Welcome to the next iteration of my “None of my clothes fit me anymore and my house is tiny (literally) so I have to sell things before I can buy new ones” liquidation! Shipping isn’t included in prices. I can take Venmo or Paypal. Be forewarned, it can take me a few days to get the Post Office due to their hours and my schedule so please be patient with me. You can email me via the contact form or hit me up through DM on Instagram or FB.
Shirts
Shirts:
San Soleil blue plaid sunshirt – SOLD
Dover show shirt Medium, olive green sides with white front, magnet collar – $30
Smartpak navy and white striped sunshirt – SOLD
Equine Couture Erna sunshirt, black with full mesh sleeves size Medium – $20
Equine Couture Erna sunshirt, navy with full mesh sleeves size Medium, has more wear to the mesh than the black one but no holes or anything – $15
Black and white short sleeve polo size Medium, embroidered with the Willow Tree Warmbloods logo on the chest and the sBs logo on the arm. Worn twice. – $15
Navy short sleeve polo size Medium, embroidered with the Willow Tree Warmbloods logo on the chest. Worn maybe 3 times while showing Presto in hand. – $15
Burgundy long sleeve tech shirt size Medium with the WTW logo on the chest. – $15
Breeches:
Horze Grand Prix brown knee patch breeches size 30 – $50
Tredstep Symphony tan knee patch breeches size 30, only worn a few times – $50
BALEAF silicone full seat breeches size small (fits like 28) These are the Amazon breeches that I like so much and while I wear the black ones a lot, these are more of a deep teal than navy, and it’s just… not my color. I tried. I’ve worn them twice. $30
Vests:
Brown Ariat vest with USEA logo, size medium – $35
Jacket:
Hy Equestrian Roka Rose show jacket, navy with rose gold and navy gems on the collar and pockets, new with tags size Large (measures 20” across the bust). Material is pretty stretchy. Has zipper under the buttons. $125
Boots:
Pioneer Atena semi-custom chocolate brown dress boots, size 39 4A. Calf measures 14.5 unstretched (the entire outside panel is elasticated, so there’s a lot of potential stretch factor), height 19.5” from floor to back of knee. The top has an embossed floral design. Not much wear because I was saving them for shows, but jokes on me now. $200
Accessories:
Dainese Balios 3 cross country vest, navy size large – $100
Stockbubble stock tie, white tone on tone print with double piping in navy and hunter green. Never worn, was made custom. I have no idea why I have so many damn stock ties considering I hate them and refuse to wear them until someone makes me. I’ll keep the unicorn one but the rest are just taking up space, so… $25
Stockbubble stock tie, white with silver glitter anchors. Worn twice at most. $18
I also need to actually get serious about selling Henry’s dressage saddle now that Presto’s return isn’t too far away and I’m going to have to buy him a new one. I’ve procrastinated like crazy on this because selling saddles is about as fun as shopping for them (or having your eyeballs scooped out with an electrified serrated spoon), but it’s time.
Devoucoux Loreak black monoflap dressage saddle size 18, on their regular tree with standard D3D pro panels. Regular flap length (16”). In very good shape and is a gorgeous saddle. Comes with the Devoucoux cover. I am happy to do local trials, but I’m not really set up to be shipping it back and forth for people to try. Happy to send whatever pics or videos you may need. Asking $2000
Ok, let’s see, what else has been going on aside from the Presto lessons…
Mina’s first hack… one of the few things that successfully tires her out
Texas got hot again (stupid False Fall getting me all excited for no reason) and it’s remained dry dry dry. The grass is crunchy and sad and brown. Today is supposed to be the last hot (mid 90’s) day and then we get to go back down in the 80’s and there’s actually chances of rain over the next few days. Bring it on please. I get sad when the grass is crunchy, it was so green and beautiful for most of the summer and I think we all miss it. All of this to really just say that the ground is hard, so we aren’t jumping much and when we do they’re all set back to a lower height. So… not much of note to report on the Henry front considering all that, and the fact that he enjoyed a nice long weekend off since I was away at the clinic with Presto.
Who, speaking of which, leaves this weekend for his California tour. They’re headed straight from here to Woodside, where Megan’s got one in the 4*S, one in the 2*S (Tenny’s first international!), and Noodle in the Novice.
Then they’ll all head over to Tamie Smith’s place, where they’ll be based out of for the rest of their time in Cali. The plan right now is for him to do the West Coast YEH Championships a few weeks later at Twin Rivers, and then Galway the following weekend, then heading home from there. I tried a lot of different finagling to try to figure out how to make the logistics work for me to be able to come out for YEH Champs and stay through Galway, but I just couldn’t figure out a good way to do it that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. So instead I chose Galway, since that one seems way more fun with a 4*L and all that. YEH Champs are cool and all (I guess) but at the end of the day it’s just a derby and Presto isn’t gonna win. So… more bang for my buck fun-wise to fly out for Galway instead.
Oh and Presto’s latest Futurity vlog was posted last week in case you missed it. This was the last required vlog for the Futurity, although we’ll probably make one more at the end just to wrap things up in a tidy bow. But, this is the last chance to get some final entries for the Presto’s Favorite Things contest, so make sure to get your likes/comments in if you want more chances to win! I’ll pick a winner within a few weeks after Championships. I’m not sure yet when the voting for the Futurity’s Fan Favorite award will start but you can be sure I’ll let y’all know.
Speaking of Championships (isn’t it nice when things segue like this), while I won’t be able to attend the West Coast one, I will be in attendance at the East Coast one since it’s happening in conjunction with Maryland 5*. It took Michelle and I a little while to commit to a plan and get our airfare sorted, but I did book everything a couple days ago, so Maryland here we come (again).
You’re probably looking at that thinking “you’re on crack, Orlando isn’t in Maryland” – ah yes, we’re making a bit of a pit stop in Ocala for a couple days first to attend to some bidness. I’m not letting that particular cat out of the bag until everything is final, because jinxes are a real thing, but it’s exciting. We’ll fly from there up to Philly on Wednesday night and then head to Maryland, making one big Austin – Ocala – Philly – Austin triangle over the eastern half of the US. I think it should be a fun week. Our priority for Thurs/Fri will be watching the YEH horses, then we can switch focus to the big event. Who else is going to the 5*? I’m really excited to get back to spectating again, I’m an eventing fan first and foremost.
And thanks to the European championships I finally got a win in our little friends league in the Eventing Manager app, which I have become stupidly addicted to despite being really horrendous at it.
I’m putting this here for posterity because I’ve never come close to winning before and probably will never come close to winning again. Let it be known that there was indeed one time when I managed to come out on top. I always pick sentimental favorites because I just can’t help myself, and usually it doesn’t work out that well but hey at least I feel good about my picks. Proof positive that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while. Kate, I await my trophy.
The only other recent happening is that I had my second Airrosti appointment yesterday. I’ve def seen some noticeable improvement in some areas since my first appointment last week (my back and my glutes at least) and this time there was more focus on my “terrible” hamstrings. Indeed… they’re friggin terrible. You know it’s not good when they’re like “don’t squeal, this will probably hurt”. Indeed it did, once she found the pain point in my left hamstring and went to work on it. She was also able to adjust my sacrum, but that part felt pretty freaking amazing. I was sent home with more new exercises to do this week, including a lot of foam rolling and stretching with resistance bands.
add all these on top of the others from last week
Those hamstring stretches, y’all. I can’t even tell you how bad they are. My god. I’m fairly certain my hamstrings are just petrified blocks of wood because they’re 0% pliable. I was laying on the floor this morning thinking how ironic it’ll be when the thing that finally kills me in all this is the stupid hamstring stretching. Send help.
I think that gets us all caught up on everything else that’s been going on around here… hope y’all are having a good week! Fall is coming…
Megan came down to the area for a clinic weekend and graciously offered to bring Presto along with her so I could get some more lessons on him. The good news is, we had two great rides. The bad news is, I accidentally deleted the entire video from Saturday’s flat lesson while I was attempting to download it from the Pivo gallery. Gah. I was so upset, because I thought we definitely made good progress from the first couple lessons. I’m starting to figure him out and be able to feel the things Megan is talking about, everything was clicking pretty well I think. Would be great to have the video to look back on but nooooo. I can’t believe I did that.
So, uh… here’s your Saturday media of Presto and Hillary’s horse Lex hanging out. They’re two peas in a pod. A very very chaotic and ridiculous pod.
Luckily on Sunday Hillary was able to stick around to get video, so we do have real legit extensive media for that. Except I’m kind of mad at her because while I was tacking up she went and got the measuring stick out of the tack room. Like… do I want to know how big this giraffe is now? No. As far as I was concerned I could just never stick him again and therefore he’d remain 16.3 3/4 forever since there was no actual proof otherwise. But nooooo, she went and did it. And cackled about it. A lot.
it is long and tall and narrow AF
So um yeah, he’s almost 17.1h. The stick said 17.0 3/4 officially, which means he’s grown a full inch since I last sticked him in February before he left for training. What the actual hell, bro. That’s enough. You’re tall enough. He’s now outgrown both parents as well as what he string-tested to finish at. Thank god he’s still super narrow, it at least makes him not feel as big to ride. Size wise at the moment he actually feels pretty perfect for me, I’ve always preferred taller/narrower over shorter/wider. I mean he feels long for sure, especially compared to short and compact Henry, and his stride is friggin massive, but now I’m thinking I don’t actually want him to ever fill out after all. That’s enough in all regards, thanks. Let’s just stay like this, yes?
looks normal under saddle
Anyway, Sunday was kind of a big occasion because it was my first actual jumping lesson on him. Really it was my first time jumping him at all. Yes we trotted over various teeny things last winter, but 1) he’s not the same horse now as he was then, not by a long shot, 2) cantering courses is a lot different from trotting teeny stuff.
And boy, my god, is he ever different from Henry over fences. Ok they’re opposites in every way, but especially to jump. The adjustment period is gonna be real. First of all, Presto covers twice as much ground. Stuff comes up really fast even when he’s traveling slowly. He also uses his body completely different – Henry really uses a lot of neck and rounds his front end a ton, but doesn’t really have much follow-through behind. Presto comes off the ground more upright in his neck, fairly minimalist in front, and then really comes all the way through his hind end. Honestly sometimes it feels like his hind end overpowers his front end a little, when he jumps more extravagant. That quality will serve him well later when the jumps get bigger and he’s stronger, but it’s just extremely different than what I’m used to, for sure. I thought I might get jumped right off the front end a couple times.
We started out hopping over a little cavaletti each way, then moving to a bigger vertical. Megan was saying that he’s hard to see a distance on so the best thing to do is just focus on the canter rhythm and keep his front end up so he can jump well no matter where you get him. He’s also still a bit of a different horse on each side – to the left he tends to want to get crooked and go more up and down with that inside hind, so you have to ride him a little differently each way depending on which lead you’re approaching from. Mostly though he wants me to be more active and constantly engaging with him than Henry does – constantly suppling, half-halting, balancing, etc. The last couple strides before the jumps though he needs you to soften the hand, otherwise he’ll fight the contact a bit and want to get hollow at the base. Especially when the jumps are smaller like this and don’t hold him off.
So, ya know… a lot of instructions to take in. Which is great, please give me ALL the info. This is the huge benefit of Megan having brought him along this year, she knows him inside and out and can tell me exactly what he’s gonna do before he even does it, and how to best ride it. But it does feel a little bit like trying to drink from a firehose at first. I was trying to ride him well but also not interfere too badly, and it’s strange jumping another horse after so long with the same one. For the first time jumping him though, I was pretty happy with how it went.
Presto, to all his credit, was really freaking good. We strung some fences together, a few singles and a line, and then did an angled figure 8 exercise over two oxers. A couple times I didn’t keep good enough control of his shoulders through the turn and got him real crooked to the single across the middle of the ring, but he could not have possibly cared less. I got the impression that if I get him remotely in the same zip code of the jump then he’s going, no questions asked. Another time I really bungled the ride down the line and epically fumbled at the oxer out and he just went right on through anyway, like “well that was a choice, human, but whatever I’m still having fun!”. Stopping never even crossed his mind, and he cantered away as if it never even happened. Nothing that happens at the jumps bothers him, he doesn’t get upset, and he really really wants to jump them no matter what. He’s so confident and content in what he’s doing. I’m not sure I could ask for anything more than that, especially from a 4 year old.
I do really need to figure out what I’m gonna do for him for saddles. My jump saddle will never be the right shape for him, and I really didn’t like how it rode on him anyway. I need something smaller and… different. Plus a dressage saddle, because I think the right one will really help me able to sit his canter better. I need me some blocks in the right places instead of the wrong ones. I also need a lot more money to make any of this happen. And a fitter that actually calls me back. Details.
Lookit that kiddo though. Gosh I’m so proud of him. I can’t even describe the feeling he gives you under saddle and to the jumps, like there’s WAY more in the tank waiting to be tapped into once he gets stronger and more developed. It’s really freaking cool. And it’s really a credit to the job Megan has done with him that he can go jump around that well the first time with his bumbling ammy owner. He’s everything I was hoping he’d be and more.
While you often seem him wandering around on land, he’s also a big fan of exploring his aquatic side, getting his toes wet and enjoying some water and mud.
There are all kinds of fun activities for a baby hippo to enjoy while he’s hanging out in the water.
He can admire his beautiful reflection.
He can stomp and splash.
And of course hippos are herbivores, so he enjoys chomping on all the extra-moist and delicious noms at the water’s edge.
Which, for some reason that makes the human go “gah, do you have to rip all my grass out by the ROOT!?!”. Whatever that means.
*shrug*
The water is also a delightful place to hang out and spend some quality family time with his momma hippo (from whom he inherited his sleek physique).
Baby hippos enjoy inviting their friends over to admire their pool sometimes too (“friend” and “pool” are both a stretch, admittedly, but don’t tell baby hippo).
Most importantly though, the baby hippo – while quite robust – is still a very regal creature, whether on land or in the water.
After all, the word hippopotamus is derived from ancient Greek meaning quite literally “river horse”, and I’m not sure there’s a better representation of that than Obi.
First and foremost I need you to know that I’m wearing a hoodie and leggings as I type this. A cold front came through, and while the highs are still in the upper 80’s, we’re down in the 50’s at night. 50’s, people! It is GLORIOUS and I may or may not have been extremely excited to pull my hoodie off of it’s hanger this morning. Is there any better item of clothing than this? No. No there isn’t. It is officially the most wonderful time of year.
Anyway, I’m also sitting here with an ice pack on my back. I had my first Airrosti appointment yesterday and you know you’ve accomplished something (probably not a good something, but something) when the doctor says “wow, this is bad”.
The reality is that I’ve had lower back pain for… basically my entire adult life. It’s pretty rare that a day goes by where the pain level is zero, it’s just a matter of whether it’s a tightness, or an ache, or a more “catching” stabby feeling. When I’m really active the rest of my body starts to be affected too, resulting in lots of tightness in my hips, my IT band, and especially my hamstrings. When I was doing triathlons it was REALLY bad, since running seems to be the thing that aggravates it the most. It’s noticeably all tied together though, starting in my back and branching out from there. I used to see a chiro/sports PT guy very regularly when I was in the height of all that triathlon stuff, because it was BAD back then, but as I branched away from the sport I stopped going to him, and honestly when I was less active it usually didn’t bother me as much anyway.
But now I’m pretty active, and I need to stay pretty active, so… it’s probably past time to try to fix or at least help some of my chronic physical issues. Especially since it’s so obviously affecting my riding, or at least preventing me from progressing the way I’d like. I’m fighting against my own body at this point. Enter Airrosti.
As I mentioned last week, Airrosti was recommended to me by a few friends who have had great success with the program. There’s a provider only about 15 minutes from me, so I scheduled an appointment figuring I don’t have much to lose at this point.
The doctor brought me in, read my intake form, and started asking me questions. She’s seen a lot of riders before and you could tell from her questions that she’s at least pretty familiar with the physical demands of the sport. We did an exam where she asked me to do a few basic things (hinge at the waist, push my leg in or out against her hand, etc etc) and she looked at my back. As soon as she lifted my shirt she goes “oh, yeah, there’s visible swelling at L4”. Huh. Good to know. She had me move around, looking at my range of motion, rating the pain, telling her when things felt tight, etc etc. Honestly I didn’t feel that bad yesterday, all things considered. I’d call it a low-moderate day for me on the pain scale, but ya know, apparently that’s not normal.
Once we were done she had me sit down, got out her whiteboard marker, and started explaining everything to me that she was seeing. First and foremost she said that my lower back was bad enough that she would diagnose it as an L4 sprain, and then overall she thinks my issue is lower cross syndrome, which is basically a fancy way of saying muscle imbalance. She said it’s a little bit chicken-or-egg trying to say which issues causes the other, because they feed off of each other and compound. But given the fact that I do have slight scoliosis that makes me crooked and prone to back problems, it’s probably all emanating from my back. Either way it doesn’t really matter, because the treatment and rehab addresses all of it together as a whole.
As far as strengths and weaknesses, my legs are wicked strong, but my glutes are like… sad. Real sad. My core wasn’t particularly weak, but all the issues in my back are preventing me from utilizing and engaging my core correctly a lot of the time. My hip abductors and adductors were definitely weak too, and my whole upper body was quite strong. So basically, above my ribcage and below my knees = good. Everything in between my diaphragm and my knees = real bad. Also interesting that my whole left side was noticeably tighter and more sore than my right side.
After she explained everything she was seeing, she laid out a plan for how she thought we should fix it. First and foremost, treat the back. It’s really an injury at this point, so before we can mess with it too much, we have to get the swelling down and help break up some of the tightness. That would require home treatment. What she could do in the office that day was some manual release in my hips, glutes, and IT band, so she set to work on that. It was one of those deep tissue things where it definitely hurt but in the best possible way. She honed right in on some extremely tight spots and it definitely felt a bit better when she was done, even if I’m sporting a bruise on my left ass cheek today.
After that she took me over to the rehab guy, outlined what she had found and what exercises she wanted me to do over the next several days. The rehab guy showed me how to do each one and explained what it’s all trying to accomplish, then KT-taped the living hell out of my back.
I didn’t even realize how much was on there until I got home lol
The exercises they gave me for this first session utilize lacrosse balls and are fairly basic/quick – all simple releases designed to help break up the tightness in my glutes, hamstrings, and back. He recommended that I do all of those 3 times a day. I’m also supposed to be icing my lower back 3 times a day to help get the swelling out of that L4 area. Lastly, the only real strengthening exercise they gave me for this go-round of homework is the glute activation – that’s the biggest weakness and the one we can easily address right off the bat since it’s not as tight as everything else. The KT tape can stay on for as long as it wants to, preferably at least 3 days or even right up until my next appointment.
As far as the overall plan, usually Airrosti treatments are over 3 appointments, but they scheduled me for 4 over two weeks. My next one will be next Monday, and then another 4 days later, and then another 5 days later. The idea is that the injury/major issues will be resolved by then, and at that point it’ll just be a matter of giving me a maintenance plan to execute at home to continue resolving the issue and prevent it from happening again. I like that they aren’t trying to tie you down to constant ongoing treatment, it’s more of a “let’s fix this in such a way that we don’t have to see you again” type thing.
We’ll see how it works. I have to say that I do feel overall better and less tight today, and my back pain is on the lower end of the spectrum. Rolling around on those lacrosse balls this morning before my spin class wasn’t my most favorite sensation in the world (imagine an extremely targeted foam roller, that’s basically what it is) but it did feel better afterward.
At this point I’m cautiously optimistic that this might actually be able to help me manage some of these issues I’ve had for… basically my entire life. I know it’s likely that I’ll always have to do some kind of special things given the fact that my spine is crooked, but I’m more than happy to do my homework if it helps my riding and my overall quality of life. Fingers crossed…
breedrideevent.com 