This year with Henry has been a really interesting one in a lot of ways, probably most of which (for me anyway) is the increased trainer involvement. Several of my past horses have obviously had trainer rides, but really only one of them was shown or ridden regularly by a pro, and that was Sadie.
She was a baby, just learning the ropes, and since I had bred and raised her I really wanted her to have the best possible start. Aside from her, though, the rest of my horses have been resale projects, so were almost exclusively ridden and shown by me. This year when I tossed Trainer aboard for Henry’s first couple of Trainings, I wasn’t really expecting it to go much further than that. There was no grandiose end goal, I just wanted him to have a confident ride over some bigger courses before I made the attempt. But I’ve been really surprised by just how much I enjoy watching a pro ride and show him – I really love it. Some of my favorite things about it, for example:
seeing my horse learn new things
having his confidence grow, which in turn grows my own confidence
just being able to watch him compete (damn, he tears up XC, and looks so happy doing it)
enjoying competitions without actually competing (less pressure)
getting some good results on his USEA record
it brings me joy to see my horse bring joy to someone else
the fist pump and pats ❤
The first time she mentioned running him Prelim, my first reaction was “YES!” with zero hesitation. That was never part of the original plan, but I would love to see him do it. And yes, mostly just because it’d be cool as hell – one more notch in Henry’s girth. And also because if he’s run around Prelim (and maybe even a CIC* like we’ve discussed), he’ll be totally golden with anything I half-assedly attempt to point him towards at Training. I’ve literally never had a horse that was more experienced than I was.
On the flip side of things, when you’ve only got one horse and limited budget, playing owner becomes tricky. Really tricky. Especially as you go up the levels and things get more expensive (and not just USEF fees, show fees, etc, but also the increased level of care). I still want to ride and show him, because I’m unwilling to hand him over totally. I’m also unwilling to give up showing him for a while, because we’re finally to the point that I had labeled Wildest Dreams a couple years ago and I don’t want to hit the pause button. That makes it really challenging to try to map out a schedule, especially when both of you want to run around the same venue. And because I just don’t have the money to send him to every recognized show in Area V… not even half of them. To make it work, it’s definitely going to take some compromise (or a sugar daddy. Maybe two.).
I’m just gonna keep my options open and see what road the horse takes us down. In the meantime, we’ll keep having fun with it and re-evaluate things as we go along. Damn, it’s fun playing owner sometimes though. Anyone else really enjoy watching a pro show and ride your horse?
One of my best friends (who I’ve known since I was 13 and she was 12 – poor thing has survived 2 decades of me and lived to tell about it) just acquired her own little farm. That’s the kind of life-long goal that we often talked about when we were kids, so this is a pretty big “dream come true” moment in her life and seems like a long time coming. The only difference is that we used to talk about having a pony breeding farm, and uh… I’m pretty sure that’s off the table.
It’s been fun though, and interesting, to talk things through with her as she decides how she wants to develop her property. She’s starting pretty much from scratch with the horse facilities, so there have been lots of discussions about barns and turnouts and riding areas and jumps (and yes, XC fences!). Within reason of course, because sadly, unlike we planned when we were kids, she is not independently wealthy yet.
she said no to this, for some reason…
So, out of curiosity, if you were starting with say 10 acres and building up your own horse property, how would you do it? And just to take all the fun out of it, pretend you’re on your normal, regular person’s budget. How would you maximize your dollars but still make a good, usable facility to fit your needs? What things would you put as higher priority and spend more money on versus things you could live without?
For those of you who already have your own place – what are the things you wish you’d done differently? What are the things you’re really glad that you did?
AEC’s start today, and the past month or so leading up to this competition has been interesting to watch. After USPC championships, the inaugural eventing competition at Tryon International Equestrian Center, the eventing community was buzzing. Why? Because at USPC Championships, XC was run 100% on the derby field and in sand arenas.
As soon as pictures and video got out, the internet does what the internet shall always do… they went nuts. Some people liked the format, stating that it was very easy for spectators to see everything. Other people hated it, saying that this isn’t cross country. Rumors continued to spread about the facility not being ready for cross country, not having true XC courses to offer at any point, etc. That sparked another wave of concern over what the AEC courses would look like. Several people scratched, not wanting to travel that far and pay that much money to risk running a derby style XC course.
USEA and TIEC immediately went into damage control mode, assuring the public that the XC course would be ready in time for AEC. A drone video was even released of the xc course (which is actually only a part of the track, the only part that is outside of the arena areas), and then the provisional AEC course maps hit the web. This pacified some people but absolutely incensed others, depending on whether or not you liked what you saw.
last year’s AEC’s at Texas Rose
It was interesting to me to watch this whole thing play out. There were those who were so enamored with TIEC as a facility that they didn’t really care what the XC was like (as long as it was safe, of course). They liked the fancy permanent stalls and the built-in tack rooms and the resort feel and the manicured spaces. H/J land gets that a lot, but it’s pretty rare in eventing. The other side was adamant that this was an apocalyptic moment, the beginning of the end of eventing as we know it… here comes the big money and here comes the h/j-ized version of eventing.
Personally, I can see both sides. Who doesn’t love top notch amenities at a show? Super cramped tent stabling and running 15 extension cords to work a fan aren’t exactly dreams come true. Having come from Jumperland, I can say for sure that I went to certain shows because I liked the atmosphere and VIP feel. But what you think about this whole thing seems to depend on where your priorities lie. Some people don’t want 75% of their XC fences to be in arenas or on a flat derby field. Tossing in one manicured gallop stretch with a couple hills on it isn’t enough to get them excited. At least not enough to drive a long way and drop lots of money on one event, regardless of how nice the barns are and how many restaurants you have on site.
Other people think that this is the direction that eventing needs to move in, if it wants to survive – a Wellington Showcase type of format. To be made more spectator friendly, to take up less space, and to be easier to set up at a facility by using mostly portable fences. Some people just really like how pretty and fancy everything is, giving a much “richer” feel to the sport in general. And the fact that, in this format and using this kind of space, you can very closely maintain the footing to near perfection is a huge draw to a lot of people.
I’m curious to hear what others think, and where their priorities lie. Are you willing to acquiesce to a derby style XC if it means perfect footing and world class amenities? Or are you a holdout for the traditional XC courses – imperfect footing, lack of spectators, and bare bones facility be damned?
Yep, it’s time… all this extra stuff I’ve got lying around needs to find a new home. The usual spiel: prices don’t include shipping, I take Paypal, if you have any questions either comment or message me!
Luc Childeric DAC dressage saddle, monoflap, medium tree 17.5″ – SOLD
Professional’s Choice XC Boots size Medium, brand new in the bag SOLD
Girths
Camelot leather anatomic jump girth size 54, used once – $30 SOLD
breedrideevent.com 