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I don’t know how this always happens, but it never fails there are a couple months every spring and every fall where I manage to make plans every single weekend. I realized, as I was entering a Pony Club commitment into my phone’s calendar, that I’ve done it again. My next free weekend is April 14-15. Maybe. So far, anyway.

It’s a mixture of barn-sitting, horse shows, XC schoolings, lessons, Presto-visiting, and then one pesky wedding that is causing me to miss the first recognized show of the season. Why do people keep getting married? And don’t they know they have to do it in the off season? WTF?

Some weekends I’m double booked, with something different both days, like XC schooling up north on Saturday and then doing a sporthorse conformation lecture for Pony Club on Sunday. I was really hesitant to agree to the PC thing at first, I don’t really feel qualified for… most things… but those moms can be convincing. And now I’m oddly excited about that weekend because 1) I’m gonna make that huge weldon’s wall my bitch

and 2) I get to nerd out about confo with a bunch of kids who are probably gonna think I’m legit crazy. They’re not wrong. Wait til we get to the part about LS gap alignment, my favorite! I’ve already made worksheets, naturally. If I’d had college courses with subject matter like this, I probably would have done a lot better. Or at least shown up on time.

The other thing I’m extra excited for is the Presto visit. I haven’t seen him in person since his inspection at the end of September, and by the time I see him again he’ll be just a week shy of his first birthday. Can you believe it? He’s almost officially a yearling! I can’t wait to get up there and put my hands on him and string test him and all that fun stuff. I know he’s not in a particularly attractive phase right now but I want to see him in the flesh, with my own eyes, and get a look at how he’s maturing.

Plus Michelle’s first mare is due kinda sorta around that time, so maybe I’ll get lucky and see a baby?

As far as horse shows it looks like the first recognized will be Texas Rose at the end of March, in which I have vowed to jump that stupid Weldon’s instead of playing it safe and going the long route like last time. We have a score to settle, Texas Rose. After that we’ll just see what works out. I definitely want to get to Holly Hill since I missed both shows there last year, but otherwise I’m just gonna see what sounds good and works out timing-wise. Trying to keep it fluid and low-stress.

There’s already an interesting proposal on the docket for the fall too… of course I’m really gunning for getting to attend Mondial du Lion in France (already have price alerts on the flights), but also a friend of mine wants to look at horses in Belgium a couple weekends later. So like… I should just stay in Europe for a couple weeks, right? Between MdL, looking at stallions, a little bit of touristy crap, and other horse shows, I could easily fill up that time. Therefore I feel like yes, let’s just make it a two week stay.

Surely I’m not the only one who’s already managed to start filling up the year? Anyone else have any fun plans?

Yesterday USEA rolled out a brand new feature to their membership: ERQI ratings. What the heck is ERQI? In USEA’s words:

The ERQI (EquiRatings Quality Index) is a risk management tool that assigns a value to each USEA competing horse. The ERQI is calculated as a probability, a number between 0 and 1, with horses closer to 1 showing statistically higher levels of positive performance in the cross-country phase. ERQIs are displayed on each horse’s profile in a color code representing the level of risk the horse carries on cross-country. The ERQI is built on the ‘data footprint,’ (the past results) of each horse, and applies a marginal gains approach to improving fall rates.

Basically, layman’s terms, Equiratings takes the horse’s record and uses that to decide how likely you are to die on XC at each level. The more you progress up the levels, and the more clear rounds you accumulate at each level, the more boxes turn green and yellow.

• Green/Light Green: Horse at this level is competing with the normal amount of risk.
• Yellow: Horse at this level is competing with a slightly higher level of risk than normal.
• Orange/Amber: Horse at this level is competing with a much higher level of risk than normal.
• Red: Horse at this level is competing with the highest level of risk.

They started a program like this in Ireland a couple years ago and saw a decrease in falls on XC at the higher levels. This year the US is trying it out, and Britain and Australia are supposed to be the next ones up on the docket for some kind of implementation.

The ratings are attached to each horse, not each rider. As a risk-assessment tool, I think it’s pretty neat. In this sport I feel like the more information we have, the better our decisions will be. You can only view the ratings attached to horses that you have shown or own, so they aren’t public.

But what does this really mean? Not much. At this point the ERQI ratings are purely informational and don’t determine qualification for anything. We still have the same qualification criteria for Prelim and above that we had before. So far (the verbiage USEA uses makes it seem like this may change in the future) they’re really just meant to be another data point that riders can use to help them make better decisions on what to enter or where a horse is at development-wise.

Granted, for most of us low level people, it’s a bit inconsequential. There’s also a lot that these ratings can’t take into consideration. It’s looking for clean rounds, and we all know that at the lower levels it’s possible to have a clean round but still be kinda scary. It can also only use results from USEA-recognized shows, obviously, so any results at schooling shows (or shows in Canada, for those near the border) aren’t included. There are definitely holes here, but there are some things that just can’t be measured in data points and probably never will be.

Is the ERQI a be-all, end-all tool that should be used as THE deciding factor for what a horse and rider are capable of? Probably not. Like this thing is pretty convinced that Henry and I would not die if we ran Prelim, whereas I’m over here like “I dunno, I’m like 50% sure that we might.”. So there’s that.

Interested in learning more about ERQI? There’s a handy dandy FAQ page already on the USEA website here.

What do you guys think of these new ERQI ratings? Will it have any influence on your competition schedule? Do you think it’s a useful tool? And, maybe more interestingly, do you think this kind of assessment tool has the potential to spread to other sports in the future (ie jumpers with a “clear round” rating)?

 

Yesterday was my first time seeing/riding Henry in a week, since I was gone all of last week working at Luxe EQ. As soon as he saw me he plastered his face against his stall door, staring at me and nickering. I was flattered. Shouldn’t have been, though, because as soon as I opened the stall door he basically stuck my whole hand in his mouth. He thinks a week without his cookie dispenser is borderline abusive.

As I was grooming him (how does he get that filthy in a week?) and trying desperately to scrape some of that winter coat off, whether it’s ready to shed or not (COME ON HORSE), Henry suddenly snapped his head to the right and stared off into the distance. I poked my head around the corner to see what the heck he was staring at and saw one of the lesson kids leading the miniature donkey, Dudley, into the barn.

Henry has always been a little obsessed with Dudley. He’s only been close enough to sniff noses with him a couple times, but anytime he sees him he just stares. Not in the “omg it’s gonna kill me” way that he stares at such things as bushes, round bales, trees, etc (because smart, he is not) but more in a pure fascination way. Like he truly can’t figure out what this magical mystical fairy creature is.

So I unhooked him from the crossties and let him step up into the aisle to get a closer look at Dudley. He immediately snuffled him from the tips of his ears down to his feet, then just stood there creepily sniffing his face. Dudley played along for a while, but after a solid minute or two of this he got bored of Henry and started to wander away.

That put Dudley’s butt solidly in Henry’s face.

And that’s when Henry decided he was a stallion.

He started talking to him in the way that stallions talk to mares, then he arched his neck, then I turned around to back him away into the crossties and well… let’s just say that Henry was REALLY EXCITED about the donkey.

At this point the lesson kid’s mom is almost on the floor, she’s laughing so hard, and I’m trying to pry my pervert horse away from the poor innocent miniature donkey who didn’t ask for this. Henry has NEVER acted that way before, ever. Not even when the mare in the pasture next to his was literally squirting over the fence. He mostly just looked at her in disgust and kept trying to walk away. I guess now I know that it’s because he’s not into mares. Or horses. Clearly he’s got a miniature donkey gelding fetish.

That seems about right for Henry, let’s be honest. He has mastered the art of being weird.

I’m so sorry, Dudley.

Last year was the first annual Friends of Ellie fundraiser derby at Pine Hill, and it was such a great success that they’re doing it again!

Ruth, the owner/operator of our local eventing venue Pine Hill, has a special needs daughter named Ellie. Last year the derby idea came about as a means to help raise money to give back to the charities that have done so much for her daughter, and the idea really took off. They’ve planned another one for this May, which means it’s time to start rallying the troops for division sponsorships and/or item donations for the raffle. Here is a little more info about the event and the organizations that it’s raising money for, in Ruth’s words:

On May 5th Pine Hill will host a fun day for showing and fund raising, networking and enjoying the Kentucky Derby.  As many of you know, my daughter, Ellie, is a special needs teenager.  Over the years we have been so fortunate to have been associated with organizations that help improve the quality of life for the special needs community.   These organizations have allowed Ellie to experience many of the adventures and activities that her typical peers take for granted.  For the second year our goal is to raise some money and awareness for these wonderful organizations.   Each one of these organizations has meant a great deal to Ellie and I and this is our way of “giving back” just a little for all they have done for us. 

Sponsorships & Donations—We are asking for sponsorships—businesses and individuals to help defray the costs of running the show.  There are a variety of opportunities and levels for sponsorship and we will provide advertisement opportunities and recognition for every level of sponsorship.  We also need donations for a Kentucky Derby raffle.   Please use the form on our website to send your donations or sponsorships.   We are very excited to have many of the awards and ribbons created or refurbished by two organizations that provide work opportunities for young adults with special needs:  Revived Glory and JoyRide Prep–Day Habilitation Program.  By purchasing from these organizations we help contribute to their outstanding programs.  The first thing we want to do is cover as many of the sponsorship positions as possible so that we can commission our trophies and awards from Revived Glory.

 

Ruth and Pine Hill are huge pillars of support for our local eventing, Pony Club, and h/j scene and have been for a really long time, so I would love to do everything I can to help “give back” and make this event a home run. Eventing could not exist in this area without people and facilities like them, so if a cause is important to them, it’s important to us. If you have something you would like to donate, or if you’re interested in sponsoring a division or learning more about the organizations that the show is benefiting, check out this page, and either get in touch with Ruth via her page or just let me know and I’ll help facilitate things for you. Businesses can do tax deductible donations, plus you can get your logo or ad in the event program or even a banner or your logo/ad on a XC jump! There are lots of different options for sponsorship or donation.

And if you’re local, consider coming out to the event! If you’re not an eventer, they’re also offering dressage tests or schooling jumper rounds.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your help! Back to our regular blog content tomorrow.

While I was looking for a specific old video of Sadie last week, I found myself knee deep in my old youtube account. I haven’t really used it much since I switched to vimeo, which I much prefer, but man there are some blasts from the past contained within that old archive. Horses from up to a decade ago, even. A couple of them I had kind of forgotten about, or at least forgotten a lot about them, because they were project horses that I didn’t have for very long. I thought it would be kind of fun (and also funny) to share a few of the videos, with screenshots for those who hate clicking on videos cuz I’m kinda with you on that most of the time.

First and foremost there’s Gracie, a little grade western mare that I picked up for $800. Did she come from Craigslist? I don’t remember. Maybe. Did Craigslist exist in 2008? I think so. Odds are good. Anyway, I got her mostly because I was totally burned out on h/j but still wanted something to play around with. She was sour and rotten, but once we straightened that out she was a pretty cool little horse. Super on the trails. She ended up selling as a lesson horse to the barn I was boarding at… I think she might even still be there. I’m 90% sure I still remember how to put on a western saddle, but don’t hold me to that.

Then after Gracie there was Cruz, who I now realize (as I’m watching his video) reminds me A LOT of Emma’s horse Charlie. Cruz was a fairly unhandled 17h 4yo when I got him for something super ridiculous like $350, and I started him u/s and then resold him. I think he was about 6 months under saddle in this video. Last I saw him he was down in the Houston area, but I’ve definitely lost track of him over the years.

This one isn’t me or my horse, but Y’ALL, I have been stalking stallions for SO LONG that I have a video of the hunter stallion Shine, that I took while standing creepily beside the ring to watch him go. See, I’ve been crazy forever. Video evidence.

Then there was that cutting lesson I took once. I wish I could remember this horse’s name, he was a really cool older stallion. Tiny, so tiny, but what an athlete. Also if you touched your finger to his withers he would stop dead. It was a literal whoa button. I got a kick out of it.

After that came the Sadie years, when she was finally old enough to ride. She was only 3 in this video, just kind of hacking around. Also she was still super narrow, which is just amusing these days, knowing how freaking stout she ended up being. I’ll be happy if Presto can be this cool when he’s 3!

While Sadie was growing up I leased another horse that I’ve talked about on the blog a little before – Kai, an Oldenburg by Ideal. He was rehabbing from a ligament injury in his foot when I took over the ride, and once he was back in action we showed a little bit in the jumpers before he ended up going back to Cali. I learned a lot from this horse. He was definitely one of the most challenging rides I’ve ever had… as you can probably garner from all the spooking he’s doing in the video (such a little shit!). He sure made you work for every single step, every single day.

And the last horse on my old account, before the Henny videos started, was Salerno. He was a super cute little 4yo Sonntagskind gelding that his dressage-rider owner asked me to start o/f to help market him to be sold. He’d had about a month of jumping experience by the time this video was taken and he was just so super easy and chill about the whole thing. I loved this little horse, I hope he ended up in a great home.

Do y’all ever look back through old videos and find yourself reminiscing, or giggling at yourself a bit? It’s kinda fun…