Time is FLYING, it feels hard to believe that it’s already been almost two months since Bingo got to Florida!
He arrived on November 11th, and his transition from race mode to sport mode has been, knock on wood, relatively uncomplicated so far. New shoes, ulcer treatment, 24/7 turnout with 24/7 forage, massage, magnawave, chiropractic adjustment, daily stretches, and learning how to move and carry his body differently… he’s already started to morph into a new animal.
Here are pics from November 4, his retirement day:
And these pictures are from December 20th, so 6 weeks off the track and 5 weeks in Florida.
I think it’s safe to say that the off-track life definitely suits him!
He still needs another 50-100lbs of weight and has PLENTY more frame to fill out with muscle, so I can’t wait to see how he keeps developing. He’s going to be massive when all is said and done, I think. He’s just turning 6 at the end of March so there’s still a bit more development to come, in every regard (he really doesn’t need to get taller tho please… he’s tall enough…).
I’m also pleased with how he’s coming along under saddle so far. The first couple weeks were a mess of tangled limbs, body parts going different directions, and tripping all over himself and everything in his path. He’s gotten better week over week, and is starting to feel a) stronger b) straighter c) like he’s beginning to have the slightest little inklings to push and carry (listen, the moments are fleeting, but they do happen).
We’ve got a very long way to go, of course, but considering that half of his rides are just walk hacks, I think he’s starting to put things together pretty well.
On Christmas Bingo went on his first off-property adventure, just a quiet hack around a local XC venue, and he was a little superstar. It took him a few minutes to believe he could walk in the water and not drown, but once he was in he seemed to have fun.
I’m hoping I can get him to a lesson or training ride this month to keep the progress rolling!
I’m a bit stumped at how to even begin to write a 2025 wrap up post, or what to say. For I while I decided I just wouldn’t say anything at all, and intended to let the end of the year pass without fanfare. Ultimately, though, that didn’t feel right either. Y’all know by now that I’m not a woman of few words (how many times do you think my editors have asked me to shorten something?).
I turned 42 years old this year – my favorite number. The nerds among us that have read or seen The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (if you haven’t I will pause here to insist you go culture yourself immediately) will recognize the number 42. In the story, people build a supercomputer called Deep Thought, and ask it to figure out the meaning of life, the universe, and everything in it (side note, this book is from 1979 but that sure is sounding reminiscent of how so many people use modern day AI, is it not?). After 7.5 million years of computing, Deep Thought spits out the answer to the ultimate question: 42. The significance or lack thereof when it comes to the number 42 is never explained in the story, and people have been debating it ever since.
Personally I’ve always found that answer to be amusing, and deeply satisfying. It embodies the idea that the meaning of life is whatever you want it to be… it’s what you make it. It certainly isn’t for someone or something else to figure out for you. In April I had the number 42 tattooed on the back of my leg, and I dunno how to explain it, but I just had a sense that this year would be one of clarity for me. (am I getting more woo woo with age? Perhaps. Please do not ask questions about my Tiger’s Eye necklace, it’ll make me seem even more like a feral bog witch than I already do)
In every way, that feels like exactly what happened. I learned A LOT this year. About myself, about the world we live in, about the systems we’re part of (for better or worse), about my role in it, and about what really “fills my cup”, so to speak. Authenticity has always been incredibly important to me, and although I tend to keep my cards pretty close to my chest (my close friends really deserve awards for persevering enough to actually get to know me), I do feel like I’ve become more and more authentically myself as I’ve gotten older. I used to fear aging, and now I find myself embracing it. The bullshit really does start to fade away over time.
But the process of that – it’s not always great. It’s uncomfortable. I could probably try to throw some kind of motivational quote at you about how everything you want is just on the other side of discomfort or blah blah blah. Don’t worry, I won’t do that to you because it would irritate the shit out of me, too. The truth is that some changes – the ones that aren’t really physically SEEN – almost feel more like a reckoning. They shake you to your core. For me, someone who has a very hard time being vulnerable and is slow to understand/process my own feelings… this year has seen some hard days. I’ve spent a lot of time questioning literally everything.
This year I saw things in our federal government, local and online communities, and equestrian governing bodies that I cannot unsee or dismiss. I simultaneously feel like I know too much but not enough. 2025 was one of those that said “do we take the easy way out and just give up, or do we stand up and fight in whatever ways we can?”. I choose the latter.
I’ve done a lot this year to cultivate my life to reflect what I want to see, hear, and embody. I unfollowed social media accounts that don’t align with my values. I stopped shopping at some stores and websites. I cancelled A LOT of accounts with businesses that were using my money in ways I don’t agree with. I started actively searching out companies and people that feel true to ME and what I stand for. It’s easy to feel like you’re just one person and one person doesn’t make a difference, but MANY people sure do, and you can’t get many unless you start with one.
In all the ways that 2025 sometimes felt like living in a house on fire, there were still plenty of highlights for the reel.
My second-gen homebred that very nearly didn’t make it past the first two weeks of his life moved up to Preliminary, and did the 1.20m jumpers at WEC. And while of course those things are fun little checkboxes to tick, really I learned just how much I love this horse, even when he sometimes makes it difficult to do so. He brings joy to my life every single day, and that’s the part you can’t capture in a social media highlight reel.
I figured out that truly, I like the process of learning more than I like competing. I’ve always had an on again/off again relationship with competition, but this year was the first time since I was a kid that I was actually able to be in a consistent lesson and training program all year long. Honestly, that’s the part that keeps me going. For me it’s just FUN to learn, and to see my horses get better. Competing is fun too, and definitely has it’s place in my world and probably always will, but it’s not what fuels or fulfills me.
I got to see my top 4 FAVORITE bands/artists in concert (Bad Omens, Sleep Token, Billie Eilish, and Motionless in White), and share the experience with some of my bestest friends. Music is incredibly important to me, so this was big. I dunno if it’s the neurodivergence, but music and lyrics have always helped me understand myself and connect to people, especially the music of those particular artists.
My business has taken off such that, for the first time since I started, I’m currently not taking on new clients for 2026.
I found that when I started to shut the door on things that don’t align with who I am, other opportunities found me. Potentially big ones, and ones that give me a feeling of ongoing purpose. I’m understanding more and more just how precious TIME is, and I want to spend it wisely and meaningfully. There’s so much potential for big and purposeful change in our industry, and these could be opportunities for me to take some of that disillusionment I’ve felt this year and turn it into something positive. (We love being a do-er and not just a complainer, amiright?)
But most importantly of all, when I think back on the moments that added the most value to my life this year, it really wasn’t the accomplishments or the achievements on the highlight reel. It was the moments that held a lot of deeper meaning. Like the moment the curtain dropped at the Sleep Token concert (that my crazy ass flew to SEATTLE for) and simultaneously my friend belted out a series of squawks that could only be described as cockatoo-esque. Or the time when the maiden mare didn’t lay down during labor and it took three of us to get that slippery gooey dolphin of a foal safely into the world (a truer and slimier bonding experience does not exist, lemme tell ya). Or hacking around the farm after a particularly challenging horse show and realizing that this – getting to ride horses that I love, live in a place that I find to be incredibly beautiful, do life with people that add meaning to it, and admittedly sometimes participate in some exceptionally weird shit – those are the things that make up my 42.
I think I’m almost fully recovered enough from the whirlwind week that was Black Friday to return to a somewhat normal posting schedule. Between all my jobs I worked an insane number of hours that week, and the last two weeks were pretty busy too. I’ve got a lot of catch-up to do I suppose, since the last post I had pre-BF was about the arrival of Bingo, who has now been here for over a month. Henry and Presto have been up to some fun stuff too!
First and foremost, I had some lessons with Presto in the first part of November, but otherwise my trainer is traveling for the rest of the year. We were able to fit in a couple jump lessons and a flat lesson before she left though, which left us with plenty to work on in the meantime. I’ve also taken him XC schooling a couple times, and popped over to a POP show to run just a Training XC round.
pondering an all-black look for 2026?
We’ve mostly been maintaining, but also with very low pressure. I’m in need of a little mental refresh just as much as he was, I think, so while we’re still doing work (like the walk-canter and canter-walk transitions in particular) it’s very much on a “what do we feel like doing today” kind of schedule. Vibes. We’re operating on vibes.
sometimes zap-zap vibes
I’m honestly not even sure what 2026 will look like for us, and at the moment I truthfully don’t care. We’re just gonna go with the flow and see what we both want to do. I wrote a piece on EN about how a lot of the latest events have been affecting my mental state when it comes to this sport as a whole, and I’m still kind of in the “taking time to reflect” stage. I’m certain that we’ll be out competing this year in some format, I just really can’t tell you at this moment what that’s going to look like. And honestly, that’s a little bit freeing.
Presto and I have been nose to the grindstone for years now. We’re definitely going to stay in our lesson and training program as we head into the new year – I think I enjoy lessons the most out of everything we do – but as for the rest of it… we’ll see. If 2025 has shown me anything, it’s that this horse’s happiness and my relationship with him are always going to be what matters most, even if that means I have to be more flexible with my thoughts and plans and expectations. There are so many options here in Ocala, I don’t have to be so dead-ass tied to one in particular.
As for Bingo, he’s settled in like an absolute champ.
Bingy!
Really, he’s been an utter delight so far. He was pretty reserved and in-his-shell when he got here, but he’s starting to show more and more of his personality by the day. At first he just kind of went very stoic and still at any interaction, but now he’s been coming up to me in the pasture, nickering for his nightcheck cookies, learning to smile, and showing interest in the things he’s learning. He’s a quiet boy, a thinking type, but he’s actually quite smart. I’ve not asked anything major of him yet, he’s still learning the very basics of how to bend his body and move his parts around. He got introduced to three trot poles in a row this week, and cantered his first pole. He’s been on lots of hacks and really likes exploring things around the farm – he’s a pretty curious type of guy. Even if he thinks something is scary he’s the type to stop and look at it and then want to go inspect it, rather than just panic and flee the scene.
He got an A++ from the farrier when he literally just went to sleep
I’m had him on miso and ulcergard since he arrived (he legit was like a walking list of ulcer symptoms) and we’re tapering off those now. He was very very girthy when he got here and did not want to be brushed at all, and now he’s happy to be brushed, much less girthy, eating a lot better, etc etc. He saw my vet for the first time earlier this week when she came for a chiro appointment, which seemed like a good way to get her hands and eyes on him for the first time. She watched him jog, checked all his acupuncture points, felt his joints, etc and then got to work.
the smile is a requisite around here
Having had my own hands and eyes on him now for the last month, and having ridden him and done carrot stretches and all that, I guessed that his neck might be the biggest area of focus and I was correct. She spent a lot of time loosening up and adjusting around C4, and he had a nice release afterwards. Otherwise, it was a largely unremarkable session in a good way. He wasn’t particularly sore anywhere muscularly, nothing else was really out of alignment, his back feels good, and the only acupuncture points that he showed much sensitivity to were for the front feet. There’s nothing obvious going on there that she could see, so I might try to sync up my vet and farrier in the next appointment or two to get some farrier rads and see if there’s anything that might need some support. And ya know, we’ll see how his body is looking and feeling at his next chiro.
I was very pleased with his behavior for his appointment, though. I was a bit worried he might be grumpy and bitey about it, given how he was when he first came (if I even just ran my hands over his belly he pinned his ears) but he was actually superb. Add an A+ to his report card for his vet appointment too. Next on the docket will be massage and teeth.
As for Henry, he’s also had a little bit of excitement this month. He got to go foxhunting!
was an absolute loon when he heard the hounds and realized what was up
It’s been years since I’ve taken him hunting, and I’ve been wanting to get out with the local hunt literally since I moved here but it just hasn’t happened. They had their annual Christmas hunt last weekend and Kathleen and I decided it was finally time to attend. The boys both had a blast. Henry was absolutely vibrating for the first part of it, he knew exactly what was up.
The hunt is Misty Morning Hounds, which is only about 30 minutes from me. It’s 500 gorgeous acres, and they drag hunt, meaning they lay scent down for the hounds to follow rather than actually hunting or chasing any animals. We much prefer that, yes? It’s also nice since you can plan the route and the distance, so not only did we get to go through a range of scenery and over lots of jumps, but we also got regular breaks. Kind of perfect for Henry, who is about to be 19 but remains convinced that he’s 5.
Butterball cameo
Everyone was really nice and welcoming and it was just a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning. We will be back! Honestly I think Bingo could hunt, but that might be something for him for next season rather than this one.
As for Rubes, he found his perfectly ideal person and left for his new home in Tennessee a few weeks ago. He’s already very very spoiled (his standard, really) and I’m delighted to know that he’s in great hands. Moving him on to a different climate was a very hard decision that I agonized over for months, but I think it was the right call for him and I’m excited to see what he does with his new mom. She’s keeping up with his facebook page, so you can still follow him there!
Find yourself needing to repent for the capitalistic sins of Black Friday week? (I’m kidding… sort of…) Today’s the day! If you’ve got any scraggly dollar bills left over, consider donating to your favorite charity. Here are a few of mine:
Strides for Equality Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Detroit Horse Power
In celebration of the season, TurnoutHQ is also offering to match your donation. If you join THQ as a full member today 12/2 (or if you’re already a Free member, upgrade your membership to Full) and not only will all $10 of your membership fee go toward your charity of choice, Turnout will also match it with $10 of their own. I told you they were good people! Together your $10 donation becomes $20, plus you get the added benefit of a full annual membership to TurnoutHQ, which includes access to buy and sell on their secure, verified, no-scammers Marketplace.
Once you’ve joined, hop on over to their community forums and come say hi in the Equestrian Bloggers group and introduce yourself in the Founder’s Club group. We’ve got groups coming soon for OTTB Fans and Warmblood Breeders, too!
breedrideevent.com 