Show season is officially upon us, with our first show only 2 1/2 weeks away! Okay, yeah you’re right, we showed in December and February, but I mean like… recognized shows. Not off season. And now there’s one like every two weeks, so it’s more exciting. But anyway.

In the off season I always do a little bit of an inventory of what I have and what I might need, as far as equipment and supplies. What things need replacing, which things did I really like last season, which things did I not like and need to switch up, and is there anything I want to upgrade. That’s mostly a “wants” list, which means I may or may not actually get anything on that said list, but it also includes basics like stud-related stuff, poultice, hoof pack, etc. I did have a bit of a splurge moment after Christmas with my Riding Warehouse gift cards, ordering a couple of my standout favorite items from 2018: another AA Motionlite coat (this time in green) and another pair of white Horze Grand Prix breeches. I love them and regret nothing.

I also already restocked my essentials, buying a buttload of stud plugs when we were in Ocala because I found them cheap, and then of course I had already tossed in more Magic Cushion and poultice with my Black Friday order. Over the past 6 months I’ve got a great bit for Henry, a really nice skull cap, and a new XC vest. I’m good to go on necessities, I think, and all of the real essentials or more important items are taken care of.

But of course that hasn’t stopped me from perusing RW (embarrassingly often, honestly), adding things to my Wish List (whichever one of you evil temptresses at RW came up with that Wish List feature, I am giving you the stink eye!). So what’s on my Wish List right now, at the cusp of show season? Let’s start small and work our way up, so that I look perhaps slightly less crazy.

RW started carrying Dreamers and Schemers socks last year, which is both dangerous and amazing. Dangerous because boy do I ever love to collect socks, and D&S are my favorite, but also amazing because they are way cheaper at RW than they are elsewhere. Those purple unicorn ones have come dangerously close to ending up my cart a couple times already. It’ll probably happen sooner or later, let’s be real. I’ve already got a pair of socks that I wear for XC every time, but maybe they could be my new dressage day socks?

I am kind of a bridle-number hater, to be honest, but I also hate tearing off or trying to smoosh down the little metal hook and pin the number to the pad. It looks kinda ghetto, at least when I do it. So this set of number holders from Eskadron is appealing, where you can either sew or pin the backing to your pad and swap the numbers out. It comes in a set of two, so you could put one on each side if you wanted, or just have an extra (one for your dressage pad, one for your SJ pad?), and it’s only $15. Then the bridle number could just live on your halter and the need for a duct tape number is gone, too. Interesting… very interesting…

I have been a Roeckl devotee for a long time, rarely straying outside of the box. Well okay I tried to stray into cheaper SSG-land a couple times and quickly came running back. I haven’t yet felt rich enough to stray into Samshield-land. But I’m really loving the Heritage Pro-Flow gloves that I picked up totally on a whim in Ocala – they’re SO breathable, which is good when you have super sweaty gross hands like I do. For half the price of Roeckl’s, I’m quite pleased. Is it actually possible that I can like other brands? So now I’m eyeballing this new brand that RW added recently, Haukeschmidt. They look really similar to my beloved Roeckl’s, have lots of colors, and are cheaper. Maybe when it’s time to replace my brown pair I’ll branch out and compare?

Kool Coat‘s are definitely the most popular thing around here for keeping a horse clean while it’s in the stall at shows. Lots of coverage, but really lightweight and breathable. It also has UV protection, if you lived in a place that was not as hot as the surface of the sun, thus requiring them to be inside during the day in the summer. Henry has a lot of clothes, but he doesn’t have one of these. It’s basically a scrim sheet on steroids. I have to admit, it would kind of be nice to have something to throw on him at shows between phases so he didn’t get covered in dust or shavings or pee (especially his mane, HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE to get bits of shavings and hay stuck in his braids just from standing in his stall???), and I know these have good airflow and are good quality.

Side note, have y’all seen the new rubber ducky fly sheet from Weatherbeeta? God I wish horses could wear fly sheets here, Presto would own that thing in a HOT MINUTE.

I managed to lose my container of Fiebing’s hoof dressing at one of Presto’s shows last year. That container had to be at least 10 years old, so I guess I was overdue for an upgrade. The Kevin Bacon line is another relatively new addition to the RW lineup, but the barn I worked at forever ago used this brand a lot, and I loved it, but it can be really hard to find, especially for a good price. Maybe I’m an irresponsible human that accidentally lost my Fiebing’s for a reason? I think it might be time for a new replacement.

Doing pretty well so far right? Look at all these relatively low-ticket items! Yeah well…

Don’t act surprised, you knew it wasn’t going to last.

Look, I’m a unabashed bridle lover. Pretty strapgoods make my heart go pitter-patter, it’s just the way I’m wired. It doesn’t matter if I need it or not, make a pretty bridle and I will want it. Period. Full stop. And I’ve been trying real hard to resist the charms of the Schockemohle Equitus bridle for weeks now, when yesterday I was scrolling down through the new items and it slapped me right in the face. Really, RW, why you gotta do this to me? I have a perfectly fine Eponia bridle that is holding up great and is pretty enough in it’s own right. Maybe not this pretty. Maybe I do love the Schockemohle strapgoods in general. But I do NOT need another dressage bridle. At all.

Yeah so let’s take bets on how long I can actually resist this one because I’m dangerously in love.

I briefly got lost in the Montar line, too. Their breeches have fun colors and embellishments (um, all you teal-loving weirdos, how do you NOT own these yet???) and I love the polo shirt and the lace shirt, which would be great for smaller shows or schooling days. The line has a similar feel to the higher end stuff, but not nearly as expensive.

OH and props to Romfh – I’ve been waiting for a decent brand to come out with a really good, deep, dark purple breech and it’s actually happened. There’s nothing about these that are show season related but I just really love the color and it might finally convince me to try a pair of Sarafinas. I’m no Meg, but I can still appreciate a super dark, classy, subtle purple.

If I may say so myself, I’ve done a really admirable job resisting this LeMieux trend that’s been raging for a while now. Mostly it’s because I don’t like the matchy-matchy thing, or all those colors, and I’m kinda cheap when it comes to saddle pads. But holy moly this thing stopped me in my tracks. If I had a gray horse I would own it already, I’m just not sure how I feel about showing my plain bay in a navy pad. It comes in gray too, but navy is an easier sell to me. It’s pretty. It’s real pretty. Those leather details. That wither contour. Oh man. It’s delicious.

So, ya know… that’s all. The wish list has definitely been worse. I do have a 20% coupon code burning a hole in my pocket though, and Henry is out of his fungus shampoo anyway, so an order already has to happen. This could be a really slippery slope.

What do y’all have your eye on right now? And who’s buying the damn bridle?

If you were feeling sorry for Henry after yesterday’s post where he had to do dressage and then pony his kid brother around, fear not: Saturday was an exponentially more exciting day by Henny standards. We stayed on grounds overnight on Friday, and were set to go in the first XC schooling group at 8am on Saturday.

As soon as I swung aboard, Henry knew what we were doing (I swear he knows the difference in what all his different tack/bridles mean because he sure as shit never marches out to a dressage ride) and he was READY TO GO in warmup. We hopped over some warmup fences and then just headed around the course with the group, jumping a few things here and there along the way. The main goal for the day really was to take him back to the Irish Bank where he had such a big come-apart a couple years ago. He has jumped it since then – it was on the course for both of our Prelims – but in the opposite direction as the way that caused all the problems back then. It looks a little different from the other way so we wanted to see what he thought and make sure it was officially and thoroughly conquered.

For those who don’t remember, that bank confused him so much back then that it kind of broke him about banks for a while. I don’t know what it was, but he just didn’t get it and couldn’t figure it out, and it completely short-circuited his brain. We took a few steps back and rebuilt his confidence, but just haven’t re-presented it to him from that direction since.

He’s a more educated horse now, though. First we hopped over it from the direction he’s been doing, the way that it’s currently set on the course. Then we turned around and came back over it from the “bad” direction and he hopped right through it just fine. No hesitation, no confusion. We even added the corner a few strides away and he was super.

We quit after that, mission accomplished and no need to jump Henry’s legs off.

I went back up to put Henry away and then it was Presto’s turn! The plan was to pony him on day 1, and then take him around in-hand on day 2.

We got down there as my XC group was finishing up, so he hung out and walked back and forth over a bridge while they finished.

Then the group left, and he started neighing a little, so I put him to “work” to keep him occupied. He walked up and down the little bank, walked over some logs, and then I sent him trotting over a couple of little things. As soon as I gave him something to do he settled down and got right to task, even having been “abandoned” in the big field by himself. I was really pleased with him for that.

Then he stood quietly in warmup while all the next group of horses bustled around, and we walked around the course with them on foot as they schooled. He seemed to be enjoying his little walk through the woods, ears flopping as he went. He stood patiently at the stops, and never got worried or spooky. I sent him back and forth over a real ditch a few times too, which he plopped right over. He’s naturally so brave and seems to really enjoy the challenge of figuring out new things.

By the end I was sitting on a Prelim rolltop holding his lead rope, and he literally tried to put his feet on it to climb up there too. There were a couple humans and a dog already up there (which he was intent on playing with), so he figured why not him? This is how I found myself saying “Presto, do not climb on the jumps”. Do I own an oversize Labrador or a baby horse? I’m not sure.

It was such a good learning weekend for both boys, and I love having Presto tag along with us. They’re so different in age and personality, it makes for a fun contrast. I feel pretty darn lucky to have them both.

After our barn decided not to enter the first event of the season at MeadowCreek, we planned a schooling weekend at Willow Draw instead. And then Willow Draw got slammed with rain a few days before, and we quickly resorted to Plan C: a weekend at Pine Hill. Yeah, we’ve been there a lot, but there’s always something more to work on. Plus this time I was bringing Presto, and he’d never been there. He hasn’t been off the property since FEH Championships last September, so I figured it was time. He seemed so happy to finally be included, he practically BOUNDED onto the trailer.

Due to some scheduling conflicts, we made the weekend a Friday/Saturday thing. I have a stupid amount of PTO, so you’ll never have to twist my arm too hard to get me to play hooky on a Friday to go play with ponies. We opted to do a dressage lesson with Henry on Friday, as a follow-up to the one we had a couple weeks ago. I’ve spent that time working on the couple of big homework items that we got, so I was interested to see what progress we’d made, and hopefully build on it a bit.

Last dressage lesson Trainer revealed that a lot (ok, all) of my issues with getting Henry into the right rein were because he was carrying his haunches to the right. I’ve been laser focused on fixing that, and Trainer declared that he was, in fact, straight now. Hallelujah. Miracles. I mean… the fact that I actually had a horse in my right rein was evidence enough for me, but the formal declaration matters too. Since we typically don’t get lessons this often, I take the homework seriously. Sometimes we actually make improvements, and sometimes we don’t. It sure is nice when we do.

Now we’re at the point where we get to start asking him for more. More impulsion, more uphill, more balance, more sit, more push. His conformation and way of going kind of work against him there, being downhill and croup-high, so it requires a lot of work from both of us to accomplish any of those things. We also need to start doing more transitions and in faster succession, something that has always upset Henry.

But whereas the Henry I used to have would get upset and then have a meltdown and be irretrievably fried for days, the Henry I have now can get upset but I can still ride him through it to the other side and he gets over it. So it’s time to start putting a little more pressure on him. He’s kind of trained me along the way to not push the envelope too much in the flatwork, but the horse has evolved now and I’ve got to be a little bolder about it.

We practiced some bits of the Prelim B test, which really just showed that we REALLY need to work on those bits of the Prelim B test, but Henry is feeling stronger and stronger. I can’t complain about that. He’s come a long way, especially in the last year.

 

 

After Henry and I were done getting tortured, we went back up to the barn and I grabbed Presto. I wanted to pony him out with one of the XC schooling groups, so he could be in a big group of horses with lots going on, and have to stand around and be patient.

And that kid, y’all, he was just super. We stood in warmup while the other horses were galloping around, and he gave precisely zero shits. He watched them jump, he tagged along through the scary woods without a care in the world (well, aside from trying to eat every single bush and tree), and he stood pretty patiently. We walked through the water and he didn’t even so much as hesitate, just plowed right in there like it was the most natural thing in the world. In fact, he planted his feet and refused to come OUT of the water at one point, and I had to get after him. He walked over a ditch with Henry, and walked over a couple of teeny tiny logs. Even when other horses were getting upset around him for various reasons, he didn’t care. Considering how little he’s seen and that he’d never been to that venue before, I couldn’t have been more pleased with him. He’s so brave and curious, soaking everything up like a little sponge. He’s the same no matter what environment he’s in.

I was mostly worried about how he’d react to Henry and/or Dobby leaving him behind at the stalls, but when I left for my lesson he neighed a few times and then settled down. When Hillary left with Dobby for her lesson later, same thing. He’s definitely got a loud scream in him, but he doesn’t get belligerent. I can live with that. Once he gets a little older and more secure in himself, the neighing will lessen. Hopefully.

It was a great first day of adventures for both boys. Well, Henry may not have agreed, but… day 2 was cross country for him, so don’t worry, he got happier. To be continued tomorrow!

Guess who turns 2 years old tomorrow???

Today we’re leaving for a weekend adventure of lessons and XC schooling, and this little nugget gets to tag along with the big boys. He will spend his birthday ponying and exploring all the fun stuff at Pine Hill, and probably trying to lay down in the water jump. I think he’ll be excited to go, as he always parks himself at his gate when we’re loading the trailer, seemingly ever hopeful to be included. He hasn’t been anywhere since FEH Championships last year and he’s never been to Pine Hill, so… adventures!

Since we’ll be away for his actual birthday, Hillary helped me take his birthday pics yesterday, with his “party hat”. Clearly he loved it.

What else are baby unicorns for, if not dressing them up and taking ridiculous pictures on their birthday?

Presto is sweet, goofy, cheeky, smart… everything I wanted and more. His rough start makes me that much more appreciative of every birthday, and that I get the chance to see him learn and grow and turn into everything I was dreaming of when I bred him. Aaaaand definitely thankful that I get the chance to take silly pictures of him and post them all over the internet.

This kid is 50% giraffe, 50% moose, and 100% dreams come true. Definitely MY little unicorn, and it is a privilege to be his humom. Many nose smooches, kiddo, and happy birthday!

A few days ago Nadia posted a pretty great blog hop, asking everyone to post about their favorite event or horse show. I think that’s a brilliant idea, so here we go!

I admit, I sat here forever trying to figure out what my overall favorite event would be. There are so many different factors, like the footing, quality of the facilities, general atmosphere, beauty of the location. sentimental favorite, etc. I was hard pressed to come up with one that ticked all the boxes, yet there’s something I like about pretty much every venue we’ve shown at.

My original favorite venue in Area 5 was definitely Greenwood. I come from h/j world, where everything tends to look so manufactured and overdone, so there’s something very appealing to me about an “old school” type of event. Greenwood was one. Dressage was on grass, the cross country was legit and had good use of terrain, and showjumping was on grass as well. I’ve always liked that, even if it means I have to stud more. Of course, for the sake of my horse I do also like the perfectly groomed, fancy footing in the arenas at places like Texas Rose and Chatt Hills. You can’t argue with great footing.

The one thing I didn’t like much at Greenwood was the tent stabling… lord it was squished in real tight. Greenwood ended and was sold several years ago though, so sadly it is no more.

After that I really liked Holly Hill a lot. Again, it has a bit of that old school vibe to me, dressage on grass, and a wide open xc with classic questions and a few gently rolling hills. Their stadium ring was a bit small but now they’ve built a new, bigger one that is quite nice. The only bummer is that it’s in nowheresville Louisiana and there’s not much nearby. Also if you get stuck in the tent stabling that’s in the covered arena, you will eat dust all weekend. Still a really top notch gorgeous facility though, and definitely up there among my favorite events.

My sentimental, “hometown” favorite will always be Pine Hill. Talk about a vintage eventing feel – that facility has it. It’s where we school the most often, and it’s where a lot of firsts have happened for us, so it’ll always hold a special place with me. Half of the course is in the woods, which is fun, but Henry is really spooky back there, so it’s not necessarily my favorite XC to ride with him. Although last month he sure did blast through there like a man with a plan, so maybe he’s getting more mature about it? Still, the more open XC courses like MeadowCreek and Texas Rose have always tended to suit him more.

Last year we evented at 6 different venues, and if you made me pick my favorite of those, it would be Willow Draw. It was our first time showing there, but I liked it a lot. Mostly because the showjumping was on a bit of a hillside, and I am nothing if not a glutton for punishment. The XC was fun too, a little bit twisty and tricky in spots, but it rode well. The stalls are big and airy, I was able to park my trailer mere FEET away from where we were stabled, the warmup is huge, and the dressage isn’t so busy that it freaks my horse out (looking at you, Texas Rose). Their show is smaller, restricted to a relatively low number of entries, which makes it feel a little more chill. Quite liked it, will definitely be back.

If you really forced me to pick a favorite though, I think it might be Coconino. There’s really no great reason why, the event is a bit of a “cowboy” affair compared to many we go to. The dressage rings are set up on the racetrack (boy that’s fun when you have an ex-racehorse), the showjumping is nothing fancy, the footing on XC tends to be on the hard side (granted, it often is in Texas too), the stabling has seen better days, the elevation is very high, and there aren’t any permanent bathrooms or showers onsite. BUT – they have a great spirit about them, good parties, great prizes, it smells like pine trees, there’s no humidity, it legit feels like summer camp, and it’s in the lovely town of Flagstaff. I had so much fun at those shows, and my horse was so happy in their weather.

The event has a real “get ‘er done” quality to it that I like so much… it’s authentic eventing, as it always was. No carousels, no on-site sushi restaurants, no jumbotrons, no derby fields being passed off as XC, no VIP tents. There is zero pomp and circumstance to it, and I love it. You make it work, you enjoy nature, and you create your own good time in a beautiful city. I really hope we’re able to make it back there this year.

Maybe I cheated a little bit here on this post, but… there’s a lot to like at so many places. Sure, none of them tick all the boxes, but there’s something great to be found in every event, and I’m appreciative that they’re still around and available to us. It’s not easy to own and maintain these venues, or to put on these events, so I’m grateful for them all.