Okay, I confess, this isn’t exactly a horse related post. But it’s a story that I think really needs telling, because y’all… omg.

I know it’s been a while since I updated about Grem, the kitten I brought home from Willow Tree Warmbloods almost exactly one year ago. I didn’t plan on bringing her home, in fact I generally don’t like cats that much and definitely had no desire to own one. But geez she’s cute and since she was the runt of the barn cat litter I was legit scared she was gonna get eaten by something (also I am a HUGE sucker) so I brought her home. And I didn’t tell the Significant Other that I was bringing her home, I just showed up with a kitten and was like “SURPRISE WE GOT A KITTEN!”. In case you’re keeping track of all the ways that I’m a terrible girlfriend, add that to the list. His face looked something like this:

But it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission, am I right? Especially if you’re holding a really freaking cute kitten.

It just occurred to me that this is probably how an episode of Animal Hoarders starts.

Anyway, I digress.

Fast forward to now and guess who is straight up OBSESSED with Grem? Yeah, that’s right, the SO has become a legit crazy cat man. She has more furniture in our living room than we do, and he built or bought literally all of it. That cat is rotten as hell, but she is his baby. Naturally, she prefers him to me. You’re welcome for probably saving your life, ungrateful cat.

The only thing he did not like about the cat was the litter box. He’s weird about poop and pee, so I was the one in charge of cleaning it. I’m a horse person, poop and pee don’t even register in my world. So somehow even though I’m the cat’s legit savior, I occupy the favorite human #2 (out of 2) spot AND I became her personal janitor. That’s messed up.

Of course, when I left for Georgia for 2 weeks, those litter box duties fell to him. And when I got home I was pleased to find that he had in fact kept the litter box clean. I wasn’t sure if he would, but all seemed well. Then I get home a few days later and there is a huge freaking box on my doorstep that says LITTER ROBOT. What the…

I drag it into the house just as SO is pulling in the driveway, and he’s super excited to see the box. He’s like “Oh great, it finally came! Wait til you see this, it’s SO COOL!!!”. Meanwhile I’m looking at him like this:

Because I had a pretty good guess of what a “litter robot” might be, and I knew it couldn’t possibly have been cheap. It has the word ROBOT on the box, after all.

So he pulls this thing out of the box and it is a huge giant contraption that looks like a spaceship. It’s WiFi enabled, it cleans itself, it has a really fancy blue LED nightlight that lights it up like a bad nightclub, its got an app that goes with it that tells you every time the cat takes a dump, you can control it from your phone, etc etc. Like… they aren’t joking. This thing is literally a robot. For cat shit. I’ve never even used a bathroom this nice.

To be clear: two weeks of having to clean the litter box himself and he bought a literal cat shit robot.

I asked him how much it cost and he seemed hesitant to name a figure, so I cut to the chase and Googled it. Five. Hundred. Dollars. For a cat shit robot.

I mean, it does have some pretty cool features. Granted, it’s so freaking huge that it doesn’t actually fit through the doorway of any of our rooms, so it’s currently living in a hallway. It definitely does clean itself though, and it pings you when the bottom shit storage tray needs to be emptied.

But guys. Let’s be real here.

HE SPENT FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ON A CAT SHIT ROBOT.

This is why we have separate bank accounts. This is why he’s never ever allowed to even so much as raise an eyebrow at ANY horse related item I purchase ever again. Neither of my horses have robots for their shit. I definitely don’t have a robot for mine.

AND THEN he started telling me about all the accessories we can purchase to go with it, like the $50 ramp or the $360 bamboo cabinet.

Horse chicks are crazy? No, sir. Cat dudes are crazy. And I only have to say three words to prove my case:

Cat. Shit. Robot.

*It’s a really nice cat shit robot though. Please don’t tell him I said that.

With the latest article that’s been going around about the side-impact helmet testing done by an insurance company in Sweden, many interesting conversations have been sparked on social media. The article has been shared by tons of people, and in a lot of different groups, and I’ve read through all of the comments almost obsessively. Safety equipment, and especially the standards by which such equipment is tested and certified, is very interesting to me. If you want to read the full study results, not just a summary, they can be found here. I’m not going to offer my interpretation of it… I feel like people can read and do that for themselves.

I first started delving deeper into all of the helmet testing standards a few years ago after the KEP helmet controversy. The big issue that came out of that situation was whether or not riding helmets are designed, or required, to protect from secondary impact – ie if your head hits the pavement, and then the horse’s hoof hits your head, is the helmet still in reasonable enough condition to help protect your head from the secondary impact of the hoof? Short version: not necessarily.

I thought that was pretty interesting, and started researching all of the different testing standards, how they ran their studies, and exactly what they tested FOR. Do most of us actually know that? Probably not. We tend to just go “well, it’s approved, it must be safe!”. It’s definitely safer than no helmet at all, for sure. But one might not offer as much protection as another. And do we even know what “approved” really means?

I was able to find a lot of information just via Google, and where I needed to fill in some gaps, I was generally able to do so via email. I heard back from all but 1 that I contacted… some sent me very basic “here is what we test for” type of information that wasn’t particularly useful, or was exactly what I’d already found via Google. Others sent me quite detailed information sheets and even videos of their test procedures. And then there’s good ol’ ASTM, who want you to pay $41 to buy the book (or PDF) of standards. Sigh. To be fair, they did answer some of my questions via email. Still, am I the only one who thinks this stuff should be very transparent and readily available?

For the most part I was very surprised to see what the majority of the testing standards actually cover. It’s FAR less than I would have imagined. Some are even just a simple *wham* to the top of the helmet and it either meets their criteria (whatever that may be) or it doesn’t. When’s the last time you got one nice, neat *wham* on the crown of your head? The most comprehensive, IMO, was definitely the SNELL testing standard, which is not a mandatory standard that any equestrian organization actually requires helmets to meet. Because of that, very few manufacturers have bothered submitting their helmets for SNELL testing at all. Even that standard isn’t perfect, and has some room for improvement as far as different types of impact that are more likely to occur during equestrian sports.

Aside from just a general lack of information, or public knowledge if you will, about testing standards, there are also a lot of folks out there who don’t seem to understand what helmets really DO or how they work.

No, a helmet will not prevent you from sustaining a head injury. Just because you got a concussion while wearing X helmet does not mean the helmet didn’t do it’s job.

No, not all helmets are created equal. Just because they all passed whatever minimum testing requirement your federation requires certainly does not mean that one is just as good as the other. Think of cars and their safety ratings (which is a system we don’t have).

No, more expensive helmets ARE DEFINITELY NOT NECESSARILY BETTER.

Also, pretty much any helmet with extensive ventilation is likely to be at least a little bit (or a lot a bit) less durable under impact. It makes sense if you think about it. Any time you start putting holes in a structure, you introduce weakness to some degree. This doesn’t mean that a helmet with bigger vents offers less protection by default, but they require some additional engineering by the manufacturer to help increase the stability of the shell, which they may or may not have. Who knows… we don’t really test that. Paneled helmets (made of separate pieces that are glued together) also seem to be less likely to maintain their structural integrity beyond the initial impact. But again… not something that the majority of the current testing methods would encompass.

Of course, one of the single most important things when choosing the right helmet is the fit. If it doesn’t fit your head correctly, it won’t sit on your head correctly, which means it may shift and/or provide less protection during impact. Buying the best-rated helmet even though it doesn’t fit is just as bad as buying the lowest-rated helmet just because it’s fashionable.

I urge everyone who is interested in helmet safety to do some research for yourself, look into the testing methods, and see what impressions you come away with. Don’t just take ANY studies or “rubber stamp” certifications at face value… it’s very easy to be an educated consumer these days if you want to be.

And by “stuff” I quite literally mean STUFF – mostly clothing. I took quite a few new items with me to Chatt… a helmet, a show coat, some shirts, etc. Nothing like trial by fire, ya know? Or really trial by poaching, as was the case with the first weekend, since I was literally drenched in sweat for 3 days straight. It did, however, provide the perfect opportunity to test out the new items in some literally disgusting weather.

First, the real winner of these two weeks was the Alessandro Albanese Motionlite coat. Admittedly, I’ve been on the fence about this purchase for a long time. I’ve seen them a lot, tried them on, pined after them, felt like I couldn’t really justify it, blah blah blah. Look… just buy it. I’m not kidding. That coat is so light, and so stretchy, and so comfortable. It’s made really well, with so many great details like easily changeable buttons, and a zipper under the buttons so that there’s no boob gapping. You don’t always get details like that at this low of a price point.

Any time even the barest hint of a breeze picked up, I could feel it THROUGH the coat. It was so pleasant to wear that during week 2 I didn’t even realize I’d kept it on between dressage and SJ until I was tacking back up. It’s worth every single penny I spent on it and then some, and now I kind of want it in every single color they make. This thing is the absolute best value on the market for show coats, hands down, if you live in a place that gets even remotely hot. Also, it looks fantastic. 110% would recommend, with no hesitation.

The other totally brand new thing that I took with me is the TraumaVoid EQ3 MIPS helmet. This is another item that I’ve wanted for a while, and mine arrived the day before we left for Chatt. I had time to try it on, but that’s about it. Luckily it fits me quite well. It’s got a slightly higher profile on the top of the head than, say, my Speed Air, but it’s definitely less bulbous-looking on me than the OneK was. The MIPS technology is quite neat, it’s easy to see it and see how it works since it sits just underneath the removeable liner. The navy color is gorgeous (says the diehard navy lover…) and I like the leather-like material on the brim.

It has two rows of vents, which was definitely appreciated, although IMO it’s not quite as cool as my Samshield or Speed Air. Definitely cooler than my Charles Owen, though, so I’d call it middle-of-the-road as far as airflow. Considering how well the helmet is performing in various safety tests, it seems like a fair enough trade. Overall I’m really happy with this helmet and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, if it fits you well.

I took a couple of new show shirts with me, too. Well, one brand new, one I’d worn a couple times. The RJ Classics Paige is one I’ve talked about on here before. It’s pretty. It was the natural choice for that one time I dared to go into the dressage ring at a rated show without a coat (look, I was “raised” by a h/j trainer who made us wear coats no matter what the temp, so it’s ingrained in me). This was before I had really become acquainted with just how great the coat is, otherwise I would have just worn it.

But I like that this shirt is color-blocked, so it’s not just one big blob of white. That’s my least favorite part of the waived coats thing… I do not want to look like the Stay Puff Marshmallow man. No thank you.

The shirt did fine, although I have to say the material on the back leaves a bit to be desired in extreme heat/humidity. It’s stretchy and comfortable, but it’s not the most breathable material in the world. For showjumping I busted out the new Dover knit show shirt (stupid Dover website is not cooperating with me today so I can’t link to it, sorry), which seems like their version of a Le Fash, and I thought it felt a little cooler even under the show coat.

I did feel like the collar on the Dover shirt came weirdly high… like… I don’t need a cradle for that second or third chin, thanks. But it was comfortable and pretty and as a supporting cast member in my line up of show shirts it does just great. If I had paid full price for it I would like it less, but at $40 I’m pretty satisfied. I did learn that neither of these shirts are anywhere near as cool or breathable as my Winston shirt, so it will remain the hot weather go-to.

I also wore my B Vertigo silicone full seat breeches for the second and third times. These are really cute, with little rhinestone details on the pockets. It’s enough to be different but not so much that it’s gaudy. I like the material of these, and I like the fact that there is enough silicone to give you a little bit more grip, but not so much that you’re STUCK in the saddle (a problem I had with the Pikeur silicone seats). These are the only type of full seats I have any interest in wearing during hot weather… covering your entire ass with suede in the summer sounds freaking terrible, no thank you. I’ll cover it with little well-spaced dots of silicone instead.

I have to be honest though, I don’t think I like the B Vertigo breeches as much as their cheaper counterpart, the Horze Grand Prix. I have a pair of those in full seat in purple and a pair in knee patch in brown and I actually quite like them. The material is basically the same, the Horze ones just have no frills whatsoever. They’re plain and boring, but the lower leg is closer-fitting, the waist fits a curvier shape a bit better, and they’re almost half the price. I got several of my barnmates to buy a pair of those breeches from a vendor at the show and everyone loved them. The Horze ones are the better value, IMO. I want some in white.

My only real loser of the trip was my Roma ice boots, who’s zipper completely busted and fell apart. I had to duct tape that leg closed so I could ice Henry’s legs. So I guess those things are going in the trash and I get to buy new ice boots. I really like that same suspender style that you fill with actual ice, so I was looking at the Jack’s brand, which seem to have a much sturdier zipper than the Roma ones did.

 

Anyone have these, or have another brand that you like?

You guys are relentless in your pursuit of Presto updates, which is fortunate considering how much I like talking about Presto. Watching him develop, especially seeing his personality evolve, is one of my single greatest sources of joy. I genuinely missed him while we were in Georgia and Alabama. It’s possible that I’m as obsessed with him as I am with Henry.

When I got back last Monday it was pouring rain and I was exhausted, so while I went out and said hi to him and made sure he was still in one piece, I didn’t get him out and mess with him at all until Tuesday. Considering the fact that I do something with him almost every day, I was concerned that he might go a bit feral having two weeks to himself where his only activity was torturing his pet donkeys. His ego gets a little overinflated with them sometimes.

He was pretty crusty and gross when I got back – dried sweat covered in dirt covered in more dried sweat and more dirt. So the first objective was to give him a bath. He has feelings about that but he knows better by this point than to try anything besides the occasional pawing fit and lots of wiggling. After his bath I tied him in front of the fan to dry for a bit. He had a lot more feelings about THAT.

Yeah, so he definitely didn’t go feral while I was gone, but he DID forget about patience. I suppose things are easy to forget when they don’t exactly come naturally to you. He got to stand in front of the fan until he gave up and stood politely, which is only about 5 minutes in Presto-land, because he’s just not that dedicated to being naughty.

The next day he came in for a grooming

and then I took both boys out for a short walk and a hand graze. Which… why I ever think it’s a good idea to try to handgraze both of those idiots at the same time, I’ll never know. I’m a slow learner, I guess. They are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle ZeroAttentionSpan. They go opposite directions, Presto spends a lot of time pestering Henry, and they inevitably react differently to different things. Their Big Brother/Little Brother dynamic is strong and I get to play Mom the Mediator.

Throughout the week I slowly started adding all of Presto’s normal activities back in, as he remembered his place in the world. He’s FINALLY got a nice shiny coat coming in underneath all the gross remnants of long bleached hair on his shoulders and stomach, so I’ve been currying the heck out of him every day. If he looks like crap for FEH Championships it won’t be for a lack of trying. He’s already REALLY faded though, and we haven’t even hit the worst of summer. Not much I can do about the buckskin part… he’s not gonna live inside all summer just for the sake of a horse show.

After his grooming I turned Presto and Henry out in the little front paddock with the best grass. I never really get tired of watching them interact. Henry is so smart about dealing with him… he does not put up with the baby bullshit, but he also knows not to be too rough with him. Luckily Presto is also very easily intimidated by Henry, so Henry never really has to escalate beyond pinned ears, a raised foot, or some squealing.

On Sunday my plan was to hop on Henry and pony Presto a bit, just for a short walk. Technically Henry is on summer vacation, but a) he likes hacking, b) sometimes being a big brother with actual responsibilities sucks. So I tossed my half pad and sidepull on, jumped aboard, and out we went. Oh, and the Significant Other wanted to bring the dogs to the barn to run around a bit, so I actually have ponying pictures. It was also the SO’s first time seeing Presto since he was just a wee tiny foal. Fun fact, it doesn’t matter how many times you ask the completely non-horsey SO “BUT ISN’T HE STUNNING/AMAZING/MAGNIFICENT/THE BEST?”, you will never get more than a halfhearted “um yeah, he’s cute…” *nervous laugh as he realizes he’s in the presence of a genuine Crazy Horse Lady* in response.

At the end I hopped off and handed Henry to SO to hold while I did a little bit of in-hand work with Presto out in the field. With horses in the pastures nearby, dogs running around, etc, I thought it was a good opportunity to practice his Pay Attention skills (or lack thereof). When we were done I led Presto back over to them and he immediately reached up, grabbed the half pad off of Henry, and flung it. SO found this hilariously funny, and I think Presto actually won him over at that point. They are both turds.

So Presto did lose a little bit of his patience skills, but otherwise he made it through the 2 weeks of inattention without going feral. If anything, he seems even more eager to see me every day. I’ll never get tired of that face meeting me at the gate.

Now that the Chatt recaps are done and dusted, I want to talk about something else that happened at the second show. Something that left me, honestly, pretty miffed. Nothing to do with the show itself, Chatt was AMAZING in basically every regard… but something to do with the behavior of other competitors.

We all know what good sportsmanship is, I’m assuming. If not, see definition conveniently located above. To me, having good sportsmanship is almost as important as having good horsemanship. Nobody likes a bully, a whiner, a condescending winner, or a sore loser. And I’m proud to say that in eventing, I don’t think I’ve seen very many examples of poor sportsmanship as it relates to competition. Most people have quite a good attitude. It’s the kind of sport that humbles people real quick and always keeps you feeling quite mortal. For the most part, people generally want to see others have a good day and are encouraging and positive.

I saw a slightly different side of things at Chatt. Not related to the horse show itself, luckily, but in regards to – of all the ridiculous things – the totally “for fun” bouncy pony race on Friday night. You know the big bouncy ball pony things?

Teams of 5 people each squared off on bouncy ponies in a relay race where each person raced down over a “jump” (pole on the ground) to a bucket, picked up an apple, raced back with said apple, and tagged the next team member. The only rules? You had to bounce on the pony, and you had to get the apple. Pretty simple. Fun, right? Especially if you’re the one watching (me) and not the one going face first over the front of the bouncy pony in some kind of weird, hilariously funny, slow-motion rotational fall (Kate).

Our barn conveniently had 5 girls under of the age of 18 in attendance at Chatt, so we had an instant team. I’m too old to go flying off a bouncy pony, but I make a pretty good cheerleader on the sidelines. Trainer, of course, acted as Team Coach.

Our girls went all out for this. They range in age from 12 to 17 years old, and they looted an Alabama Walmart on the day after the 4th of July to get stuff to make their outfits. They made tutu’s, they sported patriotic hats, stickers, face paint, sweatbands, glow necklaces and bracelets… you name it, they had it. Outfits: on point. But really, all of that just showed a lot of camaraderie and team work. They were excited and they were ready to go head to head with the other teams and duke it out – in a fun way. They might not win, but they were there to have fun. That’s the entire point of stuff like this, right?

So when I saw an adult member (I’m assuming she was an adult, since she chugged a beer right before the race) of the team next to them yelling at one of our girls (a 13yo), getting right up in her face, and then pulling the hat right off of her head – taking some hair with it, I might add – I was shocked. When members of this same team picked up some water balloons from another team (water balloons were not part of this activity at all, but okay) and chucked them deliberately at our girls’ faces – shock turned into fury. Those people did not know our girls. That wasn’t jovial or friendly or funny. It came across as mean-spirited and inappropriate and out of line. At a friggin bouncy pony race! The prize was a big basket of chocolate, for crying out loud!

I have all of this on video, by the way, so there’s no disputing what went on.

To cap it all off, the teams were neck and neck until their last team member (the hat-yanker) decided to eschew the rules and just run her entire leg of the race carrying the bouncy pony instead of actually sitting on it at all. A person on this team was also later heard saying “there’s nothin’ wrong with cheatin’!”.

If that team had been comprised entirely of kids then ok, sure, kids are definitely jerks to each other sometimes. But there were adults participating in and witnessing this behavior. To teenagers. That they don’t even know. Their attitude and their actions really kind of stunned our girls, who know better than to ever act this way toward other people in any kind of competition. Luckily they are all good humans and they did not retaliate in any way, but it bothered them, and it ruined the good time.

It wasn’t so much that the other team cheated (which was lame but who really cares about a bouncy pony race?) it was how they went about it and the behavior that was displayed.

To me good sportsmanship does not start and stop as you pass through the ingate on the back of a horse, it’s something that should be on display at all times. ESPECIALLY if you are an adult. Extra-especially if you are an adult among children. Good sportsmanship comes from who you are as a person. It takes class, it takes humility, it takes kindness, it takes empathy, and it takes strength of character. I was happy to see that our girls displayed those things, even if some other folks didn’t. It’s not about whether you win or lose – it’s about how you do it. Maybe that team didn’t intend to come off this way, but they did. If nothing else, it’s a good reminder to all of us that in competitive situations we have to be mindful of the things that we say and do, and how those things might impact others.

What do you guys think? Ever seen behavior like this at a horse show? How important is sportsmanship to you – on and off the horse?