This is one of those weeks where I feel like I’m coming in hot to the weekend, flying sideways with tires screeching like it’s Tokyo Drift. There are major upheavals at work, one of our senior dogs is not doing well, and we have to start packing/moving stuff to the new barn this weekend. Things are busy and stressful.

I’m not in the right frame of mind for deep, insightful blog posts right now. My brain is overwhelmed as it is. But what I can offer, happily, is some levity. Specifically the kind that comes wrapped in a wobbly, fuzzy, pony-baby sized package. That’s right, I come bearing more pictures of Nunez WTW, who I am personally calling Mijo because it’s taking Michelle too long to come up with a barn name.

I also have a few general updates or things I want to mention. Once again I have to plug the US Event Horse Futurity, because I’m completely hooked on watching the videos of these young horses as they progress through the beginning of their careers. It’s been so educational for me already. Best idea anyone has ever had, documenting all of this on video. Watching how the trainers are working through problems and setbacks is something we don’t often get a front row seat to. If you still aren’t following, you really should. Plus if you’re active on the page with likes and comments and shares, you can win swag. OR, if you really want to promote the program, you can buy some swag too. Presto already has the hat… maybe he wants in for 2021?

As to the winner of the Australia vs Germany race, it was definitely Australia. The shirts from Black Horse Clothing arrived on Monday, and I really like them. Full review coming after I get to wear and wash some more, but the initial impression is very positive.

I was getting really worried about my boots (the German package) there for a while, when 5 days passed with absolutely no updates on the tracking. I’m relatively certain DHL strapped them to a dolphin and sent them across the ocean that way. But now they’re saying the package should be here tomorrow, so hopefully that’s true. Pretty new boots would make me happy. If they fit. Please fit.

I took a few days off from riding this week, to let myself keep healing more. My ankle was pretty mad on Tuesday and Wednesday, swollen and bruised again, so I just iced it and rested it completely. The bruises on the right side of my body from the fall are starting to fade a little bit. Nothing is really that sore anymore, except my back. I got on Henry yesterday in my dressage saddle and mostly just walked, with a little bit of trot, and things felt pretty good. I’ll definitely stick to a few more light days before I try to ramp anything back up, but I think I’m over the hump and through the worst of it. Now I just have to be careful not to re-injure anything I think. Being patient is hard, and taking days off from riding is not a particular strong suit of mine. I need to get everything healed up though, because the thought of trying to move all my shit and both horses next weekend with a broken body sounds extra miserable. So… rest it is.

Last but not least, Trafalgar Square Books is having a memorial day sale starting this evening through Monday night – 20% off plus free shipping in the US. I wish I was done with the Eric Smiley book and ready to review it for this occasion, but I’m still a few chapters away from being done. It’s a really interesting book though, and covers a wide range of topics, from riding to horsemanship to theory.  The books description on the website summarizes it best:

Riding well can be a puzzle. This book puts together the pieces, including

– How humans and horses learn
– Striving for partnership vs. dictatorship
– Early training and developing skills
– Demystifying equestrian-speak
– Dressage outside the arena
– Ground poles for the rest of us
– Jumping and cross-country tips
– Solving problems, wherever you ride
– Competition psychology
– Being coached and being a coach

They’ve also got Denny Emerson’s new book, as well as Tik Maynard’s (among tons of others) so if you haven’t picked either of those up yet, now is the time!

Have a good holiday weekend, everyone!

 

 

 

Not as dangerous as Black Friday, but still… today is the day that a lot of Memorial Day sales go live, including Riding Warehouse.

This would be more exciting if I wasn’t in a bit of a self-imposed spending freeze at the moment. Between the new boots and the Burghley tickets/airfare and a few smaller things I bought during the pity party I threw for myself at the beginning of the month, I need to chill. Which is sad, because I’ve been living for that Wish List feature lately, adding shit to it like it’s my damn job.

Yeah ok, maybe I have problems. Nothing a cool 2G’s wouldn’t fix, though.

That Schockemohle bridle might be the death of me if I try to resist it for much longer. The whole “buy a Schockemohle bridle and get $50 off Schockemohle reins” promo they’re running right now isn’t helping. I so can’t afford a new bridle right now though, nor do I need it. Although technically if I start showjumping Henry in a bit again, another brown bridle would be nice to have…

Shoot, I just realized there aren’t any breeches on my wish list. That can’t be right.

ANYWAY.

While I won’t be splurging and buying anything fun, I do need a few of the basic essentials for the boys, like magic cushion and poultice and fly spray and salt blocks. I also anticipate needing some new tack room organizational items for the new barn, since we’ll have a much smaller space, but those purchases will have to wait until after we move and we see just how much condensing we have to do and how much space we have.

Schneider’s has a lot of good racks and bags and stuff that are on sale right now too… if only I could decide what I might need. I have SO MUCH SHIT for two horses. How do y’all store your blankets and stuff, Rubbermaid bins? I think I could fill two or three big ones. Not to mention all my med supplies, horse boots (it’s possible that I’ve got like 10 sets), and tack. I have a whole drawer full of just bonnets, for crying out loud, and I regret nothing. Having an entire corner of the tack room to myself has been nice, though. I can’t believe we’re only about a week away from the upheaval. Just the thought of moving everything fills me with dread. I’m ready for the fresh start though, and to have a functional arena to ride in. It’s just the actual moving part. Ugh. Guess this would be a good time for a clean out.

Anybody have their eye on something during these sales? A new bridle or some LeMieux pads (anyone tried their breeches yet?) or a new helmet maybe? The new dark brown Mountain Horse boots? A bargain-hunting extravaganza through the clearance section? Let me live vicariously through you…

 

Our plans to continue our XC schooling on Sunday got dashed when it decided to rain for most of Saturday night. The course was just a little too wet by morning, but since we were already there, the facility owner allowed us to make a Plan B: jumping lessons in the arena. It would have been great to get back out on XC and try to correct the mistakes of the day before, but none of us can control the weather. At least we were able to get back on and jump some stuff. I can definitely always use more lessons, in any form, and it was good for me to be able to jump some things to keep rebuilding the confidence from the day before.

Henry seemed to feel just fine despite our mishap on Saturday, but I was pretty body sore. My previously-acquired sprained ankle still hurt a bit, but the main problem for riding was that I seemed to have tweaked a muscle in my back in our fall on Saturday. Well, my whole right side was a little battered. I had bruises from my hip to my thigh, and I was sporting a pretty gross dent toward the outside of my quad. My back felt like I’d gotten punched in the kidney, which… I guess I kinda did. I’d expected to feel a little worse though (don’t worry, by Monday I definitely felt like I’d been hit by a bus, then a semi, then a train).

Mostly the problem was whatever soft tissue runs from the middle of my back to my hip. It was pissed. Trotting was relatively awful, but cantering wasn’t bad, and jumping seemed fine enough as long as I kept my body straight and still. Between the sprained left ankle and tweaked right side of my back, it kinda evened out? I was sore, but capable enough, and I wanted to jump.

Of course, since we’d planned on XC schooling the whole weekend, I’d only brought my XC tack and gear. Henry had to wear his XC boots and his XC bridle, and I had to wear my skull cap. I wasn’t sure how he’d do jumping in the arena in his Dr Bristol full cheek. In the past I’ve had a hard time getting him in front of my leg even in just a plain loose ring, hence the swap to the hackamore. That was over a year ago though, and the horse I have now is a bit more forward-thinking.

I actually liked jumping him in the Dr Bristol a lot, and Trainer agreed. He was more adjustable, and I could get him back quicker and more easily and then let him go forward again. I did have to be careful to not pull, because it was easier to shut him down in that bit than it is in the hackamore. We’re definitely going to experiment more with showjumping him in that bit, or trying him back in a plain loose ring again. Training is an evolution, and if he’s at the point where changing something up is what works best for the horse I have now, I’m certainly open to it.

We jumped a few courses set from T to P height, and also played with adjustability on an outside 4-stride to 4-stride or 5-stride to 4-stride line. Henry was actually really good, jumping well, and seemed to be completely undeterred (both mentally and physically) by what happened on XC the day before. That made me feel loads better. I didn’t hurt him or ruin him. Bless that little horse, he’s a saint.

All in all it wasn’t the stellar, hit-it-out-of-the-park kind of weekend that we always want, but I came home with a lot. A lot to think about, a lot to work on, a lot to be grateful for, and a lot of motivation.

I also have to say, it’s so fun having a front row seat to Hillary and Dobby’s newfound partnership. That horse is learning so much, he gets better and better every time out, and he’s really found his confidence and understanding in his new job. Watching him and Hillary evolve and start to trust each other is so cool, and makes me kind of miss having a green horse. I love this part, when they’re learning so fast. Dobby is smart, and he’s taking to the job really well. Those two are going places, I think! It definitely makes me ready for Presto to be 4.

Despite eventing in Area V for the last 5 years, I’ve never been schooling at Holly Hill. I’ve shown there twice, and it’s probably my favorite venue, but we’ve definitely never been there to school. Probably because it’s 5 hours away in Louisiana. But… everything is far for us, so I still really really wanted to go, and finally talked Trainer into it as well. Of course, if you’re going that far, it’s not going to be a day trip. We planned to make a weekend of XC schooling, so Hillary and I left midday on Friday with Dobby and Henry.

The complication was my sprained ankle. I had taken Monday and Tuesday off from riding, did a bareback dressage ride on Wednesday, and by Thursday I figured I should see if it would hold up or not. I put my boot on, got in my jump saddle, and went out to the jump field. My ankle felt okay, aside from when we landed from the jumps. The bigger problem was that the tendons on the outside of my lower leg were really sore and angry. The pain was survivable though, so I iced it and wrapped it and took the NSAID’s, hoping that would be enough to make it better by Saturday.

By the time I mounted up for my XC lesson on Saturday morning, it was definitely improved. I could still feel it, especially those last few strides up to fence when I tried to sink into my heel, but it was good enough. After a couple warmup fences we started at the water, hopping a log in, then adding a skinny out, then doing the drops in. The drops definitely had me grimacing on landing, since Henry will apparently never just drop down without some kind of flamboyance, so we only did them a couple times.

Mostly I wanted him to pop off of the brush-topped one, since he’s never seen one like that before, where you really can’t see the water until the last second. He didn’t bat an eye. His style is weird, but I’m happy with how brave he’s been about the down banks, considering that’s been his bugaboo in the past. He likes to pat the ground at the edge, but he’s definitely going, so that’s ok with me.

After the water we went and jumped a little two stride combo to a brush on an angle, which was no problem, and then headed over to another bank complex. We jumped the little bank up, two strides to bank down, then a bending line to the skinny wedge. I got him there a little crooked but he locked on and went anyway. He’s always been pretty good about skinnies, but he’s definitely reading and looking for them a lot more these days.

Then we went to the weldon’s walls, which I might never stop hating. We jumped the Training one last fall when we ran here, and he didn’t care about it but I rode it terribly. We started by jumping the Training one a couple times, then pointed to the Prelim one, which is a little taller and a lot skinnier, a wall of brush just floating in the middle of a ditch.

He stopped the first time, because I rode it completely backwards and made it kind of impossible for him. Fair enough. Then I decided maybe to put my leg on and ride up to that bitch like I meant it, and he jumped it fine. Stupid weldon’s walls. Y’all are gross.

Then we went down to the coffin complex, which is set at the bottom of a pretty steep hill. I didn’t get him rebalanced well enough at the top of the hill, so we were still having a discussion a few strides before the first big log. The energy was backwards, Henry didn’t have his eye on the jump… it was really a terrible approach on my part. He tried to stop at the last second, realizing what was ahead, but the momentum from the hill didn’t really make that possible and he hit the log. I ejected over his shoulder, and he tried hard to stay upright and not land on me as he tried to climb over the jump. It all happened in slow motion, and I just stayed tucked in like a turtle on the ground while he flailed around above me. Somehow he did manage to miss most of me, grazing my right hip and thigh.

I got up slowly, but was fine, and Henry seemed fine too. Both of his right boots had been pulled down in the scramble, but the only mark on him was a scrape on his nose. I got back on, trotted a few circles to make sure he was ok, went and jumped some smaller fences, and then we came back to the coffin and broke it down into pieces. The ditch to the log one way, then the ditch to the log the other way, then the whole thing. Henry, bless him, seemed undeterred by our mishap.

My biggest fear in all of this has always been hurting or ruining my horse. I’m not particularly scared of getting hurt myself, but I would be devastated if anything happened to Henry. This one rattled me. We’ve managed to avoid disaster so far… this is the first time I’ve come off him in over 5 years, and definitely the worst mistake I’ve made. But the bigger and more technical the jumps are, the less he’s able to pull us out of hairy situations. I know it’s important not to let this accident live in my head, but I also know that it’s important to remember it so I don’t make the same mistake again. I also know that when you start pushing the boundaries and doing things that are hard, mistakes will happen. I’m still processing it, I think.

To be honest, I’m not particularly happy with how I’m riding right now. Sometimes we’re just rocking and rolling and everything is clicking, and sometimes it’s not, and at the moment I feel like I’m in a downswing. The mojo we had a few months ago isn’t quite there. I’m not being as proactive or as focused as I need to be. Maybe all the other upheavals in my life are having an effect that I wasn’t really aware of. I’m re-evaluating and re-arranging my schedule to try to get things back on track and refocused. I have to be a little better than this.

We ended the day with plans to come back out the next day and tackle a few things again, and smooth some stuff out. Mother Nature, however, had other plans…

Yep, you know what that means – baby #2 has arrived! Stormie foaled a black (will turn gray) colt yesterday morning! His name is Nunez WTW, named after Michelle’s friend and neighbor who always helps with the breeding duties and other stuff around the farm. This little dude is adorable and already full of character.

He’s still got that narrow smooshed-up newborn look, so right now he looks a lot like a drunk spider. I’m highly amused. He’s a pretty big dude, too, for a newborn pony foal! No wonder Stormie looked like a beached whale.

Even with his size she managed to rocket him out 5 minutes after her water broke, like a seasoned professional, around lunch time. She and Sadie have a lot in common with the quick daytime foalings I guess. Mom and baby are both doing well and all looks good so far!

He seems to enjoy climbing all over this mother. This has happened repeatedly. It leads to some pretty hilarious viewing on the foaling cam, especially when Michelle is running to try to stop him from smashing headfirst into the wall. I can already tell that this one is going to be extremely entertaining.

The Baby Bets contest was a bit brutal this year. People who got a lot of points with Lissa’s foal got next to none from Stormie’s, and vice versa. Almost no one got the foaling dates/times correct. It really came down to the color/gender/markings and it was a close one! We had a 3-way tie, and ended up having to put names in a hat to draw a winner.

Congrats Stacie! I’ll message you about getting all your prizes rounded up and on their way.

More pics of Nunez coming later this week once he starts to fill out and unfold a bit more!