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It’s always funny when I sit down and try to make plans, because we all know how well THAT kind of thing works out. Especially with horses. It’s laughable really.

But if we don’t have plans then we’re just aimlessly wandering about, which makes life pointless. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. Point being – my OCD self definitely needs a plan, even if that plan doesn’t actually happen. And maybe I’m just filled with a false sense of confidence because our 2015 plans actually, by some miracle, worked out. Either way, here’s what I’m thinking for 2016:

Feb – PH schooling HT (Novice) or SA jumper show

March 25-26: MCP USEA HT or Curragh schooling HT (Novice)

April 23-24: Holly Hill USEA HT (Novice)

May 28: Willow Draw USEA HT (Novice)

July 14-17: Coconino Novice 3-Day in AZ (Novice)

Fall is where things get more sketchy, but:

Oct 1-2: Fleur de Leap USEA HT (Training)

Oct 22: PH USEA HT or Quail Run Farm schooling HT (Training)

Nov 5-6: Willow Draw USEA HT (Training)

If everything actually went as planned, we’d be showing in Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona. That sounds awesome to me, so things probably won’t go as planned.

Really my entire year is plotted around the Coconino N3D in July, and the idea of trying to go to venues that we haven’t been to yet. Because doing things we haven’t already done is what makes it fun, right? If Coconino doesn’t happen then maybe we’ll go to Georgia for a couple weeks instead. If THAT doesn’t happen, maybe we’ll aim for AEC in Tryon, NC.

Or, more likely, none of it will happen because I’ll be too poor from buying a truck. Details.

 

Sadly, torrential rain made the XC course was too wet to be safe for Sunday’s rides, therefore cutting our weekend short. While definitely a disappointment, I still got a lot out of even just one day with Buck. I came away with lots of things to work on, got a much needed confidence boost, and made some new friends. That’s a win.

Saturday was a stadium lesson, and we started out with the typical “tell me about you and your horse” part. I told him a very brief version of my and Henry’s history, then told him that our stadium has gone off the rails a bit lately and that I felt like I just wasn’t riding well in general.

Then we went out on a circle as a group and did some w/t/c work. The main exercise we did here was putting our reins on the buckle and then collecting/lengthening the gaits off of only seat and leg. I’d like to say we were good at this, but no… not so much. It didn’t help that Henry was quite excited to be there and ready to GO. Enthusiam, he gots it. Then we went back to a normal rein length and worked on adjustability in the gaits a bit more. Point made – we depend too much on our reins to adjust the horse.

After the warm-up we moved on to jumping. We started with a simple 3-jump serpentine exercise that really stressed the importance of rhythm, pace, having a plan, and executing that plan. It’s always the simple exercises that highlight those issues immediately. Luckily we didn’t have too much of a problem with the serpentine, except Buck wanted me to really keep Henry bent more around the turns (which ended up being pretty much the entire theme of the lesson for me). He stressed that it’s the rider’s job to get the right pace and keep a good rhythm, but we shouldn’t let ourselves become obsessed with finding a distance – that once we start trying to hunt for it we inevitably mess with the rhythm, the pace, or both. He was also big on always finishing the exercise no matter what happens. His reasoning was that you can’t stop at a horse show to regroup or start over, so you have to learn to ride through mistakes. Then we added the serpentine before and after some other fences.

Once the serpentine exercise was conquered, we moved on to other courses. He had us jumping on a more open, forward pace than I’m really used to. The first course or two went fine, and then Henry did pretty much what he did to me at Greenwood where he totally just flipped me the bird and basically locked his jaw and took off. He was like “You want forward? WATCH ME FLY!”. There was a fine line between forward and running, and Henry crossed it. I really could not get him back, either. He braced his jaw and just pulled me around. I have to admit, when I pulled him up I was very very frustrated. Henry’s tail has just been LIT ON FIRE lately and since it’s something he’s not done before, I’m at a bit of a loss about how to fix it. Buck suggested that when he starts pulling on me like that, I need to really overbend him to the inside, get him around my leg, and then give with the inside rein to break the cycle of pulling vs pulling. Once we did that he got a lot better.

We also did an exercise where in the middle of a bending line we had to reach up and pat the horse’s neck first with one hand, then with the other. Again the idea being softness with the hand, while steering off the seat and leg. Pretty much all of us got very crooked in this exercise – highlighting the fact (again) that we’re depending too much on our reins.

Luckily there was someone with a really nice camera and great eye taking pictures, so hopefully I should have some nice non-iPhone pics next week. Here’s a preview snapped off of her camera’s screen.

A few other key points from Buck:

• When you soften, the horse softens. When you tighten, the horse tightens.
• When the horse needs a correction, make it clear and concise, and then move on. Don’t continue to nag them.
• Use your body to help with turns after fences.
• Coming out of the turn, it’s common to pull on the inside rein and then cause the horse to be crooked down the line. Think of funneling the horse equally between both reins for straightness and use your legs to turn.
• If the horse is bulging out around the turn, you’re using too much inside rein.

But the main point of the day, and something Buck said to us over and over: You know how to ride, so just ride the horse. It really is that simple. Meaning: be a thinking rider, make sure that you’re riding every step, focus on the task at hand, and ride the same way at shows that you do at home. 

After the lesson I pulled Buck aside to get his suggestions for exercises that work well in a small arena and we got to talking about other things too. He scolded me a bit for what I said in the very beginning during our introductions and told me that I should never say I don’t ride well – that I ride very well, I just had to believe it. I have to say, I got a little choked up when he said that. While I don’t talk about my emotions as a rider very much, I’m extremely self-critical. I know that 99% of whatever problems Henry has are directly because of me, and there’s no doubt my confidence took a huge hit at Greenwood. We’re in a bit of a tough phase right now so it’s easy for me to feel lost and, honestly, sometimes borderline incompetent. I, much like Henry, internalize everything and it tends to fester. So while Buck doesn’t know it, the words he said to me in private were exactly what I needed to hear right now. If he has confidence in me, I have no excuse for not having confidence in myself. I need to suck it up, ride the horse the way I know how to ride him, and stop second guessing everything.

Thanks Buck – for the lesson and for the psychotherapy. 😉

I’ve now owned this sleek, majestic, delightful beast for 2 years. Jealous aren’t you? I can tell.

This is the very first picture I ever posted of him, sent to me by the friend who picked him up for me in Arkansas. I wouldn’t get to meet him until the next day when I went to get him from her place.

If you had told me two years ago that the fat, hairy, plain brown TB that I bought sight unseen off of a facebook ad would have taken me where we are today, I would not have believed you. He was meant to be a resale project for the jumpers, but obviously that didn’t happen. Fate had something better in store, and it has been an honor to get to ride and learn from this horse. He has truly changed everything for me.

 

I always try to get a little something at the holidays for barn friends, barn help, trainers, etc. Not really to say Happy Holidays necessarily… more like “Thanks for putting up with all my bullshit this year without stabbing me in the eye”.

I’ve almost always been at a barn with a resident trainer, and in those situations everyone has tended to pool their money to buy one bigger gift – new stall curtains for shows, a nice wooden bench for the barn aisle, really nice breeches, etc.

This year is one of the few where I’ve found myself at a barn with no resident trainer. I’ve worked with a few trainers throughout the year, although one in particular bore the brunt of my general tomfoolery and about 10 million text messages. Bobby and I split her gift (poor woman, she has to put up with him too) and it’s already on order. Of course, I can’t really share it here yet because sometimes she pops in here to read my blubbering in an attempt to figure out why the hell I’m so weird.

I went back and forth for a while before I ordered it… it’s hard to pick a good trainer gift. I wanted something that was a) affordable b) useable c) personal, not just a generic gift card or something d) from a small business. No one wants to choose wrong, but if you’re like me you feel like it’s important and want to put some thought into it. Granted, I overthink EVERYTHING, especially presents… I spent 3 hours researching stereos before I bought one of the SO’s presents. So I might just be insane in general.

Do you get your trainer a gift? If so, what’s your tactic – do you go for the pretty thing, the practical thing, the edible/drinkable thing, or the fun thing? What did you get your trainer this year?

 

I try to review things whether I like them or not, but the truth is that a) I tend to not be excited enough about things I don’t like to write a whole review post about them b) things that I don’t like are usually sold or flung to the far depths of my closet, thus promptly forgotten about. So I’ve tried to gather a list of all the things I can think of that I’ve had in the past couple years that I didn’t like, and write a very brief explanation as to why.

Clipmaster clippers – I’m pretty sure these things were invented by Satan. So heavy, so loud, and the damn vent blows the clipped hair right at you. They’re well made and do a good job, but so do other clippers without all the negatives. I’ll happily keep my Lister Stars.

Equine Couture suede belt – It’s a pretty belt, if you like the look of the TS suede belts but not the price. Sadly, mine started to fray and come apart within only a few wearings. When I contacted EC about it both via email and on facebook, I never heard back from them. Boo.

TuffRider/Smartpak breeches – I thought the TuffRider and SP breeches were very similar so I’ve lumped them together here. Aside from the fact that they didn’t fit me very well (really gappy in the waist yet tight in the thigh) I thought the fabric was too thick, heavy, hot, and sagged in the crotch. Of course, I’m used to something very different.

Rebound hoof pack – I saw lots of people online saying that they preferred Rebound to Magic Cushion, so when I ran out of MC I decided to give Rebound a try. It seems to work well, but it does NOT stay in the foot for more than an hour unless I wrap it. I had a lot more luck with the MC staying in. If it won’t stay in, it’s kind of useless.

Wilkers baby pad – My pretty navy and yellow Wilkers pad that I just got came apart the first time I washed it. It’s still usable, but about 2.5″ of the binding came unstitched in one corner. It’s been a while since I’ve had a Wilkers since I’ve swapped over to BobbyGee’s, and this makes me definitely want to stick with BG.

Ovation fuzzy dressage girth – This was one of the girths I bought while I was trying to find the right one for Princess Henry and god I hated this thing. It would bunch up at the ends, slide around, and generally drive me effing nuts. The elastic seemed a little TOO stretchy, so everything just moved around all over the place unless I over-tightened the hell out of it.

Total Saddle Fit leathers – I got these at a discount during a promotional deal that TSF was running, and I just feel kind of lukewarm about them. I don’t hate them… they’re fine.. but they’re a little bit wider and thicker than I prefer, and just have a bit of a cheap plasticy look to the leather. Meh. Definitely nowhere near as nice as my Schleese calfskin leathers.

Rider’s Sport sunshirt – Another “meh” for me. If I’d never had Kastels I probably would like the Rider’s Sport shirt, but in comparison it feels stiff, thick, and boxy, plus it’s a bit short in the arms and torso. Of all the sunshirts in my closet, I almost never reach for this one.

Every knock-off Ogilvy cover I’ve ever seen/tried – I tried several different covers and one knock-off pad from Etsy shops and didn’t like any of them. The materials aren’t even comparable and everything was either mis-sized (a cover that was huge, a pad that was tiny) or just did not wash/wear well at all. I’ll just spend a little extra $ on the real thing.

And not recent purchases, but since I’m on a roll of grumpiness now – general things other people love that I’ve always hated. I don’t get it. Explain these things to me:

Zocks – I understood these when we still had pull-on boots, but now I don’t get it. They’re so thin that they don’t last very long, they provide no cushion, and they feel slippery on your feet.

Show Sheen – Didn’t we realize many years ago that silicone dries out the hair?

No Knot Hairnet – If you do your hair properly, it takes 30 seconds and there will be nothing on your forehead (including knots) with just a regular Aerborn heavyweight hairnet. Plus it looks better. And you can get 6 Aerborn hairnets for the price of one No Knot.

Show Bows – I know it’s my h/j upbringing rearing it’s ugly head here, but I still get twitchy about a show bow. You used to see them a lot in eventing but now they’re fairly rare, most people seem to have gone the way of the hairnet. Granted, I am the kind of person who determines when to get a haircut based on how my helmet is fitting with my hair up in it. No way I could stuff it into a little bag on the back of my neck, I feel like that would drive me crazy.

Nylon Spur Straps – Stop it.

 

Okay, that was a little therapeutic.