First of all – a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to make a logo (or many logos) and send them in. There was a total of 42 different logos submitted! I never expected that kind of participation. I also never expected to really like so many of them… picking a winner was no easy task. As you may have read in some follow-up posts after the original contest announcement, due to the level of quality and participation I decided to offer prizes to the top two runners-up as well.

When I tasked y’all with the job of creating a logo, I didn’t give you much direction. Really that was because to be honest I had no idea what I wanted. As they started to roll in and I paged through them, the criteria that I really found myself putting forth were:

Is it pretty? Meaning – is it clean, are the colors (if any) ones that I like, if it’s a picture do I like the picture.

Is it COOL? Does it look like something I could have done myself or is it totally beyond me.

Is it original? Did I get several more logos in almost the exact same style. Was it personalized or was it just generic clipart.

Is it us? Do you look at it and immediately get a sense of Henry, or me, or things that I like.

Did it speak to me? Of course this just has a lot to do with individual preference. Some things I immediately loved and some things I was more meh about.

Is it easy to use? How well/cleanly would it embroider, how easily could the shape of it be worked into the blog, etc.

So without further ado (and in reverse order pageant style for maximum suspense):

Second Runner up: Karen M of Bay with Chrome. This one really struck a chord with me because it’s my very favorite picture of me and Henry. You had me from hello when you used this picture. And it almost looks like a stamp, which I thought was really cool too. Karen wins the Ogilvy baby pad from Luxe Eq.

 

First Runner-up: Britt G from Our House on a Hill. Looove the splish splash and the fact that she used my second favorite picture ever. It looks like an eventer and I know it’s us. Unfortunately the embroidery people were less enthused about the splashes. Still, Britt… you win a gift certificate for a Firefly custom bonnet up to an $80 value!

Grand Prize Winner: Rachel R, who is not a blogger but a reader! Rachel took one of Henry’s pictures, drew it in a cool swoopy outline, and added two of my favorite accessories. My pony + my favorite things? That’s a done deal. I also really liked the soft colors she chose, the simplicity of the logo matches my personal style and will embroider well, and it’ll be easy to incorporate into the blog. Rachel wins the Firefly logo baby pad, a Mango Bay belt, a Kastel sunshirt from Luxe Eq, and snap-on rein stops from PS of Sweden.

Winners, keep an eye on your email inbox over the next few days so I can get in touch with you about your prizes. Congratulations and Happy New Year!

To give you guys an idea of the enormity of this task, here are most of the other entries. Not quite all, because some of them only had small variations like text or shape, but you get the idea. Thanks again for making it such a great contest.

To be honest I am really hesitant to write this post because generally I don’t like making yearly goals. I think life has a way of changing things a lot and sometimes just because we didn’t meet a goal doesn’t mean we weren’t successful. But, on the other hand, maybe if I have a list in writing and a bunch of people to help hold me accountable I will be more motivated to try harder in all respects, whether or not I actually meet the goals. So in the spirit of trying something new, here we go…

Qualify for AEC’s – This is the #1 goal. I feel like it IS attainable but it’s far from easy or guaranteed. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Score below 35 in dressage AND finish on that score – I feel like we’re reaaaaally close to this, I just need to ride smarter.

Get an actual, honest to god stretchy trot circle from Henry – he is the chief of the Stiffasaboard tribe. There was that one time we got like 5 kinda stretchy steps. That one time.

Score a 7 or above on our free walk – so far we’re pretty darn consistent with our score of 5. Why? See above. We have a long way to go until we get to 7, but if we can bring that one score up we’d be in pretty decent shape.

Stop being such a pansy about the down banks – Seriously, I dunno why I’ll jump pretty much any stupid thing you tell me to, but point me at a little wussy down bank and I forget how to ride. That’s a mental issue for me and I need to get over it.

Be more fit – I put this as a horse goal because I really want to be more fit for my horse, but it’s a personal goal as well. I started at the gym a couple weeks ago and have done pretty well so far. I’d like to commit to at least 4 days a week of some kind of workout (mostly spinning or swimming) and 5 days a week of riding (weather permitting of course). It’s not about looks  – although that’s a perk – or a certain number on the scale, it’s about being a better more capable partner for my horse. It’s not fair to expect great acts of athleticism from him when I’m not strong and fit too, and making excuses or whining about it helps no one. You can’t call it a sport if you’re not in shape, and you can’t expect to get better if you don’t put in the effort. Time to get off my butt and DO WORK.

Keep Henry happy and healthy – There is some body work in store for him this year (maybe that’ll help downgrade his Stiffasaboard tribe status?), and I’m going to continue keeping him on the Pentosan. Also looking to weasel into getting him a turnout buddy so he can be ridiculous and come in with lots of bite marks, but have a good time playing. I think he misses having a turnout buddy.

Improve my attitude toward dressage – Ok this one might not be possible.

Get a 4-legged bun in the oven – C’mon Jezabel, get pregnant! Momma needs a 2015 Valentino Z baby. Preferably a filly. Preferably with a stripe or a star and a snip. Definitely bay or brown or black. Details.

 

Be more appreciative of my awesome SO – He’s great, and I should tell him that more often.

Be less selfish – I’ve gotten better as I’ve gotten older, but it’s always a work in progress.

Continue to always be as honest and transparent as possible while still being as kind as possible – There’s nothing I hate more than people who are fake, but sometimes my honesty can come across as meanness. Gain tact, keep honesty.

Travel more – come on, BELGIUM and FRANCE!

Get at least one more tattoo – It’s been a year and I still haven’t extended my quarter sleeve to a half sleeve. Time to get on that… and get another one added to the collection.

Compete in at least 2 triathlons and place in the top 3 – 2012 really was my “year of the triathlon”… I only did a few in 2013 and one in 2014. But I kinda miss it, and they keep me motivated to stay fit and active, so adding a couple to my list sounds like a good idea.

Move to my own domain name. – It’s happening sooner than you think. I hope.

Roll out a more polished, clean look. – No more basic template with blurry banner pictures. Make it end.

Keep staying true to my original intentions. – Be as forthright as possible, be reliable, and always speak what’s on my mind even if it’s a tough subject. People won’t always agree with you, and it’s just not possible for everyone to like you, but as long as you have integrity people will always respect you. I think one of the worst things we can do as bloggers is to censor ourselves to the point of becoming automatons. We have the luxury of a built in audience – something most people do not. We should use it as an opportunity to speak up when the situation arises. I want to do that more.

 

As far as specific shows, it never seems to go according to plan, but this is what the year is shaping up to look like so far:

January 11 – Candy Cane Eventing Derby

March 27-29 – USEA HT at Texas Rose

April 11 – USEA HT at Pine Hill

May 1-3 or May 16-17 – USEA HT at Greenwood or Circle T

June 6-7 – USEA HT at Texas Rose

If we haven’t qualified for AEC’s by then I will instead change focus and move up to Novice at schooling events. Plus I’ll be pretty much out of money anyway.

Here’s to a great 2015!

Year in review isn’t quite accurate since I just started blogging in mid-May, so I guess more like a half year review. I didn’t start this blog with the intention of being a big time blogger or with a focus on pulling in big numbers or lots of readers. I still don’t have any desire to go “big time” but it’s interesting to see how the numbers break down. To be quite honest, it boggles my mind. It’s a good reminder of just how many people some random little slice of the internet can reach, and how many eyes really do see what we have to say. And of course if nothing else, it tells me a lot about you guys – who you are, what you like, and what you want to read about. So here goes:

The PS of Sweden bridle post got just over 2,300 views and continues to get more daily. Otherwise y’all really like reviews and sales, with a little bit of me and Henry thrown in. Duly noted and I concur.

It was pretty close between all the Small Business Spotlights, but One Horse prevailed.

71 countries?!?!? I want to know who all of you are!

Mostly due to PS of Sweden sharing my bridle review post on their facebook page. Begin influx of Swedes.

Never underestimate the power of the Google search. Or a facebook share. Or the omnipotent SprinklerBandit.

Bridles, bonnets, belts, and breeches. The four B’s.

To be honest I’m kind of amazed I actually stuck with the blogging thing. A lot of the credit goes to y’all… I have no idea why some of you come here on regular basis to read my verbal diarrhea, but thanks for the support. It’s nice to have a place to vent, chronicle my adventures with Henry, explore new brands/products, and bounce ideas off a wide group of people. Some of which have even turned into good friends… who’d have thought? Here’s to an equally fun 2015!

This situation happened before I started blogging, but I thought it was a story worth retelling to the world.

Last winter when I was riding Henry in a mechanical hackamore, I had a bit of a bridle dilemma. None of my bridles went short enough in the cheekpieces to allow the hackamore to sit in the correct spot, and to be honest, after showing in my pretty contoured Mark Todd bridle for years, I was bored with a regular bridle. Unfortunately the Mark Todd is a monocrown, so it wouldn’t work with a hackamore. Off I went scouring the internet looking for a pretty bridle that I could buy with cob or pony size cheekpieces (sadly, I had not yet discovered PS of Sweden or their hackamore bridle would have solved all my problems).

I gave it a valiant effort but I had no luck. I finally did stumble across a thread on a horse forum about a custom maker from India (I know I know) named Royal Sports who would make items from Sedgwick leather for a price upgrade. Several people had ordered from there and their items looked decent. I thought maybe that could work, so I contacted Sudhir, the owner of Royal Sports. He assured me that yes he could easily make just a headstall for me, with the contoured browband and cob cheekpieces, in Sedgwick leather with stainless steel hardware for $60. I thought “awesome, this is the cheap way out!”. Great, right? I placed my order on 2/12.

It finally shipped on 4/5. Both of my emails asking for status updates were ignored until I started getting pushy – then voila tracking number.

On the plus side, it arrived in just a few days. Otherwise, it was a sad sad sack of crap. I know what Sedgwick leather looks/feels like and that was NOT it. It looked like cardboard with the color painted on and it had already started to flake off the edges. Not to mention the padding was ORANGE. Didn’t match the leather color at all, which is what I’d asked for. Also the entire thing was cob sized, not just the cheeks. The throatlatch was so short I couldn’t buckle it, and the ear cut-outs didn’t actually line up with his ears. Details.

I sent him an email on 4/9 saying the following:

Hi Sudhir,

I received the bridle. I wanted to let you know about a couple of quality issues.

First, the leather is not Sedgwick. As soon as I removed the bridle from the bag and assembled it, the top coat of the leather started flaking off on the straps. I have other bridles that are Sedgwick leather and when compared to each other you can see a very clear difference in leather quality.

Second, the sizing seemed a bit off. I ordered cob cheekpieces, and those seem correct, but the rest of the bridle was supposed to be horse sized and it seems very small. The browband is tight and the throatlatch is so short I can’t buckle it. This horse wears a horse size bridle in every other brand I’ve had, so I am guessing that the whole bridle was made cob size.

I have attached a couple photos of the flaking so you can see the leather. On the positive side it was packed well and arrived quickly with no issues, and the stitching is well done.

Thanks,
Amanda

It took until 4/17 before I heard back from him. This was the response:

Dear Amanda,

We just checked with our production team and found that new edge chemical was introduced as trial and applied on your product. It seems that this new edge covering chemical has reacted with leather in bad way and created a problem.

Rest assure the leather is Sedgwick and no issue with leather quality or making of product. 

Now they are two ways to resolve this problem.

• First option, we can send you the chemical that was approved and we were regularly using it since long time. You can apply the new coat of paint on it, but before applying the new paint you have to manually pile of the layer of old paint with the help of very thin rubbing paper (we will send ) only on edges and then apply new chemical with help of brush.
• Second option, we request you to sell that bridle in half of the cost to anyone know to you (if possible) and we will send new products in half of the cost. 

Please confirm if any the option can be worked out to resolve the issue.

Best of Regards,

Sudhir

Stay with me now, here’s where I got pissed and it got fun.

Hi Sudhir,

 Thank you for response. I am glad that you have discovered the source of your quality issue with the edging.

I appreciate your attempt to resolve the situation but unfortunately I am displeased with the two options offered to me. The idea of having to pay you again for a product that I have already paid for and did not receive is extremely unfair business practice and unacceptable. The bridle I received is useless and I cannot sell it, nor should I have to. Besides the flaking of the edging I also had issues with the very strange fit (I cannot even put it on my horse, and I have never had a problem with bridles fitting him before) and the very unattractive orange padding color. If the certain chemical used for the edging was a trial for your manufacturing process, it should not have been applied to customer products before it had been fully tested by you. The issue was fully evident to me immediately upon receipt of the bridle, so had it been checked before it left your shop, it should have been immediately evident to you as well. So either it was not checked, which is negligence on your part, or it was checked and sent anyway in the hope that I would not notice, which is even worse. This error is yours, not mine. I should not have to attempt to fix the product that I paid for but was delivered to me in unusable condition, nor should I have to pay you any additional money to get the product that I should have gotten in the first place.

 If you would like to have the original bridle back so you can attempt to sell it yourself, I will gladly send it back to you via COD and you can pay the shipping cost. I will not pay my own money to have it shipped back to you and the burden of having to sell it should not be on my shoulders. Nor will I pay you any additional money when I have already paid you for the product and did not receive what I paid for. In my opinion that is unacceptable.

 Thank you,

 Amanda

I heard nothing back (shocking!) so on 4/22 I sent this email:

Hello Sudhir,

 I still have not heard back from you after my last reply. Please let me know what you would like to do, otherwise I plan on protesting the charges to my credit card.

 Thank you,

 Amanda

On 5/18… yes… now it’s MAY… I finally got this response (I give up trying to fix the font so whatever):

Dear Amanda,

Please note that we  have resolved your problem of side edging coming out by giving the new product free of cost through DHL and we see the same has been deliver at your address.  

Please confirm the receipt of the same and we look ahead for your next order soon.

Best of Regards,

Sudhir

Yes they sent me a new one. It only took 3 months, lots of foot stomping, and some threats to get a useable bridle. Sadly, it’s only slightly better and “useable” is probably the best compliment I can give it. The padding is still orange, the leather is still crappy although not quite as bad, and the sizing is still off. At least this time the throatlatch fit (albeit baaaarely). But at this point I figured I had learned my lesson quite well enough and I should leave it at that. Now it serves as my “junker” bridle for my sidepull. As long as you don’t really look at it and don’t mind the top layer flaking off everywhere it’s tolerable.

What’s the moral of the story?

This is why you buy nice things even when they cost more money. If you want to be frugal, buy it used or on sale. But never ever be cheap. Life is too short for crappy bridles and headaches.

It wasn’t a planned blogger weekend, but it turned out that way.

Friday after riding and swimming (ow, arms) I met up with Karen of Bay with Chrome and another long time horsey friend for happy hour. They’re always fun chicks, and I had this beautiful pink drink that unfortunately tasted like how Windex smells. At least the company was good.

Saturday was rainy and gross so I skipped the barn and instead tried going clothes shopping. After 2 stores and 2 hours, trying to find black leggings for a downtown outing that evening, I realized that the only ones I sort of liked really just looked like a cheap version of my Aztec Diamond houndstooth breeches. So instead I wore the breeches, which looked a thousand times better anyway. I got several “I love your pants!” comments. Breeches as evening wear? YES!

 

Sunday was also rainy and gross, and really cold, but I dragged myself out to the barn anyway and hopped on my pony bareback for a hack around the property. Brandy from Auf der Autobahn met me there, and it just so happened that Jen of Wyvern Oaks was out there with Paddy, so we had an impromptu blogger hack!

 

Then Brandy and I turned “da boys” out together and let them play. They’re such bros, with basically the same personality.

Today the farrier is coming, and later this week we’re supposed to get some pretty crappy weather. Goody. I guess I should start getting serious about riding again, since we’re now less than 2 weeks away from Derby time. Meh… being prepared is overrated.