Category: Uncategorized

Well, apparently all I had to do to get it stop raining for a few days here in Texas was to whine about it extensively and annoyingly on the internet. Literally hours after my post last week about the mud and non-stop rain, the sun came out. It’s suspicious, and I don’t trust it, but I’ll happily take it while I can get it. Since it looked like the weather was going to hold we went ahead and firmed up a lesson schedule for the weekend, and on Thursday I decided I should probably make sure Henry and I still remembered how to jump. We literally hadn’t jumped anything since the Pine Hill show at the beginning of December. The jump field was still too wet though, so I set up what is the only jump in the arena and figured that was good enough.

We hopped over it a few times each way and no one died, so I called that a success and quit while we were ahead. On Friday the field was dry enough to trot, so we did a long trot to try to take some of the edge off the horses, and then Saturday was lesson day! We hauled down to a local farm only about an hour away where my trainer was teaching for the day. I love it when she’s there, because it cuts my typical lesson commute in half, and the arena is freaking fantastic. The footing is so nice and Henry always moves and jumps so well in there, like he’s extra springy.

Baby Inca came along too, and she wins the superstar behavior award for the day. The loudest most annoying horse on the property was definitely mine. He’s so dumb, he spent the whole trailer ride with his ears pinned flat to his head, occasionally kicking the wall and threatening to bite her (while she just ate her hay and ignored his theatrics), and as soon as they were off the trailer he was like OMG WHERE IS MY BEST FRIEND THAT I LITERALLY HATED 2 SECONDS AGO. It got even more pathetic when he spotted Halo, who he hasn’t been turned out with in 2 years and he never actually liked anyway. This is why he doesn’t have friends and gets turned out alone. He’s a total butthole to them when they’re around and a stage 5 clinger when they leave.

But as soon as we got in the ring he settled right down to business, and he felt freaking fantastic. He was moving really well, he was listening, and he was so happy to be jumping. We tend to not jump a ton of fences with him, in the interest of preservation, so after a brief warmup, everything went up to height and we just jumped a couple of courses.

I definitely felt a little rusty, like I was a smidge late with some half-halts and was a little slow to sit up and rebalance in the turns. I’ve noticed that it’s always my reaction times that suffer most when we go a while without jumping. Trainer set a one stride that was oxer to vertical, which can definitely be a bit of nemesis combination for me, but it actually rode great in both of the courses we did. Henry was pushing off the ground really evenly and using his body well in the air, he’s definitely feeling good at the moment. He tends to jump around “by braille” a lot of the time, but he was actually giving them some air for once.

I left the sound in the video so you can enjoy the “Oh Lord” from Trainer towards the end when I saw the big one to the skinny and gunned it. I am here for your entertainment, people.

Now we somehow find ourselves two weeks from the next show (damn, time flies) so hopefully we can fit in at least a mini XC school to make sure we remember how to gallop solid fences. We’ll see how much longer the weather cooperates!

Turns out that writing posts about goals or stuff I wanna do is a dangerous game to play when I have a little bit of time on my hands. On the 1st I wrote that this year I really want to make it a point to get back to Europe, to look at some stallions and some breeding stuff, and maybe even attend a big event. And then I had 2 days off work where the weather was disgusting and I had nothing better to do than fall waaaaaaay down that particular rabbit hole. Y’all, I spiraled. Hard.

It started innocently enough, I was just kind of exploring possible options. The first thing was to narrow it down to what time of year would be best. Breeding/foaling season runs through June-ish, as does the largest portion of our show season, and then fall show season picks up again by early October. That left an ideal gap between July and September.

There are plenty of awesome things going on in Europe that time of year, so it’s not like I was lacking options. But if the goal was to combine as many awesome things into one trip as possible, and get the absolute most bang for our buck, one beautiful shining possibility made it’s way to the forefront.

Burghley is in early September, in England. It has always been my favorite of the top level events to watch online, with the gorgeous Burghley House in the background, typical rolling English countryside, and so many truly iconic fences. Like Cottesmore Leap, and The Leaf Pit, and Lion Bridge, and Discovery Valley.

Not only is it a 5* (it still feels weird calling them that since they’ve been 4*’s forever, but I guess I better get used to it), but they also hold a Young Horse Championships in conjunction with Burghley. These baby horse classes are becoming a bit of a thing of mine, seeing as how we’ve already been to the US YEH championships at Fair Hill and Germany’s Bundeschampionate (their version). The difference between how they do things and the horses and seeing all the different bloodlines is kind of like a kid in a candy store type feeling for me. Honestly, I find it to be just as interesting as the 5* competition. Especially because they also have a stallion parade during the show. So I can go to one venue and get a 5* event, a young horse championships, AND a stallion show.

A couple of very interesting stallions stand in the UK that I want to go look at – Leprince des Bois (a 4* horse himself) and Royaldik (his dam is Heraldik’s full sister). And let’s not forget how easy it is to take the Chunnel train from London to Paris. And let’s also not forget all of the unfinished business I have in northern France, with all the stallions that I didn’t have time to see when we were there last time. Namely, Mighty Magic, Presto’s sire.

So it’s possible that typing up that innocent little goal here on the 1st maaaaay have led to hours of obsessive research that resulted in a rough itinerary, a booking of an apartment rental for Burghley, an intimate knowledge of the rail system and schedule, pricing for the Chunnel train, a list of “must see” stallions organized by location, and a watch on plane ticket prices. All by the the 2nd. Did I mention that there’s now a direct flight from Austin to London for pretty cheap? Yeah that’s a thing too. I can fly to London for like $100 more than I could fly to the east coast somewhere. It’s like the universe wants this to happen.

I haven’t yet tackled the France side of the itinerary, but that’s slightly less complicated and can be free-wheeled a little more. There’s plenty of time for that. The Burghley stuff was more pressing since it’s already getting difficult to find lodging nearby. Still though, I have a rough idea of what the plan might be in France.

Here’s to Burghley 2019! And baby horses. And France. And Mighty Magic…

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?