Y’all know I love me a good discussion post, and a podcast I listened to earlier this week definitely provided plenty of fodder… I’ve been thinking about it all week. Most of you probably know that I grew up in the h/j world, splitting about half and half between the hunters and the jumpers. I was always a fan of a good hunter, and indeed Sadie was bred to be a hunter. I give this background mostly to say that I’ve been in that world, I think I have a decent understanding of it, and I’m not here to just criticize it and be a dick. I genuinely want the sport to improve, because I do think it has a lot of value and good things going for it, even if I’m no longer a participant.

Anyway, on to the podcast in question. It was an episode of Heels Down Happy Hour, and they had Hope Glynn on to talk about things that could be improved when it comes to h/j. She had several points I agree with completely – especially the idea of making all jumper classes under 1m into Optimum Time (yes, omg yes, I’ve been saying this for years) and changing the judging/licensing structure for hunter judges.

The part I really want to talk about though, starts at around 44 minutes and you only need to listen for a few minutes to get the gist of it.

Heels Down Happy Hour 84 – Can The Hunters Ever Be Cool Again?

Basically the points she makes are that the demand for quiet, safe, low level amateur horses is so high that it drives up the prices beyond what a lot of people can afford – totally agree with this part. Hunters are SO expensive, at every level. She also says that horses end up lunged too much and medicated too much in order to make a borderline unsuitable horse into a quieter and safer and sounder one – agree with this part as well (I have never in my life seen anything in a sharps container at an event, which was kind of shocking coming from h/j where those things were full a couple days into a show). She also makes the observation that the majority of people at horse shows, the ones that really pay the bills, are the low level childrens and amateur riders, and their horses are being so used up so quickly from all the lunging and meds that they’re having to buy new ones every few years, which becomes even more exorbitant. Yep, I’ve seen that a lot too. Totally with her on her thoughts of some of the biggest issues.

Where she loses me, 100% and unequivocally, is in the proposed solution. Particularly “find a safe tranquilizer” that can be legalized to give to these horses so that they don’t have to get lunged as much or given as many other medications. I admire the fact that she’s ballsy enough to say this out loud – she’s certainly not the first that’s said it, but still it’s a controversial opinion. I just couldn’t help but massively massively massively cringe at it though. Especially because one of the big reasons I left that world is because I was so disheartened at what went on behind the scenes with regards to medication and the constant attempt to make horses into robots. If you’ve ever seen one dropped by a bad mag shot, it’s not something you easily forget. Not everyone is doing it, for sure, but most of them are very quick to reach for a liquid solution (there’s literally the term “liquid lunge”, y’all).

My real issue with this proposed solution is that it doesn’t actually fix anything. It slaps a band-aid over top of some much deeper issues. Not to mention that IMO it’s not safe AT ALL. Please do not jump tranquilized horses. Good god. And I say that as someone who grew up riding with a very Ace-happy trainer and I FOR SURE have done it many times in the days before I really understood what it meant or what it was. These days you could not pay me to jump a tranquilized horse, I’m sorry. I like my neck in one piece thanks, not to mention that it seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Anyway, rant over… back to the deeper issues.

As Hope mentions, part of the problem here is that many of these young fancy warmbloods are just plain unsuitable for the job of low level amateur/kids horse. They’re big and athletic and fancy. If the judging rewards big and fancy robots, then big and fancy robots are what people will bring to the ring. So, if we’re willing to say that all jumper classes under a meter should be Optimum Time, what are we likewise willing to change about the structure or standards of low level hunter classes? Would these people not be safer on less athletic, less fancy, perhaps smaller horses?

Here’s where we get to my probably very unpopular opinion. How about, let’s say, in the 2’9″ and under amateur and children’s classes, we have different standards of judging? Much like dressage tests start easier and get progressively harder, with different frames and carriage at the lower levels vs upper levels, why should a 2’6″ amateur hunter class have the same standards as a 3’6″ open class?

For example – for under 3′, why count strides? Allow people to add strides with zero impact on their score. Let the shorter strided horses safely and comfortably do the add, if that’s what makes a more appropriate picture. Gunning it for the 5 makes no sense if the horse could safely and easily do 6, and they shouldn’t score any lower because of it. This would also make it a lot easier for smaller horses or “honies” – many of which are much more size appropriate for kids and small adults.

Allow simple changes without massively impacting the score. I’m sorry but a well-executed simple change is MUCH better and safer and more correct than the floppy, crooked, front-to-back change (aka what every other discipline calls a “hunter change”, hate to break it to you) that you see so often as the kid or amateur tries desperately not to miss a lead change because they know it’ll most likely mean they’re out of the ribbons. If your priority is safe and proper riding and a well-schooled horse, then a good, quick, nicely executed simple change is perfectly fine. Take a couple points off if you want to, but certainly don’t drop the score to an automatic 55. Plus this would open up the market a lot (horses without a 100% perfect flying change could actually have a place in their world) and likely make some more affordable low level ones.

Also, at this level and for the children/adult crowd, should we really be expecting horses to jump out of their skin? Should we reward the horse that the rider can barely cling to? Is that an appropriate mount? Why not the horse that jumps consistently tidy with its knees and has a bascule congruent to fence size instead – isn’t that one actually the better horse in this particular scenario? I think in these classes that’s the that type should be rewarded more, because it’s more suitable, and leave the more extravagant knees-to-chin ones for the pros and the higher divisions.

And last but not least, please for the love of god can we stop expecting horses to plod around like a robots? A few tail swishes here, some ear flicks there… if the horse isn’t actually being naughty or rude, let it be. They’re living creatures with thoughts and emotions and reactions, trying to strive for an automaton is just unrealistic and leads down some seriously dark paths in the quest to achieve it. Aside from the obviously much worse issues of LTD (lunge to death) and drugging, have we stopped to consider how ridiculous it is that most people add weight via fake tails to make the horse’s tail be more still? It’s… an absolutely absurd concept that hints at the much deeper issue. They’re HORSES, for god’s sake, we shouldn’t punish them for acting like it.

Basically my thoughts are: instead of trying to find a “safe” tranquilizer to drug unsuitable horses to meet an incredibly difficult standard, maybe instead we should change the standard to actually suit the horses and the riders.

Hope talks about how there has been almost no growth in the hunter world over the years, and I think there are a lot of reasons why. For myself I know it was a combination of cost and all the crap going on behind the scenes that I just couldn’t stomach. Imagine if someone like me, with a cheap but extremely safe and suitable horse, could actually come in and stand a chance at doing well at the national level. That’s what eventing offered me, and that’s why it ultimately lured me away. A “quick fix” thing like making tranquilizers legal isn’t going to fix that kind of issue. It might keep some people around longer with their unsuitable horses, but I don’t think it’s going to bring people in and grow the sport. Making it more accessible and easier for the average, middle class person to actually be able to compete and do well… that’s what’s going to make the difference, and in order to get to that point, there are some big overhauls that need to be made from the ground up. In my opinion, anyway, of course.

It seems like these types of conversations are going on in a lot of equestrian sports right now, with many of us having to step back and start to reconsider how we do things. What are your thoughts? What changes do you think would help make all equestrian sports more accessible? And for the hunters in particular – what changes would you like to see? How would you feel about changing the drug rules to allow tranquilizers? What would help make horses more affordable again for the lower ch/ad divisions? What would help keep the horses from having to be so heavily medicated or lunged? If you’re someone that’s been lured away from that world like I have, tell us why you left. Or if you’re someone in that world now, tell us what your biggest struggles are and what would help keep you actively participating in the sport long-term.

Originally I had a much heavier post drafted for today but that can wait til tomorrow, right? Good. Because my temporarily-Ocala-based Texas friends really came in clutch yesterday on Presto’s birthday and they deserve some blog time. Plus there’s cute pics, so no one should mind.

I’ll be honest, when I posted about Presto’s birthday yesterday morning I was kinda bummed to be missing it, but as the day went on and more people commented on social media and the memories started flooding back, I got more and more sad about not being there. Have I ever in the history of all my horses cared that much about a birthday? No. They get a cookie, a “happy birthday”, a picture, I spend a few minutes lamenting about them getting older and time flying by, and everyone moves on. But with every Presto birthday I vividly remember how close he came to not ever actually having any, and they hold a lot more meaning. The memories of that time around his birth are still so sharp, and still so weighty… it’s inevitable that I get dragged back into them a bit. All those hours sitting in the dirt, agonizing over his bloodwork, cleaning up his runny butt, constantly checking his joints for heat or swelling and praying to every god that has ever existed that I wouldn’t find any, helping run the endless bags of fluids and plasma, bawling the entire hour home worried that I was making the wrong choice, being too terrified of getting a bad phone call to fall asleep, then getting up and doing it all again the next day, day after day after day. Just thinking about it is, even now, still enough to make my heart skip a beat and my blood run cold.

So every year when I put some sort of goofy hat on him and take his birthday pictures, its not so much about the birthday itself as it is about what he overcame just to be here and to have that birthday. Every single one feels like a milestone. Plus I know the memories that are going to start popping up over the next couple weeks, and I always dread them. I don’t avoid them, because I feel like it’s important to remember, but they instantly transport me back to those horrible moments just the same. The trauma lingers on his people much more than it ever did on him, thank goodness.

And the thing about it with him is that I’m not the only one. “His people” span far and wide, some that know him well and others that have never even met him in person, with so many having gone through it all via the blog, right alongside. I know I’m not the only one with a lot of emotion tied up in this horse, and the fun celebratory hat pictures are just as much for his “fans” as they are for me. Everyone was so supportive during that time, and has remained supportive of him and invested in him ever since.

So those were the real thoughts that were running through my mind as the day wore on and I was thinking about his birthday, and how it was the first one I’ve missed. There was some sadness in that for sure, alongside the fact that I do miss seeing his crazy goofy giraffe face every day.

My friend Julie is down in Ocala right now with some of our Texas contingent, at a farm just a few miles down the road from where Presto is. Upon learning that it was his birthday she immediately offered to go see him and take him an Oatmeal Cream Pie (since I was feeling like such a bad parent for not thinking ahead enough to have a box mailed to him). Already way above and beyond for her to do that, so I was thrilled.

Y’all may remember Julie from The Best Henry Selfie ever, from Coconino 2019:

Anyway, she sent me some pics and videos of Presto, and y’all my icy little black heart melted a bit for real. Not only did she go say hi to him and get him an OCP, she got him a little birthday cupcake, a hat, and a birthday boy ribbon to wear for some pictures. If I couldn’t be there, it was certainly the next best thing. If that’s not a seriously proper birthday party, I don’t know what is. And now the streak of Presto birthday hat/headband photos remains unbroken!

All in all he had a pretty awesome 4th birthday, I think. More treats than he could even stuff in his mouth, visitors, some fancy accessories… what more could a giraffe kid want? And then after his formal party he put on his clubbing attire and went out for another pasture party.

Holly says he’s embarrassed by his club outfit. I said nah, the dorky outfit is 100% on brand. In Presto’s mind he thinks he’s going to the club like this:

But he’s really going to the club like this:

Complete with footage of how he gets his forelock ready:

So ya know… dorky outfit is totally appropriate.

Many many many thanks to Julie (and Megan… I should have warned her about the stipulations that come along with this horse but I think she’s catching on) for arranging and pulling off this little birthday party and pics for me and Presto. It means A LOT more to me than you think.

Omg today is Presto’s 4th birthday. Can you believe it? He’s officially an “adult”. It’s the biggest, most monumental birthday for a horse really, comparative to when a human turns 18. In a lot of ways this has felt like a looooooooooooooooong time coming (there is nothing slower than the first 3 years of a horse’s life, I’m convinced) but in other ways it feels like only yesterday that this little noodle popped out with no warning, in the middle of the afternoon, right into a hay bale.

I’ve been obsessed with him since I first saw that one little white foot and white nose poking out, and the obsession hasn’t really abated. Of course, we went through the ringer during the first month of his life (I absolutely DREAD the facebook memories that are going to be popping up over the next couple weeks, it’s still hard to re-live) but here we are anyway, sliding into his 4yo year Tokyo Drift style. Megan made sure he had his birthday cookies this morning, and he spent last night romping around a 30 acre field with a buddy having a party of his own design. A very Presto way to celebrate.

I had bought him a sash and a hat and big 4 balloon a few months ago in anticipation of our usual birthday photo, but of course the plans changed and now he’s not here. Boo. I’ll have to save it all for next year (except the giant silver 4, of course… not sure what to do with that…). Since we didn’t get to do a birthday photo shoot this year I figured I’d repost some of his past ones.

1 year

2 years

3 years

I still get a little emotional if I think too hard about his birthdays. Or, specifically, just how close we came (many times) to him not ever actually having any. Tugs on the heartstrings to think about what the alternative could have been, for sure.

If I was a good mom I would have sent a birthneigh cake or a box of Oatmeal Creme Pies for him, but in all the bustle of getting him sorted to leave for Ocala last week his birthday kind of snuck up on me and I forgot until it was too late. Terrible mother. Luckily Megan is there to pick up the slack.

Happy birthday, kiddo! Hope you’re having fun in paradise. The fact that he’s too tired from his party last night to even chew his birthday cookies with much gusto tells me that he must be having a fine time.

Well that was a banner weekend. There is a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time and just having some good old fashioned luck.

At the F1 track here in Austin they’ve been having mass covid vaccination events on the weekends. Ya know, those big drive through ones where they’re able to vaccinate thousands of people relatively quickly. Right now in our state you can only get an appointment for the vaccine if you fall into the phase 1A or 1B categories, of which I am neither. I’d put myself on every “waste dose” list I could find, just in case something happened to come available, but otherwise I figured I’d probably end up having to wait until May or June to be able to get one. And then on Friday afternoon the mass vaccination event at the F1 track had some leftover appointments and opened them up to the general public. Bobby sent me the signup link and I immediately logged in and got myself on the list. You had to be quick, all the appointments were gone within minutes.

I managed to snag a time slot though, and got my appointment confirmation email. I admit I was still kind of skeptical. My appointment was at the end of the day… would they really still have doses left? Would they turn me away if more 1A or 1B people showed up? I had an “I’ll believe it when they stab the needle in my arm” mentality, but it sure as heck was worth a try. So on Saturday afternoon I got in my truck, drove down there, and proceeded to wait.

The lines were crazy long. First you had to wait in a line to get into a line to get into a registration line. Then you went into another line to get into an actual vaccination line then you went into another wait line before they released you to leave. A lot of lines. The volunteers had it down to a science though, and I had planned on waiting thus I had my Spotify playlist queued up, and it was nice enough outside to have my window rolled down a bit. Not exactly a hardship to sit in my truck and listen to music. It took about an hour to get into the registration paperwork line where you filled out your info, confirmed your appointment, and got all the paperwork sorted. They had 8 lanes of cars for this part, and they did one full lane at a time. The volunteers brought your paperwork, you filled it out, they checked it over, and then once everyone in the lane had their paperwork filled out, they’d release that lane to proceed to the next line to wait for the actual vaccination.

Whenever they let a lane go there was tons of cheering and honking and celebrating from both the people in cars and the volunteers. Which I’m kind of glad I got to experience that… it really brought home how momentous this really is. How much covid has completely derailed peoples lives, how much we’ve all lost, and what a relief it is to have a vaccine available and feel like we have a light at the end of the tunnel. The feeling was jubilant, and hopeful, like maybe just maybe there will be an end to this at some point. It was one of those moments that you won’t forget, when you experience something with so many other people on a mass scale like that. I think if I’d just had an appointment by myself I would have been happy about it, but it wouldn’t have struck me in such a big emotional way. Sitting in my truck for 2 hours was worth it for that memory, I think.

So, one shot down, and I have an appointment April 10th for the second dose. I’m pretty freakin pumped. Get me back on an airplane ASAP. I’ve got places to go and horses to see.

In other weekend news, Presto is officially an Ocala kid. He arrived on Friday night, having caught a ride with another trainer leaving from the Dallas area that morning, since Megan didn’t have any room on her trailer. They drove straight through, which at about 15 hours was definitely Presto’s longest trailer ride to date but he seemed to arrive in good shape and wasn’t stressed. Megan arrived Saturday morning, got her horses settled, then went and picked him up and brought him over to join them at Ocala Jockey Club. They’ve got dressage rings, jump rings, a racetrack to gallop on, tons of hacking, xc, turnouts… what more could a horse ask for?

So far the only update I’ve gotten is the crosstie picture (I have come to call these “proof of life” photos) but I have a friend nearby that’s gonna go see him at some point, so maybe I’ll have more media soon. I’m very jealous and majorly wishing I was in Ocala right now too. I can’t wait to hear about what all he gets up to while he’s there!

The US Event Horse Futurity also started posting the “starting” vlogs this weekend, led by yours truly.

Don’t forget that comments and shares = entries for the Presto’s Favorite Things prize pack that I’ll be giving away (which I still need to post details about, someone remind me another day). The next vlog in May is where things will really start getting interesting, since it’ll be more of Megan taking over at that point and talking through what she’s been doing, but this one is a recap of everything he’d done through like February basically.

Last but not least don’t forget that Baby Bets contest entries are due TODAY. I have a little bit of bad news in that it appears as though Daisy must have lost her pregnancy at some point after her 60 day check. Michelle noticed that she just wasn’t looking as big as she should at this stage, so she scanned her and unfortunately there’s no baby in there. So we’re down to 6 foals expected this year. Definitely a bummer, but luckily there are still a lot to look forward to. Get those Baby Bets in before the end of the day if you want a shot at the $100 gift card!

Presto is officially Ocala bound as of this very moment! There wasn’t enough room for him in Megan’s trailer but another local (to her) trainer was leaving today also, so she took him over to their farm last night and they loaded up and headed east in the wee hours of the morning. He’ll get there tonight and hang out with them for a bit, then Megan will pick him up tomorrow. I’m super excited for him to get there and start experiencing all the fun things Ocala has to offer. This is his first big trip, first time leaving the state of Texas, first time going anywhere like this, traveling as part of a big group, etc etc. So many learning experiences for a baby giraffe.

We spent the week doing all the last minute preparation. Megan got Presto’s feet trimmed and a health cert issued. I Primed them a few tubes of Ulcergard for his trip, and Megan requested a fly sheet for him, so that was a new shopping item for me. I’ve never purchased a fly sheet in my life. I had a bit of sticker shock at how expensive they are, considering every one I’ve ever seen had serious shit for longevity. I couldn’t stomach spending $150 on a fly sheet he’s gonna wear for 6 weeks so he got a relatively cheap one. Hopefully he doesn’t destroy it immediately.

I’m already supremely jealous of him and wish I was going to Ocala too. I’ve done a lot of mental gymnastics trying to figure out how I could at least get down there for a weekend and see him before they come home in May since who knows if/when he’ll ever get to go again. We’ll see. There are a lot of factors to consider.

I did list a bunch of excess stuff for sale to help cover some of his Ocala bills, and all I’ve really got left is a pair of Doda boots, a show coat (size 6ish), a pair of breeches (size 30), and a pair of tights (size L). My friends came in clutch and cleaned me out pretty quick, but shoot me a message if you’re interested in anything I’ve got left.

Otherwise this week has been a bit quiet. Farrier visits, road hacks, and webinars (my favorite thing). I watched the EHV-1 one that USEF did on Monday, which was a good brush up on the actual facts and appropriate protocol. The media posting about every single EHV-1 case (which they really never do any other year when this happens) has spun a lot of people up into a blind panic with rumors abound, so it was good to get actual facts and more information on the current situation.

I’ve also been watching the “Foaling the Mare” webinar series by Sussex Equine Hospital. If you need to be scared out of breeding, I highly recommend. Just kidding. They’re really good actually, really important if you breed or are considering it.

And then of course this morning USEA announced that they’ve pulled the MER rule change proposal for now and will give more thought and consideration based on the member surveys they received. Which is great news, IMO, and I look forward to this being discussed and hashed out in more detail and with more consideration to the masses. I’m all for MER changes, just not ones that cripple everyone that doesn’t reside on the east coast.

Hope you guys had a good week. Did you see anything good this week on the interwebs that’s worth a share? Happy Friday, we made it to another weekend!