Month: June 2022

Gemma got her own post about how good she’s been, and it was deserved, but I figured I should also tell y’all what else has been going on around these parts.

Since Hillary has been in town we’ve found plenty to do to fill my free time. You already saw that she rode Gemma at Majestic Oaks for XC schooling, but I also took Presto along that day too. I didn’t really want to XC school him, we’re still working on reinforcing some things on the flat and over small jumps, but any chance to get him off the property is one I’m happy to take. Especially since he hasn’t really been anywhere (aside from moving) since last fall and had all that extended time off… I thought he might be a bit of an orangutan.

And well, he kind of was. Mostly when Gemma left the group and he thought the love of his life was abandoning him forever. There were some legit dance moves and we had a couple of conversations about what is and what is not acceptable protest behavior. Twirling in circles = naughty noodle. To be fair though he hadn’t been ridden in a few days because his neck swelled up a bit after an IM injection, so he came into it already more fresh than I would have wanted. I did walk him up and down some banks and go through the water, and then at the end I cantered him over a couple little logs (I took him far away from the group to do this and he screamed the entire time, which honestly made him a little easier to ride… less oxygen making it to his brain maybe…). He didn’t get a gold star for his behavior the way Gemma did, but he wasn’t bad. I need to keep taking him places so he can get back in the groove of being a working citizen and everything will stop being so exciting.

On Saturday night we met some friends at WEC for the first big FEI GP of the season. It really doesn’t suck to be in a community where this is the thing to do on a Saturday night.

On Sunday after we rode we went over to meet a friend at a farm where she was trying a sale horse. This place does a ton of sales and some breeding, and they were telling me the bloodlines of some of them. I’m always down for chats like that.

The other really exciting thing that happened – my saddle came! It only took 4 weeks from order placement to delivery from France… pretty impressive, especially considering all the supply chain issues and stuff. I know people waiting 3-4 months for saddles. I have never before in my life purchased a brand new saddle, so it was pretty fun to get to open that box.

Honestly I think the best part about it was greasing the new buffalo leather… it’s so satisfying.

I’ll write more of a review of it in a few weeks once I get to ride in it more. So far so good – I got a shoulder cutout in the panel and Gemma in particular really seems to like that.

Otherwise we’ve just been in major work mode getting the last of our July pedigree reports done for BRC (we beat our self-imposed deadline by a day, so I’m calling that a win) and I’ve been dealing with a whole lot of regular work stuff. FYI for the people that missed getting a pedigree report last time – we’ll be opening up July spots on the 5th, and there will be 8 available. If we get through those quickly we may open up more later in the month, but for now the plan is to offer 8 for July. The price will be going up, just based on the fact that we’re spending an average of 5-6 hours on these, and they’ve ended up being twice as many pages as we’d originally planned. I’ve been hesitant to post an entire sample report publicly because there are already people sniffing around that give me major “here to rip off your idea and execution” vibes, but I’ve been leaking a page here and there on Instagram to give people an idea of what type of info is included. Hopefully now that all of the first round of reports have been delivered we’ll start getting some reviews, too!

I know Mondays are usually recap posts of what’s been going on the for the past week, but today we gotta take a minute to talk about Gemma.

Hillary came down last week and is spending a week or so with me while she’s here, and I also just so happened to have been invited XC schooling by a couple local friends. Of course, we were set to go schooling like the day after she made the overnight drive from Texas so poor Hillary was in zombie mode, but she’s a trooper. The day of the XC schooling ended up being one of the hottest mornings we’ve had so far, so it was a no-go for Henry. Instead we loaded up the two 5 year olds, and away we went over to Majestic Oaks. It was only 15 minutes. I’m still a bit mind-blown by how close everything is here.

Gemma is lightly traveled at this point as far as shows and schoolings go. She went to a couple in hand during her rest period just to hang out, but as of yet her only under saddle off property experience was that one little XC schooling she went to (which was also her first time jumping). Hillary and I have been building her up gradually over time and letting her build strength and get more educated to the sporthorse ways in general.

Hillary got right on her at Majestic Oaks, we warmed up in one of the rings, and then headed out to the XC. We had no real plans or structure for this trip… if all she did was hack around I would have been perfectly pleased with that. Hillary has only ridden her a handful of times so there was absolutely no pressure on either of them. We headed over to the water first and Gemma walked right in no problem. Then she trotted through. It was so uneventful and she was being so quiet, I was like well lets see if we can find some little Starter stuff for her.

And that’s how Gemma basically ended up schooling the entire Starter course. She just hopped right over everything without so much as a second thought, even the little faux trakehner. She’s so brave, and she seems to like having new things to conquer. Then Hillary left the start box area and jumped the first half of the Starter course as if it were an actual XC run, and Gemma was friggin adorable. Very proud of herself but still 100% rideable. To cap it off she hopped down off the smaller bank into the water like she’s been doing it all her life. She’s really started to figure out the jumping in the past couple weeks – I’ve made a point to hop her over a few little cavaletti every ride, and that’s definitely helped her start to figure out the game. Hillary and I were both really pleased with her XC schooling… honestly she could go run a Starter right now and do really well, I think. I just want to take a little extra time to put her through some gymnastics and work more with showing her how to use her body and how to be quick with her feet and confident. We’re in zero hurry so I figure why not take the time upfront to cover all our bases… I think ultimately it’ll end up being faster that way.

Gemma’s flatwork is really coming together too. I swear the more you ask of her, the more she delivers. Her leg yields and shoulder in are getting pretty good, and she’s starting to reach down to the bit and want to stretch her topline. It’s still just moments, and it’s not consistent, but she shows some lovely bits in there. She’s starting to get some really fun buttons and her topline is filling in slowly but surely. This week we’ve been playing a little bit with stretching and lengthening and it’s just kind of crazy how quickly she picks up on what you’re asking. She’s like a little sportscar.

She got some new fans at Majestic Oaks, including one “now THAT’S the kind of mare that should be bred”, so that’s always fun. Such a good girl!

When you say you breed sporthorses but the foals are still trying to figure out exactly which sport they were bred for.

How many different sports do you see represented here by Quinlee? I count 6…

Happy Friday!

Thank goodness for Anxiety at A because I was definitely not prepared for a Battle Royale Review this week and this is a much quicker, easier, and more fun replacement. We haven’t had a blog hop like this circulating in quite a while it feels like. We’ll get back to the reviews next week when I’m more organized with things, but for now I thought there were some really good questions in this blog hop!

https://anxietyata.wordpress.com/2022/06/21/even-more-questions/

1: What is one of your favorite brands specifically for your horse, and why?

Majyk Equipe would be high up on the list, especially if we’re talking sheer volume and range of what I own from the brand. I’ve got their XC boots x 2, their sport boots x 3, their ice boots, their jump boots x 3, saddle pads, etc etc. I’ve had great luck with their products and they’re great people, so win-win. Next would probably be Premier Equine, but really just their merino wool saddle pads. I have 5 and it’s about time to order a new round of them, they’re by far my most used pad and they’ve held up so well.

2. If you were given a gift card for a tack shop with unlimited funds, what would you buy first?

I would normally say a saddle but since I just bought a new saddle (which is on it’s way here from France as we speak) I guess I’m not allowed to say that anymore. Or bridles, since I have like 12 (If I have unlimited funds though I’d prob need this one to make it an even 13, ya know?). I’d probably pick up a couple nice super fancy sheepskin girths for Gemma and then I’d march my dumb ass straight into Romitelli and buy like 3 more pairs of tall boots that I don’t need but definitely want. It’s a sickness.

3. What horse event/clinic do you really want to audit or participate in? (Events like Equine Affaire, or the LRK3DE, or even local events, etc)

I love spectating big events and I’ve been lucky to see some major ones, but the big ones left on my bucket list are Millstreet 4* in Ireland, Lion d’Angers 6 and 7yo World Championships in France, and Aachen in Germany. Someday!

4. What is something your horse has taught you that you didn’t expect to learn?

That I have to stop worrying about what everyone else does or what we think we’re “supposed” to do, and pay more attention to what I actually want to do. Life is too short to live by someone else’s rules and ideas.

5. If you could take your horse anywhere, right now, to do anything, where would you go and what would you do?

Hunting in Ireland. But like their baby version, not the one with 7′ hedges and giant canals. Oooo or team chasing looks really fun.

6. What are your favorite colors to put on your horse? (think saddle pads, tack colors, browbands, etc.)

Navy. Navy navy navy. And black. Or Navy. Black and Navy. With black or navy glitter.

7. What is your least favorite equestrian brand?

Ooooo we out here throwin hands! Buuut… probably Tailored Sportsman. I refuse to give those people one hot cent of my money, they are astonishingly awful to both retailers and customers. Millbrook Leathers would rank high up there too due to some really not-great things they’ve posted on their social media. Oh what’s that awful pyramid scheme company run by felons that brews their injectable “joint supplement” without any FDA regulation… Summit! That’s it. Hard fucking pass absolutely the fuck not. KEP Helmets after that insane debacle a few years back with their falling-apart helmets and how they responded to it. I’m sure there are more that I’ve written off and completely forgotten about.

8. If you could change one thing about your discipline, what would it be?

Improve safety for horse and rider.

9. Did you grow up in an ag/equestrian familiar family, or are you the first person in your family to step foot in a barn?

Nope I’m from a family of muggles.

10. Do you like the bit that is in your horse’s mouth currently or do you want to try a new one?

My horses go in different bits (or different bitless setups) depending on a variety of things. Right now I’m happy with what each of them is in (Henry mostly goes in the bitless, Gemma is in a Myler comfort snaffle, Presto is in a HS WH Ultra Sensogan), but if I wasn’t I’d change it up.

11. If you could change one thing about your horse, what would it be?

I’d make Henry live forever, Presto not be a walking vet bill 24/7, and turn Gemma into an easy keeper.

12. What is one thing about horses you are weirdly obsessed with? (i.e wrapping techniques, footing, grooming, hair care, clippers, saddles, etc)

I’m sure I’m weirdly obsessed with lots of things by other people’s standards but I can’t think of one thing that ranks above most other things to me. I’d say I’m particular about… almost everything. I just have preferences after all this time.

13. What is the most advanced horse you have ever ridden, or what is the most advanced move for your discipline you have done?

I got to ride some really nice GP jumpers when I was a teenager, and I’ve sat on a couple upper level eventers (3* and 4*) and a GP dressage horse! Oh and a pretty nice cutting horse, which was really fun.

14. What is your favorite type of reins?

Rubber, but not too thick and not the cheap shitty ones that melt in the heat.

15. What are you a diva/stickler about in terms of equipment quality?

A lot of things. Mostly I hate really shitty leather, especially the stiff dry stuff that just never breaks in well or molds to horse or rider. Life is too short for shitty leather. I also don’t like things that aren’t designed well for the horse’s anatomy or comfort (like saddle pads with no wither cut, or badly placed seams, etc etc). I feel the same way about riding clothes with regards to fabric and fit.

16. What is your favorite barn hack you learned?

uh. I have no idea what I do that would even qualify as a barn hack… I feel like most of the “barn hack” posts I see are just full of DUH things. Like the one about how to kink a hose to stop the flow of water. You gotta be shittin me.

17. What is your least favorite piece of equipment and why?

If I see one more person put a curb chain on an elevator bit and then use it with one rein on the bottom of the gag, usually waterskiing on their horse’s mouth while running cross country, I swear to Jesus (and what a coincidence, 99.99999 times out of 100 the person with that setup also has really bad hands and gaping holes in their flatwork).

18. If your horse was a character from a Disney movie, who would they be?

I admittedly have not watched a Disney movie in forever but based on what I can remember of them off the top of my head Gemma = Princess Merida, Henry and Presto… I don’t think this is a Disney movie but it’s animated so I’m saying it counts – Henry is Shrek and Presto is the Donkey.

19. If you could change one thing about the property you are at right now with your horses, what would it be?

Mostly I’d just fast forward 5 years to when all the projects will be complete. This place is STUNNING and has such great bones, it was just a bit neglected and run down, so it’ll take time to get it back to it’s former glory and then mold it into what we’re eventually envisioning for the facility. One of the first big things is pasture maintenance! Gotta get rid of the weeds and get the grass lush again.

20. What is the purchase that you regret in the horse world?

The air vest that I bought when I first started eventing because that trainer at the time said it was essential, so I listened to her and bought one before I started researching things for myself and asking my own questions. Never did wear that thing, finally sold it a few years ago.

This month marked the official launch of the next phase of Breed.Ride.Compete. and perhaps the part that I was most excited to roll out – the custom pedigree reports. In my head it sounded like a really cool idea, but of course I am a breeding nerd so I always think stuff like that sounds really cool. I had absolutely no clue how it would be received by the public in general though, or if anyone would actually even buy one. I also wasn’t 100% sure just how long they would take me… I wanted to get a handful done first and see how they went.

When we opened the listing for sales, we set the quantity at 5 and I figured we’d give it a couple weeks and see how they went. It was pretty shocking to me to sell out in about an hour. Shocking but in a good way, because you have no idea how delighted I am to see how interested people are in this stuff. The whole point behind starting BRC in the first place was to make breeding info more accessible and help raise public interest/help increase knowledge.

The level of interest was a complete surprise to me for sure, but it’s also invigorating. If people are excited about this, I want to make sure that what they’re getting is something worth the excitement. Plus if I’m going to dedicate my time and energy to it and put my brand name on it, I want it to be something that I’m really proud of and pleased with. Not boring, not half-assed, not decent, but I literally want every document to be THE BEST I can do.

Which is how something that was originally conceptualized as being fairly simple in design and maybe 3-5 pages long has ended up being… um, not that. I dunno who’s surprised to hear that, but I’m sure not. I spent a relatively embarrassing amount of time tweaking the template, playing with layout and colors and the flow of the document, and what I wanted on each page. Charts, infographics… you name it, it’s probably in there. Once I popped I couldn’t stop. And do you know how many times I changed the navy by like the tiniest shade? Yeah no I’m not gonna tell you, you’ll have me committed. Did I completely miss Foal Friday last week because I was so focused on that? Indeed I did. Didn’t even realize it until Sunday. I’ll make it up to you this week, I promise.

But once I got the template in place (I mean, as much in place as it can be, every report will be a bit different depending on where the research takes me) I was finally off and running. The first two reports are now complete and have been delivered, and I’m currently working on the third. And so far, I’m actually enjoying myself. This is the fun nerd shit that I LOVE, following endless rabbit trails into oblivion, and it’s extra fun when I stumble across a juicy little tidbit of info that I know the owner will be excited about. On the other hand, I’ve also prooooobably underestimated how much time I’m really going to end up spending on these. I’m going to have to rethink the price point a bit, lest I end up not even paying myself minimum wage (which is how it’s trending at the moment). I’m certainly not trying to get rich by doing these, but also it’s a lot of effort and at the end of the day I have to make it at least somewhat worth my time in order to justify it at all.

Once I finish the rest of this first batch I’ll have a better idea of just how long they’re taking on average but I do know that so far they’ve ended up being 7-9 pages rather than 3-5. Technically I could scale it back but then it’s not as thorough as I want it to be, and if it’s not thorough why even bother?

We’ll open up spots for more reports in July but again in a limited number (the last thing I want to do is overpromise and underdeliver) and probably will end up having to raise the price a little bit. On one hand I don’t want to do that at all, because I want people excited about breeding and I want people to have this information. But I also have to be careful how much of myself I’m giving away. Honestly not a bad problem to have though, since in my head I thought we’d be lucky to sell 5 in the first month at all, so… I’ll take it! It’s been really fun to bring the idea to life.