Texas situational update: still effin hot. Ground still like concrete. It’s like living in a kiln, so basically… it’s a typical August in Texas. It’s a shitty time to be here. 0/10 I do not recommend. But anyway, things are boring. Well that’s not totally true, my pompoms will be here today and then things will be getting exciting for at least 10 minutes. But until then, we have blog hops to save us. This one is from a Canadian, Alberta Equest, who I am super jealous of right now because I highly doubt it’s 103 degrees there.

Q1:  What hobbies do you have outside of riding?

I read a lot. Like… a lot. I’m already at around 70 books for the year. Thank god for Kindle Unlimited. When the weather isn’t scorching I like riding my bike, too, although usually I only have time for that on weekends.

 

Q2: What is your boarding situation?  Are you happy with it?

I currently board at my vet’s house! So yeah, been pretty happy with that. No boarding situation is ever perfect, but the care here is top-notch and that’s by far the most important thing. It’s also very convenient for vet-related things (perhaps a little too convenient, I’ve had a lot of vet bills in the last few months…). Our boarding situation will be changing again in the fall, which I’m also really excited about.

Q3:  What’s on your horsey-related wish list?

How long have we got? I want a new breastplate for Henry. I’m really liking the Premier Equine merino wool pads that I bought him, so I want some in white for shows. Presto is dangerously close to outgrowing his bridle. My brown gloves are dying. I kinda want some Ice Vibes for Henry. Presto needs shipping boots. A Back on Track quarter sheet would be nice for winter, even if I can’t even fathom it right now.

 

Q4: What is your most expensive horsey-related item?

The trailer. Hands down. It was almost 10x as much as the horse.

 

Q5: What was the hardest horsey-related decision you’ve had to make lately?

In the spring, trying to figure out what to do when we got a month’s notice that our previous barn was closing. That was stressful to the max.

 

Q6:  What’s something you feel you can’t live without in your routine?

This time of year, Henry’s various array of skin care products. He is a walking mixture of allergies, fungus, and itching. I’ve also become creepily obsessed with his Neue Schule bit, I’m 100% certain they’re crafted at Hogwarts by wizards.

Q7: What’s on your horsey-related calendar for the rest of the summer?

LOLZ. Survival. That’s all you can do with a Texas summer.

 

Q8:  What is one thing you would willingly change about your horse?

For Henry, I’d make him more uphill. Or just… less downhill. It makes things challenging. That or I’d roll back the clock and make him 7 again, instead of 12. It feels like time is ticking by way too fast. For Presto, it’s hard to say yet. At this point he looks exactly like what I bred for, but who knows what he will be like under saddle. I guess at this point I would say that I’d straighten his right front, which toes out slightly.

 

Q9:  What is something you most want to improve on with you and your horse?

Our showjumping. Surely I can figure that shit out, right? I mean geez, it’s kind of embarrassing that I’ve spent most of my life in h/j yet that’s our worst phase. I have proven that I’m capable of pulling myself together, just… not on a consistent basis.

 

Q10:  What has been your [current] horses most severe injury?

This question freaks me out and makes me want to knock on every wood surface nearby. Henry’s was his saucer fracture in 2016. Presto’s illnesses weren’t an “injury” per se, but still the worst thing I’ve ever experienced as a horse owner and I never want to repeat it or anything like it.

 

Q11:  What do you feel your biggest downfall is as a rider?

I’m definitely my own worst enemy, which I’ve been working on a lot. My mental game was very weak, which took a long time to realize, but it’s improving with a lot of effort. I think it’s going to be a constant ongoing continuous effort for me… changing how you’re wired is no small task, but having the right mindset is so crucial.

Q12:  What feeds your motivation?

My love for the game, I suppose. I love the sport, I love how hard it is, and I love the “highs” even though they’re few and far between. I love the relationships that we forge with our horses, and how it really does feel like we’re in it together. But I think what I love most is the day in, day out work, the “brick by brick” process that it takes to get there. It’s hard work, it’s sweaty, it’s dirty… there’s nothing glamorous about any of that. Seeing improvement in my horses over time, though, and continuously trying to mold them into the best partner I’m capable of creating… it’s incredibly addicting and so rewarding for me. I’m more proud of my horses than anything else in my life. I want to be better and do better so that they can be better, too. They’re what drives me want to keep trying and learning and working.

A few years ago there was a blog hop going around about “your horse as a character” – character being from tv or movies, or whatever. It was very clear to me then, and still is, that Henry is April Ludgate. But Presto didn’t exist yet when that made the rounds, and as I was ponying him yesterday, it hit me: Presto is Buddy the Elf. 100%. To a T.

I made very brief mention of this before, in a post last fall where I said that Henry was the Walter to Presto’s Buddy.

But that was a passing mention and I never really thought about it further. For some reason yesterday it popped into my head again, out of the blue. I think it’s because Presto has such a sunny disposition towards literally everything. Everything is fun, every day is the best day ever, every horse he meets is his new bess frenn 5ever. He is completely undeterred by the grumpiness or seriousness of those around him, and while he’s a complete idiot, you can’t help but be amused by him. He’s also ADHD as hell, like he’s riding a sugar high 24 freaking 7. He is busybusybusybusybusy. As the barn owner said to me yesterday “He keeps me entertained, that’s for sure.”

I told a couple people about the Buddy the Elf comparison via text, and we exchanged gifs until my abs hurt from laughing. There is nothing more suitable than the Presto = Buddy the Elf correlation. So I’m bringing back the “your horse as a character” post so Presto can participate.

How Presto greets anyone, horse or human:

Telling everyone he meets all about himself, even though they never asked and don’t care and are usually walking away from him with their ears pinned as he’s saying this:

Sitting in his stall during the heat of the day, planning his evening turnout:

When he gets to turnout:

10 minutes into turnout, when all the other horses have had enough of his shit.

When he thinks the food lady is coming with dinner:

When you tell him it’s not actually dinner time yet:

Actual feeding time:

Trying to graze, because his legs are too long for the rest of him:

When Henry bites him:

Lunging:

When he gets in trouble for trying to lunge like that:

When I tell him tack is not for eating, literally every day:

After he spends all day tormenting the minis in the stall next to him:

Every time he violates someone’s personal space (which is all the time):

Trotting poles:

Presto, to himself, all the time:

When I tell him he doesn’t get treats because he’s too mouthy:

Him giving me his daily brief every time I show up at the barn:

Presto with literally ANYTHING HE FINDS ON THE GROUND:

What I’m imagining it will be like when he finally goes into real work:

And last but not least, Presto to everyone he meets:

Except, beware… he gives hugs with his mouth.

The VS outbreak that has kept us hunkered down for the past month looks like it’s finally starting to abate (knock on wood). The infection rate in our area has slowed almost to a halt, and most of the quarantined facilities in the county have been released. I’m not yet ready to declare that we’ve escaped unaffected, and I probably won’t be ready to say that until the flies die in like… December… but things aren’t looking nearly as scary as they were a few weeks ago when there were 50 quarantined facilities in our county. And – the vet cleared us for travel! We weren’t under official quarantine since none of our horses have been infected, it was just a “it’s probably best to stay home til this blows over” type of thing, but I wanted to do whatever the vet thought was best.

So naturally, the first thing I did was book a jump lesson. On Saturday we borrowed a pole exercise from Sally Cousins as prep, which went ok. Henry was a little rude a few times, trying to take over. Right now I find myself sitting on a cocky horse that is feeling a bit semi-feral from his vacation, full of beans, and REALLY ready to get back to doing something fun. This led to a few discussions about being polite.

Which… basically continued into the next day’s lesson.

The high on Sunday was 102, so in an effort to avoid baking Henry alive, I scheduled a 7:30am lesson. This required getting up at 4, driving to the barn, feeding him, hitching up, loading, driving to Trainer’s, warming up, and being ready to jump at 7:30, so that I could try to be back at the barn by 10:30 before it got blazing hot. It was humid as hell for our lesson, neither of us could breathe, but at least it wasn’t 100 degrees yet.

It was one of those lessons where nothing really went right. I should have known I was doomed when I first picked up the trot and he proceeded to prance around the ring like he was A Fancy Horse. He is not a fancy horse. It rarely ends well for me when he pretends to be one. You would think that having very little actual oxygen in the air to breathe (I hate humidity, in case I haven’t said that enough in the past) would take some of the wind out of his sails but no. I chunked my whip pretty quickly, lest I die.

Over fences he was still being rude, and I couldn’t see a distance to save my life. We got to do a lot of jumping and halting or jumping and circling. Struggle bus – we weren’t just on board, we were driving it. We kept the jumps small and the lesson short, since it was the first time back since Coco, and the word “rusty” doesn’t really even begin to cover it. It was shit. Let’s just be honest. It was shit.

So now Henry gets to have a little bit of a rideability boot camp and I need to get myself sorted. Back in gear we go. Trainer and I agreed that I should try the Bevel bit that I bought a while back and never actually used, to see if a touch of leverage might help me out until this creature becomes less feral. I don’t like going harsher in the mouthpiece, so here’s hoping that a teeny bit of leverage will get his attention enough to help me out a bit.

We also talked about the fall season, which just… isn’t coming together for me. There are two shows in September, which are always sketchy because it’s still usually pretty hot here. Like, it could definitely still be 95-100 degrees by the end of September, and the ground is likely to still be rock hard. I’ll be out of the country for the first event of the season anyway, and the second one is about a week after I get back. That feels like too much of a rush, especially not knowing if it’s still going to be super hot. I can’t run my heat-intolerant horse at Prelim in that weather and I don’t really want to trailer him 12 hours round trip in it either.

I was originally planning on two events in October, a couple weeks apart. Then I found out that the first of those two events isn’t actually offering Prelim anymore. Womp womp. There went that whole plan. The second of those two is Pine Hill, which I’m still game for. It’s closest to home and we ran there successfully in the spring. But other than Pine Hill there are only 3 more events in the area: one only goes through Training, one is the weekend after Pine Hill (not running this horse Prelim two weekends in a row), and the last is at Texas Rose, which my trainer can’t attend and I think is too big/technical/still-scares-the-breeches-off-me-a-little to want to tackle at Prelim alone. I didn’t really want to do that one this year anyway.

So… that season died quick.

But, it does present a good opportunity to take some time to work on our weakest phase: showjumping. I can take more lessons, and there are plenty of jumper shows that we can hit, and maybe a few combined tests. We can keep schooling the XC to make progress… the shows aren’t a necessary component to improvement in that department. It’s not the most fun or glamorous way to spend the fall season, but it’s probably what’s best. I’m not trying to qualify for anything or make it to any particular show, so I have the luxury of taking the time to work on our weaknesses. May as well take it.

Jumper folk, it looks like I’ll be joining you for a while. I flat out refuse to wear tan breeches anymore though, that’s a step too far. You get casual navy or formal white, there is no in between.

Considering that I can be a bit unorganized and a natural procrastinator, I freaking love planning these horsey Europe trips that have become a thing. Our 2015 trip required very little planning on my part, as we mostly just tagged along with someone else, but our 2017 trip was solidly on my shoulders. And I was kind of proud of myself for that one, I felt like we crammed a lot into a week. We did, really, covering 4 different countries, thousands of miles in a car, attending Bundeschampionate, and managing to see dozens of stallions. It was great. Naturally though, this time we’re upping the ante even more, fitting in a 5* event, a young event horse championship, a stallion show, a foal show, two countries, and at least 4-5 farm visits. In a week.

My head has been spinning a little bit, trying to figure out the logistics of all this, but it can definitely be done. There are planes, trains, and automobiles (and possibly even boats and buses) involved. This is definitely not a leisurely vacation… we’re on a schedule. I mean, who wants their vacations to be leisurely, anyway? So many ponies to see, so little time.

The Burghley side of the trip is the easiest. Well, ok… I’ve proven in the past that I’m a little bit dumb about trains so hopefully we don’t get lost on the first morning. We go from Gatwick airport to St Pancras in London, walk across the street to King’s Cross, and then get on another train to Peterborough. Bobby is meeting us at King’s Cross, so lord only knows what kind of shenanigans will ensue after that. Hopefully we at least make it to our Peterborough apartment.

We have to take the train back and forth from Peterborough to Stamford every day to get to Burghley, only about a 10-15 minute ride, then walk about a mile from the train station into the show grounds. There will be a lot of walking during these first few days (add that to the list of “types of transportation” we’re implementing), which is good since we’ve already plotted out all the ice cream shops near our apartment and made plans to visit the fudge vendor and cheese vendor at Burghley. Priorities.

The Burghley days themselves are relatively simple… day 1 is for shopping, watching dressage warmup, and sneaking some peeks at the XC course. Day 2 is the young event horse finals and the stallion show. Or I guess most people will be over in the other ring watching dressage but ugh no thanks. We’ll be watching the baby horses instead (like any self-respecting psychopath, I have already looked up the pedigrees of all the entrants). Day 3 is XC day! They posted teaser drone footage of the course and it’s basically a video montage of all the shit I would never jump in my entire life, because while I’m crazy, I don’t think I’m that crazy. But hey I can’t wait to watch a bunch of other lunatics jump it. There are so many Americans entered this year!

So that half of our trip is pretty much already done and set. We’ve got plane tickets, train tickets, Burghley tickets, and the apartment is paid for. We’re skipping Burghley stadium day and instead using it as our travel day instead. We go from Peterborough back to London, and then across to France to start the second leg of our trip. That will also be when we part ways with Bobby and he goes home. Bye Felicia. I haven’t quite decided exactly how we want to get across yet… still weighing all the options and reading all the fine print and comparing costs. We’re only 2.5 weeks out at this point so, uh, clock is ticking. I have to wonder though, as I’m reading through details about documentation requirements, how the hell did people plan trips like this before the internet? I would have been screwed trying to do this back then.

Anyway, the following 2.5 days will be spent driving around the Normandy area of France, looking at horses. We’ve got 4-6 stallion stations to visit, and a foal show lined up to attend with our friend Milena. I’m really really REALLY hoping to go meet Mighty Magic this time, although I haven’t heard back from his owners yet. Y’all know I’m not above a little bit of friendly stalking.

The France side of things is definitely still a bit up in the air as far as schedule goes. I have to figure that out and eventually look at hotels in whatever random middle-of-nowhere places we might end up at the end of the day. My goal is to make at least one of those overnight stays happen in a castle. Because CASTLES. This part of the trip might be a little bit more “by the seat of the pants” depending on when we can go look at all these stallions. Ultimately though, it’s pretty much just 3 days driving around the Normandy region, looking at horses. I can think of worse ways to spend 3 days, even if the schedule-obsessed side of me gets a little anxious about the idea of not having every hour mapped out in advance.

Then there are all the other little things that still need to be done, like deciding what to pack (England in September… LOL), notifying my phone carrier and credit card, figuring out where I want to do the money exchanges, etc etc. Let’s not even talk about the Burghley trade fair, which is rumored to be the best shopping of any 5*. I’m taking a relatively small suitcase so that I hopefully can’t get myself into too much trouble, although I do have my eye on a couple things that are cheaper there than here.

I have another week or so to get all this stuff ironed out, then I’m barnsitting for a week, then we leave a couple days later. Which also means I have to figure out some show entries before I leave, because the fall season starts while I’m gone and barrels right into full swing as soon as I’m back. Things are about to get a lot busier around here! (thank goodness, I’m so bored y’all)

Tuesday was opening day for FEH Championships! I have not sent in my entry yet, because I’m not really that into tempting fate, but I did notice there are a lot of changes this year compared to last. Have I ever mentioned how convenient it is that they got a Central championship the exact same year that I had a horse at the right age to start participating in FEH? We’ll pretend that was on purpose. Thanks everyone.

Last year the show was at Texas Rose, a really nice venue, but a bit far from me at 4 hours each way. Granted, this is Texas… everything is far. We drove up the day before and stayed overnight. But this year the show is being held at Haras Hacienda, the Real Fancy place where Presto did his qualifier. It cuts my drive in half, since Haras is only 2 hours each way. That technically makes it possible to just haul in for the day, rather than have to come the day before and stay overnight. Which is a good thing, since prices went up this year.

USEA cut some of their FEH funding this year, so the increased fees are not a surprise. Entry fee plus starter fees for central Championships are now $210 for yearlings and 2yo’s, $285 for 3yo’s, and $310 for 4yo’s. As much or more than a regular horse trial entry fee. My last Prelim entry was $280, for example. The costs associated with running the FEH Championship are crazy, and the number of competitors isn’t high enough to cover it, so I completely understand the increase in fees. I do wonder if it will deter people from participating in the program altogether, though. There’s no easy solution to that one. It’s tough to get sponsorship for stuff like this in America, where we’d rather go import horses than buy (and promote) what’s being bred and raised here.

By hauling in for the day and working out of the trailer, I’d only have to pay a $30 grounds fee as opposed to a $65 day stall or $85 overnight stall plus $25 muck fee. It will make for an early morning and long day for both of us, but we’ve done it before. It’s also on a Thursday which is kind of a bummer because it means a day off of work. Between the entry fee and the grounds fee plus a $35 health certificate and the $50 handler fee (um, yes, you can bet your sweet ass I’m hiring Martin again, best decision ever) it’s shaping up to be an expensive 5 minute in-hand class. Especially for a horse that isn’t for sale or destined to be a FEH superstar. But, hey… he’s only 2 once, right?

Presto is actually looking pretty good right now, despite being in yet another growth spurt. The barn owner has been trying real hard to get his ribs covered a bit more, and she’s done as good a job as I think is possible short of tubing lard directly into his stomach (… is that an option? Asking for a friend…). The fact that he’s in a not-that-ugly stage makes me nervous that he’s gonna go full blown Giramoollamapaloosa right before Championships, because he rarely stays looking good for long.

At this point now we just have to keep him in one piece and try to minimize the various scrapes and bumps that are neverending. He constantly looks like he lost a fight with a weedwhacker.

I also have to decide which browband to show him in – his green and navy Boy o Boy Bridleworks or his swoopy spiked punk rock one from Dark Jewel Designs. His bridle is kind of barely fitting him these days, especially in the crown area, and he’s already pushing the limits of the Boy o Boy browband (which is freaking HORSE SIZE, what the hell, Presto!). The top half of his head is huge, and it’s certainly not because he has a big brain.

I also noticed after I snapped the browband pictures that in the month or two since I last put his bridle on him, he’s grown even more, and I need to lower everything a couple holes again. So uh, ignore that part. How is his head even still growing? It’s big enough.

Which browband should he wear for FEH champs? I’m on the fence.