Amanda C

The Circle of Death

Published on November 14, 2014 by Amanda C24 Comments

Last night’s (really really ridiculous cold, seriously WTF IS UP WITH THIS CRAP why is it freezing in November in Texas? I don’t have the right clothes for this!) jumping lesson featured the circle of death. Of course like pretty much everyone I’ve done this exercise a million times before but honestly very very little with Henry.

With just poles we nailed it very easily. As soon as the jumps came up our inconsistent pace issue was highlighted in bright yellow. It took me a couple tries to really get a feel for the pace I needed – I always want to whoa too much – but we got it and I think it’s really a great exercise for me with this horse. Then we cantered some single jumps, working on squaring the corner a bit and getting very straight while keeping a good pace and rhythm. He was great, we got the point of it, so we quit with that. I didn’t even bother asking Trainer to get video since I figured the Circle of Death with little jumps wasn’t very interesting. Or at least not interesting enough to remove hands from gloves and pockets. On Saturday we have another jumping lesson and my picture taking friend is feeling a lot better so hopefully she’ll be able to come out and get some visuals.

In the mean time – we’re only a week away from our first event! I’m feeling pretty calm and reasonable about it, except for that 5% of me that’s occasionally goes

I finally learned my dressage test (BN Test B, why you gotta be so awful?) and started making lists of what all I need to do over the next week to get ready. I may or may not have stalked the entries list to see who else is entered… I’ve got some serious competition. The good thing about feeling a little bit outclassed is that I tend to feel less pressure and take it less seriously, which ends up working out a lot better in the end. Hopefully I can stay that way.

Goals:

1) Remember dressage test

2) Stay in the ring

3) Don’t fall off

3) Remember the stadium course

4) Don’t get eliminated

6) Remember the XC course

7) DON’T FALL OFF

8) DON’T GET ELIMINATED

I want a number, not a letter.

B&BS Blog Hop: Can’t Have Just One

Published on November 13, 2014 by Amanda C29 Comments

I have a lesson today so hopefully I’ll have some actual riding content tomorrow (I swear I still ride), but until then…

I’m super late to this one (somehow I missed it!) but if there was ever a blog hop made for my ~~hoarder~~ collector self, it’d be this one.

BBSfinal

Breeches and Boat Shoes asked:

What horsey things do you have that you can’t have JUST ONE of? From breeches, to bits, to bridles, I want to know what you hoard in the endless world of equestrian things.

Oh boy.

Well, since I gave a bridle away earlier this week I’m down to only 6 – the PS of Sweden, a Mark Todd, an Ovation hunter bridle, a custom hackamore bridle, a dressage bridle, and a spare dressage bridle (minus cheekpieces). That’s not too bad right? Planning on selling the spare bridle and maybe the Ovation.

My breeches collection isn’t nearly as ~~bad~~ impressive as some of my fellow bloggers. I’m down to just two pair of Animo, two pair of TS, a pair of ADE, and two pair of Annie’s. But of course I’m always looking to add to the collection. Looking at YOU, Tardis blue Annie’s and Spring ’15 ADE… come live at my house.

One of my major loves is bonnets, in case the big Firefly logo on the sidebar isn’t a major indication of that. I feel like I’ve displayed excellent restraint in only owning 7 (as of this exact moment in time). One for each day of the week. Maybe someday I’ll have one for each day of the month. A girl can dream.

Whatever, they’re awesome. And Henry approved.

Belts. I have no words, only a picture. Actually I take that back, I have two words: Mango Bay. And this isn’t including the 3 belts (two Mango Bay and one C4) that live in my locker at the barn.

The last thing would be Roeckl gloves. I’m up to 4 pair – two gray, one black, one navy. I’d take 10 more in a heartbeat. BEST GLOVES EVER.

Surprisingly I don’t actually have that many bits or saddle pads…

Those awesome mail days

Published on November 12, 2014 by Amanda C25 Comments

I’m really really annoyed by the fact that it’s colder in Texas right now than it is in Alaska, so instead of several paragraphs of me whining, let’s talk about something fun instead.

Monday was a banner mail day… sometimes the UPS man seems like an angel in brown. All the stars aligned so that some early Christmas presents, some random stuff I ordered for our event NEXT WEEKEND (we’ll freak out about that in another post), and the stuff we won at the eventing derby all came at once. I walked in the door to a huge pile of boxes and it was awesome.

So lets explore what was in those packages.

OTwatch — So big and blue and beautiful.

because apparently a padded leather halter isn’t soft enough for Mr Sensitive, he has a rub on his head

Which I promptly tried out on myself, obviously.

… and hairnets and a navy lead rope which I figure y’all don’t really care to see pictures of.

So basically expect lots of product reviews sooner or later.

Thank goodness for the cool stuff to alleviate my otherwise super grumpasaurus mood. I can’t even tell you how much I hate cold weather but opening lots of packages of cool stuff totally helps. The only perk of the cold? I get to use my new PS of Sweden quarter sheet today! I’m holding on tight to that perk, because it’s really all I’ve got. So – tell me: what was your best mail day ever? Cheer me up vicariously!

Review: Aztec Diamond Equestrian show shirt

Published on November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 by Amanda C18 Comments

Anyone who reads this blog with any kind of regularity knows that I’m always looking for nice, pretty, unique and modern riding apparel. But I also am pretty picky about fabrics, fit and features, so it’s tough to find a lot of things that I really like. When I saw the Monochrome Luxe shirt at Aztec Diamond, I was intrigued.

It’s short sleeve, which I wanted… I have several long sleeve shirts but nothing short. It’s white (necessary) but it’s got just enough unique features to keep it classy and interesting instead of being your run of the mill everyday white show shirt.

First – the fabric is Scotchgarded. I don’t know why all show clothes don’t have that. Brilliant. The closures are on the back of the neck – a row of snaps. I was pretty hesitant and skeptical about that feature because I’m really weird about having stuff touching my neck all the time, but I found that this didn’t bother me and was easy to fasten up. It’s not too tight and it doesn’t come up too high, so I didn’t really even notice the collar when I was wearing it. I like that it looks SUPER clean and elegant from the front with no buttons or snaps.

ADEshirtsnaps

The other main interesting design feature is the slight puff sleeve. Admittedly, I’m not a puff sleeve fan, but this one is small enough to not bother me much. I found the shirt to fit well (body skimming without being body strangling) and be comfortable to wear. The fabric has enough stretch in it to move with you, and it’s thick enough to not be super see through but not so thick as to be hot.

LOPEwalk

The real test was when it came to washing. At one point after a show I let this poor shirt sit on top of my dryer under a pile of saddle pads for TWO MONTHS before I washed it. It had horse snot, horse slobber, and various other pigpen-type filth on it for that entire time, getting more and more baked in by the day. I threw it in the wash thinking there was no way it’d come totally clean. Guess what? IT DID! I couldn’t believe it… it was bright sparkling white, just like new. I wish I could say the same thing about my Tailored Sportsmans, they did not fare so well.

It’s priced at 45 GBP which is about $70 US right now. I’d call that mid-range for a show shirt, and think that this is a good buy for the price. It would be especially well suited to dressage or jumper riders – it’s easy to wear it with or without a coat and still have an elegant formal look. I also wore it for our eventing derby and thought it transitioned well throughout the day between disciplines. As for Aztec Diamond the brand – I am still madly in love with my Houndstooth breeches and have had nothing but fantastic experiences with their customer service. Their website is also now set up for international orders, which makes it super easy for those of us overseas. Someone get me the Luxe Technical Gillet, STAT! I can’t wait to see what new designs they’ve got coming up for 2015.

Weekend recap: facelift

Published on November 10, 2014November 10, 2014 by Amanda C21 Comments

You might notice that things are looking a little blue-er around here. I decided it was time for a few little changes to the blog but didn’t want to do anything drastic. I added a few things to the menu bar at the top, changed a few other little things with the layout, and added some stuff to the sidebar. It should make navigation a little easier.

It was a pretty boring weekend around here. We got a lot of rain last week so the barn was swampy. We mainly just handwalked (which really is just Henry grazing because I get tired of trying to drag him around) a few days and that was it.

Luckily I have the coolest horse in the world and sitting in his stall for almost a week doesn’t change a thing about him so yesterday when it was finally dry I just got right on and did a dressage ride. Love ponies that are so easy to own. I also got to try his new Firefly bonnets on him. As usual – LOVE!

blackbonnet — Black square front with gray trim, white cord, and a row of black rhinestones

earemboirdery — Ear embroidery makes me happy

fireflynavylime — V-front in Firefly colors to match his new Firefly logo baby pad

Then he did more of this:

grazebreeches

Told you it was a boring weekend.

When I got home from the barn yesterday I was feeling particularly fat and gross (WHY IS THERE SO MUCH HALLOWEEN CANDY STILL IN MY HOUSE AND WHY IS IT SO DELICIOUS?) so I decided to go for a run. I used to run a lot when I did triathlons but I quit mainly because I have chronic exertional compartment syndrome, which makes running difficult for me. I guess I just kinda forgot about what exactly that entails and kept trying to push through it before I remembered that once it starts it doesn’t get better, so 3.5 miles later my dumb ass ended up hobbling the rest of the way home. Legs are not happy today. I really need to get a gym membership back so I can swim again because something’s gotta give.

If you’re wondering why there have been basically no pictures of me riding lately, it’s because my awesome photo-taking friend has been pretty sick. So if you ever want to see decent pictures again, send her some positive vibes! Get well soon Amy, I think everyone misses you.