Author: Amanda C

If last year was one of the coldest Texas winters I can remember, this year is definitely turning out to be the wettest. I feel like it started raining in September and basically hasn’t stopped. The lakes are overflowing, the ground is completely saturated, and there’s so much standing water in my backyard (which is sloped downhill) that our shed is an island. The barn has not fared any better. It was already soggy to a point I’ve never seen before, and adding 3″ of rain in the past two days has not helped matters.

At this point I haven’t jumped Henry since Pine Hill, and in the past month I’ve missed or had to shorten/modify 5 conditioning rides. We’ve cancelled two jump lessons and one XC school. He was so wild for dressage the other day that I had to just abort the mission and let him gallop. I’m cold and I’m wet and I am becoming very grumpy.

It finally did stop raining for a few days there, and luckily my barn drains a lot better than most. The area of the big field at the very top of the hill usually only needs a day or two before it’s at least good enough for trot sets, and since the arena is course sand, it’s never slippery even when its under water. Still though, do you know how hard it is to try to keep a Prelim horse from being insane but also still keep his fitness while only using one very small square arena and one long narrow strip of field? He’s going stir crazy inside his own skin, and we’re both going stir crazy inside our own minds.

It briefly stopped raining on New Years, so we tacked up and took the horses out for a long marching walk. It was cold and windy, but hey, at least it wasn’t raining. I can live with the cold, hell I can even live without the sun at this point, but I just need it to stop freaking raining.

I know that most of the country is feeling my pain right now, with the east coast in particular having crazy rainfall too. It’s extra frustrating to me because this is supposed to be our best time of year for riding, when it’s actually not 110 degrees and the ground isn’t concrete. Watching each day pass, feeling like we’re losing ground, or that any progress we may have made in the fall is now completely stagnant… it’s exasperating.

My life involves a lot of mud, layers, snorting, spooking, and yelling “HEY, KNOCK IT OFF” at the moment, and very little else.

At this point I have no idea when it will stop raining, if it will ever dry up, if the weather will ever cooperate for Presto to get gelded (not doing that in this mud fest), or if we’ll be ready for the January 20th show. Or a Feb show. Or a March show. The forecast does not look particularly promising. The only saving grace is that Henry retains everything really well and doesn’t need a lot of constant drilling to stay on form. Today I think I’ll set up some more poles in the arena and at least do some “jumping” exercises. And there is one set of standards in there so I suppose I could make one jump, which is all there’s really room for in there anyway.

That is the level of desperation we’re at right now.

I went out yesterday at lunch in the middle of this last solid 36 hours of rain. The “feels like” temp was 28, and I was greeted with water like I’ve never seen out there before.

The ground is just so saturated, there’s nowhere left for it to go. Once all the standing water finally drains off I guess we’ll have mud, but we aren’t even to that point yet. This just… doesn’t happen here.

I suppose I should be thankful that this barn handles water this well at least, because most people I know have not been able to ride at all lately and their horses haven’t been able to get turned out. Our arena is tiny, but it’s always rideable. The turnouts are definitely muddy, but they’re sandy enough to be safe, at least when it’s not actively pouring. The worst part about it is the driveway, which is so trashed at this point that I’m parking at the end of the road and walking in. I can live with that though.

This type of weather makes me nervous about colic too, when it swings wildly from 30 to 70 and then back again. Especially when they aren’t able to be turned out as much because of the constant pouring rain. I keep shoving as much hay as possible in front of both horses and just hoping it lets up at some point. Neither of the boys seem to mind THAT part so much. They’re having a pretty good time at the buffet.

It looks like we might get a few days here without rain at least, so maybe things will at least have a chance to drain before we get hit again.

I hope everyone else’s winter is looking a little more productive than mine! Are we having fun yet?

It’s a new year, time to clean out my Stuff Room (I guess some people would call it a guest bedroom, but why lie?)! I’m waaaaay overdue for another clean out, so I’ve got quite a few things that need a new home. Most of it I love and don’t want to sell, but just don’t use for various reasons. I can take Paypal or Venmo for payment. Shipping is not included in the prices, shoot me your zip (here or via my contact page or via facebook message) for an estimate. I am not organized enough to hold things for people, so whoever pays first is who gets it. Sometimes it takes me a few days to get things boxed up and shipped out, so if you need something quickly please let me know and I’ll make an effort to get it out ASAP. When things are paid for I will mark them SOLD here, so if there’s still a price showing, that means it’s still available.

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Tredstep Solo Grip full seat breeches white size 30 NWT.  – $90

Winston Equestrian breeches, white with gray knee patches size 30. Some typical boot mark staining around the knees, not visible with boots on. Good condition, not worn much. Very similar to Tailored Sportsman or Pikeur Ciara but higher end. – $100

Mrs Tutton’s (high end Australian brand) short sleeve navy and white pinstripe show shirt with navy pleather piping and collar detail. SO CUTE, I love this shirt, but I just don’t ever wear short sleeves. Australian size 12, so 36ish. – $40

Ovation Euroweave knee patch breeches, tan size 30. Worn 4 times. I hate tan and only have them because of foxhunting, but I was gifted a new pair and since I don’t need more than one, these can move along. – SOLD

Ovation Aqua X suede full seat breeches charcoal size 30, only worn a few times. I just really never wear full seats, one of many reasons why I would make a terrible DQ. SOLD

Green Horseware competition jacket, NWT size Medium. I originally got this to satiate my desire for a green coat, but finally caved and bought the green Motionlite instead before I ever wore this one. I have problems. – SOLD

Tailored Sportsman white show shirt, medium long sleeve with mesh vents. I have SO MANY show shirts (really though, I have 10), some need to go. – SOLD

Noble Outfitters Madison show shirt size large, white with teal. Super cute and comfy/breathable but I find that I almost never reach for the teal, it’s just not my color. I’ve only worn it twice. – SOLD

Valentine Equine white long sleeve shirt with built in stock tie. I’m a bit too fat for this shirt and it’s extremely upsetting, since I had to custom order it to get long sleeves but I messed up my sizing. I love this shirt, so that makes me sad. Australian size 10, fits US bust size 34ish. – SOLD

Black dressage Ogilvy gummy half pad. Definitely some sun-fading around the edges, and it’s the older style gummy where you can’t remove the cover. It’s still in really good shape for an every day pad though (I was showing in it too), and not as thick as the typical Ogilvy. Only selling because I bought a navy one, which should be a surprise to literally no one.  – SOLD

Equine Couture white breeches size 30 NWT with silicone knee patches. – SOLD

Total Saddle Fit black calfskin leathers size 60, in excellent condition. Used for like a month before I got a different style. – SOLD

Kavalkade Ivy bridle, brown cob size. Yeah Presto wore this once. It was meant to be his FEH bridle for 2019 but he’s already in a horse size bridle now, so joke’s on me.  As you can see, it’s not even broken in. Comes with rubberized web reins with stops. SOLD

Airowear Outlyne vest, navy with gray, size L3 (there is a size chart here). Good condition, never fallen in. BETA 3 approved. Only selling because I got a new one! SOLD

Long lines – brand new, never used, 30′ long. Somehow I find myself with two pairs of long lines?? No clue how, maybe my stuff is starting to multiply on its own. SOLD

Navy with hunter green scrim sheet size 72. Remember that hot minute when Presto fit into this? HAHAHAHA. For real though, he wore it once (this is a theme here), at FEH Championships. Clearly it’s good luck. – SOLD

Well helllooooo 2019!

If you’re anything like me you went to bed last night long before the ball dropped, then woke up briefly after midnight to curse those “damn rednecks and their damn fireworks” and soothe some quivering dogs. Nah? Just me? Well ok then.

Anyway, now that 2019 is here, it’s time to think about what we want to do this year. I feel like last year went pretty well, with looser, lower-pressure goals that were more focused on the journey instead of very specific ends or accomplishments. I think we actually got more done in the long run, and I definitely enjoyed it a lot more. I still liked making goals, especially because by the time we got to the end of the year it was really fun to look back on them and see how much things had changed. It’s easy to forget how far you’ve come when you never look back on where you’ve been. So with that in mind, we’re going to make a few goals for 2019, but keep them pretty loose again, thinking more about the big picture.

Keep Henry happy – let’s be honest, at this point the horse owes me absolutely nothing. As long as he continues to enjoy his job, I’m happy to keep plugging along. But if he needs to take some breaks now and then to trail ride or ride bridleless or wander aimlessly around the field, then we’ll do it. His health and happiness are my #1 priority.

Moar Prelim – Assuming we continue on the same track, we’ll see how things play out as far as what we do and when and how. I’d rather err on the side of caution than push to do something that’s a bit beyond what we’re ready for, but I’m hoping to continue exploring our new level, learning, and making improvements.

Continuing education (unmounted) – I’ve made this a focus for the past few years, and it’s kind of like the more I get, the more I crave. I like the more formal educational opportunities (like auditing clinics, attending seminars, watching lectures, etc) but there are just as many less formal ones to be found anywhere and everywhere. I’ve devoted a lot of time to my spreadsheet of the bloodlines of top level event horses, it’s up to 15 tabs now with all kinds of information logged and tracked in it. To me it’s a little bit of a pet project, and it’s been really interesting. Everything is an educational opportunity if you want it to be.

Europe – alright for real, if I don’t get back to Europe this year, I’m going to be upset. I really want to see a few more stallions in person, especially Mighty Magic, and I’d love to tie some stud farm tours into another big event like Burghley, Bundeschampionate, or Lion d’Angers. To me it’s really nerdy and fun and fascinating and I freaking love it.

Be more positive/less self-deprecating – I mean I feel like this is kind of self-explanatory. It’s a tough one for me, because it’s much easier for me to see and focus on the things that went wrong or need work, and very much a conscious, continuous, concerted effort to be more positive-thinking. Even if it’s just shutting up and saying thank you when someone says something nice. It’s harder than it seems.

Volunteer – I have so much fun volunteering, and I think it’s really important to give back to the sport. I want to make an effort to volunteer as often as I possibly can. I don’t really have a set number in mind as far as hours, but if there’s a horse show happening and I’m available, I’ll volunteer.

End the year as a more educated rider than I began – I recognize that I’m in a phase right now where Henry is finally pretty “made” and I can really start to focus more on myself, both in and out of the saddle. After so many years of bringing up green horses on repeat, I find myself in uncharted territory for the first time in 15 years. Doing bigger and more difficult things than I’ve ever done before, or ever imagined doing. Challenging myself in ways I never thought I would. It’s uncomfortable and it’s awkward and the growing pains are real, and I LOVE IT. I’ve been given an opportunity here, and I don’t intend to waste it by feeling intimidated or afraid of failure.

Do some FEH – assuming he isn’t looking ugly as hell, I’d like to get Presto out to at least one FEH class again this year. I don’t really care how he scores or if he qualifies for Championships or not, although it would be cool if he did so I could continue to go support the new Central Championships. Mostly I just want to keep getting him out in the world and getting life experience, whatever that may look like, but it’s important to me to support to FEH program.

Get Presto more educated to the bridle – I don’t mean, like… going on contact or in side reins or any of that, he’s too young. I just want him to be totally comfortable wearing his bridle, and to be able to ground drive him with the long reins clipped to his bridle for steering, and have him be both good at it and happy about it. Just the very very very basics to prep him for what’s to come in 2020.

Get Presto gelded – The weather is really starting to piss me off with this. Seriously Texas, I just need like a 4-5 day stretch where we aren’t living in a mud pit but also it’s cold enough for the flies to be dead. Apparently that is a lot to ask, since I was literally spraying my mud-encrusted horses with fly spray yesterday. Reeeaaaaally hoping it’ll work out this month or next, because it has to. Once we hit March it starts getting hot again. And once he’s gelded he can start going out with other horses, instead of just his donkeys. I think he and Dobby will be GREAT FRIENDS.

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What do you have in mind for 2019? Are you making goals, or just going with the flow?

When I wrote my 2018 “goals” post, on January 2nd, I decided to eschew the typical goal-setting I had done before. Gone were the very specific “I want to go to X number of shows” or “Get X dressage scores under Y” or “qualify for X event/show”. Things that, while fine goals, sometimes just don’t happen due to things completely beyond our control. And also things, that, IMO, don’t really measure success accurately, or drive the kind of behavior and thinking that I’m trying to cultivate within myself. I wanted my goals to focus on the journey, not the destination, and I wanted to foster growth and learning. So I wrote: “Instead I’m going to focus more on doing things that a) make us better, b) enrich our relationship, c) are FUN. I’m not even gonna sit down and try to plot out a show season… we’ll go to whatever shows work out best, whichever and whenever those may be.“.

I’m a pretty intense person, really competitive and goal-driven, so this departure from the norm was very different from how I’ve typically operated. The guidelines for the goals were pretty loose, and they mostly focused on improvement. Let’s see how it all hashed out.

Improve the stadium – I’m giving this one a lukewarm checkmark. Stadium has solidified it’s place as our shakiest phase, but I do think it has improved, especially as we got towards the end of the year. I still make plenty of mistakes, and my horse is still not careful, but we’ve gotten more consistent, more confident, and I feel more educated about it now than I did a year ago. 

Do a couple Prelim CT’s – LOL well ok I guess we blew this one out of the water. Doing a full Prelim HT clearly wasn’t even something that existed as a possibility on my radar at the beginning of year, yet by year’s end we’d done those P CT’s I wanted (and ended up year end Reserve Champion for that series), some P jumper classes, a P/T horse trial, and a legit full horse trial at Prelim. We’ve still just barely stuck our toes in the water at Prelim, but that’s a lot farther than I’d ever have imagined we’d get this year.

More foxhunting – I got to foxhunt twice in 2018, which maybe isn’t as much as I had in mind, but it was what worked out. Still love it. Still want to do it more often.

Attend another big horse event – I reaaaaally wanted 2018 to be the year I finally got to go to Lion d’Angers, but due to scheduling conflicts it just didn’t happen. But I was able to take the money I would have spent on a France trip and instead plump up my fall show season, so in the end I think it worked out for the best. Someday, Lion, some day.

Get my volunteer hat – This was in regards to the volunteer rewards program at Pine Hill, where I do most of my volunteering. When you hit the 30 hour mark you get a Pine Hill hat, and I really wanted to prioritize volunteering this year, so I figured if I could commit enough hours to earn the hat, I’d be happy with that. Not only did I get the hat, I got the belt (for 40 hours) too!

Jump the stupid giant Texas Flag table at MCP – I didn’t get to jump the flag table at MCP, mostly because we only ended up schooling there once in 2018. I was about to mark this one in red when I read what I had written next to this goal: “It’s not really about the act of jumping the stupid thing, it’s about the confidence and ability that it takes to do it.“. Well, these days I would jump that Texas Flag table with no hesitation. It doesn’t scare me senseless anymore, and I feel confident that we can jump it successfully. So in that regard… maybe it’s a win?

Move Presto closer to me – That kid is as close as he could possibly get, since his pasture is like 30′ from Henry’s! 

End 2018 as a better rider than I started 2018 – I definitely feel like I learned a lot throughout the year, and came out the other side as a better rider, both mentally and physically. Taking the time to help my mental game has made a noticeable difference in my riding and my overall happiness. 

Keep running – I was doing well with this until summer hit, because I’d legit rather die than run in the Texas summer, and then shortly after I picked it back up this fall, I hurt my knee. The knee is still sketchy, so I haven’t been running, and this is normally my peak running season. I don’t really know what to do about that, because I don’t want to hurt my knee to the point that it’s a problem for riding. I’m hoping that with some “rest” it’ll get better and I can go back to my normal schedule.

Enjoy the journey – Boy fucking did I! I had more fun this year than I ever have, and I really took the time to soak in all the things that I love about riding and about having horses. We had a lot of fun, and I love every second that I get to spend with my boys.

As for a few fun 2018 stats:

• Henry did a total of 8 horse trials this year – 6 at Training, 1 P/T, and 1 Prelim – and 2 combined tests, both at Prelim. He’s already qualified for AEC 2019 at Training.
• Presto went to 4 shows this year – two FEH, one hunter breeding, and one in hand trail.
• The most popular blog post of the year was about Extreme Overjumping, it garnered 58,244 views.
• I traveled approximately 5,322 miles going to and from horse shows, give or take a few.
• Although if you count the shows I attended to work for the mobile tack shop trailer and not actually ride, tack on another 2,237 miles. Add the miles I traveled to go volunteer at shows and that’s an additional 866.
• Fun perk of all the driving – I got to listen to 17 audio books this year (my favorite: The Sun Does Shine, by Anthony Ray Hinton), in addition to 4 podcasts. As far as regular books, I read 59.

 

Hope everyone else had a fun and successful 2018!

This all started last week in a group fb chat, where we were brainstorming to figure out a barn name for Hillary’s new horse. I started putting the various suggestions into the GIF search bar, which led to some hilarious results. Hillary posted about the process, with accompanying GIFs of course, and challenged us to play the GIF name game with our own horses. Challenge accepted! Because the GIF’s for my boys were both hysterical and extremely appropriate. Who knew that GIFs could be such an accurate predictor when it comes to names?

For Henry, the first one that popped up made me laugh way harder than it should.

That’s a very happy vacuum snorting coke. And anyone who’s seen Henry’s cross country face knows that this could definitely be what he’s doing back in his stall before I come to tack him up. In fact, I often call him a coked out dolphin. This is pretty close.

The result from his registered name, He’salmostsweet, is just as appropriate. He IS sweet sometimes, but he would take serious offense at being called that.

His show name, Happenstance, returns a few different ones, but this is my personal favorite.

If those don’t sum Henry up perfectly, I don’t know what does.

As for Presto…

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Probably correct. I’m sure he’s got some terribly naughty idea brewing in that little baby hamster brain of his.

His registered/show name, Like Magic, is an accurate representation of his hair, if nothing else.

Who knew that GIFs were this accurate when it comes to names and personality???