lex the Wonder Hony and I didn’t want to abandon her. I got dressed, chugged some water, and tossed the horse in the trailer.

We rolled into the show just before noon, and they were running a little behind schedule. Hillary got there, we went and got our numbers, and then she brought Lex over to my trailer to wait. I had brought a Yeti full of ice water to sponge Henry with, and he spent his waiting time munching his hay, sloshing his bucket, and falling in love with Lex in between his cold sponge baths. Tough life. Also at this point I think Lex gathers new members of his fan club every time he goes anywhere, and both horses and humans are equally susceptible to his charms. Henry decided they’re BFF’s (whether Lex wanted to be BFF’s with him or not is irrelevant).

Our classes finally rolled around, so we got on, did the briefest warmup in the history of warmups, and retreated to the shade of a tree to wait.

I have to admit that I went in the ring for the first class thinking “these look really big for 3’…”. But the fun thing about having had Henry for so long and knowing him so well is that it doesn’t really matter. As soon as he walked in the ring he knew what was up and started jigging while he waited for the whistle. He’s no fool, he knows what we go to this place for and he was HERE FOR IT. Finally, something fun. He basically told me to buckle up, because he was doing the jompies with or without my help.

I definitely felt a bit rusty but Henry perked his little ears and was game on and pretty rideable really. We did the timed 1st jumpoff first, having one rail (which I didn’t really mind because who wants to do the jumpoff anyway, that’s 6 more jumps to deal with) and then power and speed, where we also had one rail. He is nothing if not consistent, and his time away from the colored sticks certainly hasn’t made him any more careful, bless him. That’s fine by me though, we put in two decent-ish courses, had a good time, and Henry came away feeling very proud of himself. For instant happiness, just give Henry some jumps. What he lacks in athleticism he makes up for with enthusiasm.

He’s been strutting around the farm since Saturday like he is the second coming of Gem Twist or something, and who I am to burst his bubble?

Have you ever seen a grulla foal go through it’s foal shed? It’s not cute. It’s a very mangey-looking molting process because they’re so much darker underneath in that first shed.

It’s also H-O-T out in west Texas already, with days getting at or near triple digits. These thick dense foal coats are not exactly the best thing to be wearing in that kind of weather, and while they will eventually shed out all the way, it’ll be another month or so at least. Teddy and Patrick both had particularly thick and wiry coats and were getting pretty darn hot during the day.

So given all that, this week was baby horse haircut week at WTW! Now, these aren’t the most polished, show-ready haircuts. I mean… they’re baby horses getting body-clipped in a limited amount of time, there’s a point where you just declare it “good enough”. The main goal is to get all that thick hair off so they can stay cooler.

The first one to go under the clippers was Teddy, and she is now a completely different color than she started from.

Her most ticklish and hard to reach spots remain unclipped, but they’ll shed out eventually and she’ll be all one color again. She’s definitely not getting nearly as hot as she was, so mission accomplished.

The next one on the docket was Patrick, who had a coat so dense that he killed the clipper blades and more had to be ordered. But hey, look how GRAY he already is underneath. It’s another magical color-changing foal, this one from dark to light.

All of his ticklish spots will get finished eventually but he deserved a break. Patticakes seems appreciative of the haircut too, he says it’s way better for all the fun activities he has planned throughout his days.

Pippa got a little bit of a haircut too – her coat wasn’t quite so dense and she doesn’t seem to get as hot, so she just got her neck done for now (or as I like to call it, a mullet). Her color is exactly the same underneath, being a regular dark bay. She seems pleased with her style though.

Obi will be the next one up… he’s the most sensitive of the bunch so he kind of got saved for the end. He’s a pudgy little chonker though so I think a haircut would greatly benefit him in this heat as well. It’s definitely not gonna get any cooler for quite a while!

We’ll have to see if he looks any darker underneath too, or if he stays that super reddish bay. It’s kinda fun, stripping all that hair off.

Hope you guys are staying cool out there too. Happy Friday!

Today we find ourselves about a week away from Presto’s first Young Event Horse class (knock on wood, because horses) so I figured now was as good a time as any to talk about the things I actually like about the program and the classes. I’ve rarely been hesitant to share criticisms or complaints about either the FEH (Future Event Horse) or YEH programs and my experiences with them, but I’m willing to admit that I’ve probably been a bit slower with praise. There are definitely things that I don’t like still, for sure, mostly centered around the extremely subjective nature of it or the schedule/availability. But, ya know, let’s maybe go a little deeper into it than that and look at the real meat of the classes and what they’re offering.

First and foremost, I was lucky enough to learn a ton about YEH and how it’s judged long before I ever had a horse of the age to participate. I’ve participated in two YEH judging seminars (they’re not just for judges!) and two FEH judging seminars and spent multiple days looking at horses, sitting with judges, and having detailed discussions about what they’re looking for and how they should score. Is there anything more satisfying than doing a mock-judging exercise at YEH Championships and having most of your scores come within .2 of Marilyn Payne’s? I think not. Highly recommend those seminars to anyone, even just for the benefit of honing your eye.

So, what are the benefits of YEH really? The most obvious one is experience. It’s cheaper than a full blown recognized horse trial, and in a more condensed format (the jumping phase is 5 showjumping fences followed immediately by 10 cross country fences, more like a derby format), so it’s a quicker and easier day. Often these classes are a lot smaller and held either on their own day or the day before a horse trial, so the atmosphere is considerably smaller and less busy, and more laid-back. It’s a great way to get some easy miles on a young one without all the to-do of a full blown event.

The particular rules of the classes are really geared toward fairness to young horses too – like for instance the fact that you’re allowed and even encouraged to school the water before your horse’s round, or let the horse look at/sniff the fences. The classes are meant to be confidence-building, so they allow the horses to take a little bit of a peek at things beforehand. You can also see the attempt at building confidence in the basic YEH specs:

The obstacles should be straight forward, inviting, and age-appropriate for the youngsters. If possible, the last fence should encourage a horse to gallop and jump out of stride (an ascending fence with a round profile, a good ground line, and preferably with brush). 

The jump specs and speeds are smaller/slower earlier in the year, and then go up a bit in the later part of the year, building up to Championships.

Also something that a lot of people don’t realize is that the dressage test isn’t REALLY a dressage test. Not as we know it anyway – the scoring is completely different. Take a look at the scoresheet.

Notice something missing? Like… all the movements, for instance? Yes, they do perform an actual dressage test, it’s not just a rail class, but the test isn’t scored per movement. They aren’t looking for picture perfect geometry, on-the-letter transitions, etc. They’re looking for brilliance. Quite literally they are looking for the best moments of walk, trot, and canter that the horse shows them during the test, and scoring that. Sure, you want the horse to be obedient and consistent in the bridle and responsive to the aids, but those things show up down there as part of the rideability score. Remember after all that the YEH classes are looking for talent, so they’re judging the quality of the horse based on what was shown to them during the dressage test, they aren’t judging the test itself. I think it’s a little bit easier for young horses to shine in this format, where little green mistakes are forgiven, or at least weighed less heavily, and the rider can really RIDE and show off the horse without worrying so much about blowing a movement.

The jumping phases are judged more like a typical dressage test really, in that they get a score per jumping effort and then some overall collectives:

In some ways I like this and in other ways I don’t, there are pros and cons, but I do think it’s the most fair and consistent way that they’ve come up with so far (it’s changed in the past few years). Granted, it is still judged by a human being, and even the best judges have their biases and preferences, so one person’s 3 could be another person’s 5 and vice versa. They do, overall, like to see a really confident, bold horse that is quick and clever and careful with it’s feet, jumping out of stride and always forward-thinking.

What it really comes down to is whether the individual horse is ready for classes like this. Some are, some aren’t, and that’s okay. What I like is that there are plenty of options among all the different USEA programs. Keep in mind, the YEH classes are geared more towards pros being that the entire goal of the program is to find potential future upper level horses – there is another program, the New Event Horse or NEH, that is geared more toward the “every man”, for horses that are new to eventing. Those classes are looking for genuine, rideable, safe horses that are suitable for an amateur or junior at Prelim and below. But for a fairly talented young horse with a good rider that has been in a semi-consistent program, the specs of YEH are well within reach.

Four-year-olds should be competent at the Novice level. Early in the season, we encourage organizers to provide very inviting courses that are closer to Beginner Novice. By the end of the year, courses should be comparable to a strong Novice event, and include a few Training level obstacles. The YEH Championship will have up to four Training level fences for the 4-year-olds, and the 5-year-olds will have up to four Preliminary level fences.

If you have a 4yo that just isn’t physically or mentally ready for that, aside from the NEH program there’s also the option of doing the 4yo FEH class instead. The FEH only does w/t/c under saddle (which is run as a rail class, not a dressage test) and then conformation, and at championships they freejump in the chute. So really, there are a lot of options for green horses between the 3 programs if you care to utilize them, depending on what type of horse you’ve got and where they’re at in their development.

The most common thing I see is people criticizing the fence heights of the YEH program, but I think we also have to understand the aim of the program and that YEH is really for the potential upper level youngsters that are with pros… ones who find Training and below to be a complete breeze, are being ridden well, and certainly aren’t challenged by those heights. If the horse isn’t that, or just isn’t there yet in it’s training, one of the other options is probably more suitable, but there are also plenty of horses for whom YEH is perfectly suitable as well… something that’s already been proven a bit by YEH horses that have gone on to future upper level careers.

If I was riding Presto and he’d been at home rather than away at training for 4 months with a pro in the irons, there’s a 0% chance he’d be trying his hoof at any YEH this year. I’m not that rider. A NEH class, sure, a 4yo FEH, maybe, but I know my limits and they stop before YEH. I wouldn’t have been able to produce him in a way that meant he was ready for that yet. Of course, I’m not the one riding Presto at the moment and he has been away at training with a pro, plus he’s got a BN horse trial and a Novice horse trial under his girth already. I’ve seen him, with my own eyeballs, pop over his first couple Training XC fences so nonchalantly that it looked like he was out for his usual afternoon stroll. So, do I think he can tackle a YEH class? You bet. Do I think he could score well? Meh, it depends entirely on the day and what the judge in question sees.

The tricky part about Presto is that he is nonchalant about everything and rarely impressed by anything, which I think will make it hard to give him great scores. Plus he’s just now learning how to gallop properly, it’s not quite there yet. Really I think it’s hard to tell exactly how much ability is in there, at this point, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a judge feels the same. Plus, like… uh… I didn’t breed him to be an top level professional’s horse, so… no skin off my back if they don’t think he’s up to that standard lol. He deserves a shot at it though, I think, and I certainly feel like the class is easily within his ability and training at the moment. Most importantly though, even if he scores abysmally he’ll get to go back to the barn with one more experience under his girth and he will have had a chance to see the dressage rings and the water before the full horse trial on the weekend (which he’s also doing). It’s a win-win to me, no matter what, and that’s where I think the YEH classes have a lot of value.