The show was officially rained out. The good news is that the forecast for next Saturday (the rain date) looks a lot more promising than it did a few days ago, so maybe we’ll be good to go next weekend. Of course that does mean that I won’t be able to go to the the TB charity show that is also next weekend. Big bummer because I really wanted to support them. Oh well, it is what it is. Instead I shall spend today doing laundry and packing for my trip to Georgia… maybe I’ll even hit up the book store down the street and get some airport reading material.

Happy weekend everyone! Since I have nothing of interest to offer lately, here’s a video of us hopping over little jumps a few nights ago. Henry was super as usual and I am riding like a big sack of dog crap, because apparently that’s just what I do lately. Yay.

HenrySeptjump from amanda chance on Vimeo.

 

Work has been so insanely busy and stressful this week that I didn’t even have time to write anything yesterday. Sorry guys. Luckily it’s Friday and while it’s still every bit as stressful and busy I’m taking a few minutes to write, dammit.

A relatively new addition to the blogging community, Now That’s The Spot has picked a great topic for her first Blog Hop. She asked What other activities, hobbies, or sports do you do outside of riding? 

I am one of those crazy stupid masochistic people who has to split my time between two very time consuming and expensive hobbies. Up until a few years ago horses were really my only thing. I’ve tried a lot of random stuff over the years but nothing else really “stuck”. Then I decided to take a little break from horses to practice this weird thing called financial responsibility (it’s overrated and boring). What I noticed was that I apparently have a really obsessive personality and having grown up at the barn, I had zero clue what normal people do with their lives and all of their free time. It was mind-boggling. So of course as soon as I found another all consuming hobby, triathlon, I jumped in with both feet. I even convinced my brother to do a few triathlons with me, which made it extra fun.

I swam as a kid so while I’m only average, speed wise, I’m pretty comfortable in the water. I also discovered that I have a natural affinity for the bike. Speed and power came really easily to me. I have to say that triathlon was a little intoxicating for me… having been a rider all my life, and never having been anything but average no matter how hard I tried, it was pretty exhilarating for me to wander into a new sport and do really well right off the bat. I won 50% of my races and was on the podium all but twice, with my worst ever finish being 5th. I was just so much faster than the vast majority of the other girls on the bike, I was able to get and usually keep a pretty good lead. Unfortunately the run was always my Achilles heel (no pun intended)… I have an ankle condition that makes running super painful after only a few minutes. I gutted it out for a long time, even doing a half marathon at one point, hoping it would get better but in the end it was just too debilitating and my only option to possibly help my condition was a pretty major surgery. I opted to hang up my running shoes instead. But in that couple years of triathlon I had a lot of fun and was definitely in the best shape of my life, and I’m not gonna lie – having a big box full of medals and awards is something I’ll always treasure.

So after I decided to quit running I switched to just road cycling and tried my hand at some crit races. They were sorta fun but honestly I just didn’t mesh with that crowd very well. I found them a bit too clique-ish and awfully damn hipster for my taste (yes, I SAID IT). Then SO bought me a CX bike for my birthday and convinced me to try this absolutely ridiculous sport called cyclocross.

Basically imagine a bike sport that a bunch of 10 year olds would invent if you got them drunk and let them loose in a park. You ride mostly over grass but sometimes dirt, gravel and pavement. There’s switchback turns, steep up and down hills, off-camber, sand pits, barriers that you have to jump off your bike and run over (I’m not kidding), sometimes it’s super muddy, sometimes there’s stairs, etc. But everyone is just so laid back and having such a ridiculously good time, it makes it crazy fun. The crowd is encouraged to do this thing called hand-ups… basically they stand beside the course with “treats” (usually a Twizzler or a cup of beer) and offer it to you as you whiz by. Ever tried to chug a beer in the middle of a race? And you’ve never lived until you’ve taken a particularly sandy Twizzler from a random kid (preferably without using your hands) and tried to eat it while pedaling your butt off. Races are only about 30-45 minutes usually, and you’re basically at your max heart rate the entire time. You fall, you bleed, you get muddy, you freeze your balls off, you can’t breathe, you want to die, but it’s the most fun you can have on a bike, period.

Cyclocross is a “winter” sport, season runs from Oct-Jan. The rest of the year I just ride on the road to keep some fitness, but I really only care about ‘cross season. I try to ride my bike to work as much as possible too, since it’s a pretty short commute for me and traffic isn’t too bad.

Otherwise that’s really it, I don’t have time for much else. I’d like to get back into triathlon a little bit next year, just short ones so that I don’t have to run much. We’ll see how things shake out. Until then – it’s almost CROSS SEASON. And Nationals are in Austin this year too!

Remember last week when I eagerly (naively) made that super optimistic (stupid) post about my horse show plans for the fall? The first one is supposed to be this weekend. Remember that last line “Of course now that I’ve put it in writing I’ve probably cursed myself for sure.”? It’s cute when I have hopes and dreams and plans. You know that giant cold front that’s making it’s way south across the country, bringing rain and storms along with it? Guess when it’s supposed to get here?

On Monday I wasn’t that worried. They had a 20% chance of rain for Thursday, 40% Friday, 30% Saturday. Then yesterday shit got real and all the sudden they’re saying (depending on your source) 40-60% Thursday night and 60-80% Friday night into Saturday, with anywhere from 1/4″ (we can probably live with that) to over 1″ (WE CANNOT LIVE WITH THAT).

Here’s the real problem: the rain date for this show is next Saturday, the 20th. I already had another show planned for that day, the TB benefit show, plus an XC school the day after. Not to mention that I’ll be out of town next Monday through Thursday. Not ideal times a million. Why you gotta do me like this, weather???

So now I’ve become super obsessed with checking the forecast, hoping it might somehow magically change in the next day or two. I’m checking 4 different websites at a total stalker type frequency (FYI they don’t update it every 5 minutes, what’s up with that?). I like to send emails and facebook messages to friends when a percentage goes up or down. Sorry, friends. And what happens if I’m not near a computer? Never fear, I have THREE different weather apps on my phone! Someone will tell me what I want to hear eventually, right? I see you, cold front. I SEE YOU!

Anti-rain dances, everyone! Like you mean it!

 

It’s true, and probably not a surprise, that I’ve been a diehard lover of TB’s and warmbloods for the vast majority of my riding career. It’s just an obvious side effect of wanting a horse than jumps things for  a living… you’re attracted to those who do it most naturally and are most popular. I admit that I can also be a bit of a snob about horses sometimes, although less now than I used to be.

But my first love was not either of those breeds. As a kid I obsessed over one particular breed, collecting books and model horses and stickers and shirts and basically anything I could find with one of them on it. The breed name was even my favorite human name, and I swore someday I’d name my kid that, as a tribute to the horse. I know their whole history, I know all the different types, and to this day I still occasionally peruse dreamhorse and equine.com looking at what is available and for how much. I know most of the major breeders and have a handful of stallions that I online stalk from time to time. I’ve had the chance to ride several of them over the years and have always had a total blast. They’re forward thinking, they’re cheeky, they’re intelligent, and they’re hardy. All of my favorite qualities in a horse.

So what breed is it?

Morgans! Definitely not the typical choice for most horse crazy kids or jumper enthusiasts. They’re usually bay, not particularly elegant, not very big, and not very common. But there’s something about them that has always seemed so REGAL to me, even 20 years ago to my barn rat, lesson kid self. And I’m not talking about the modern show type Morgans that look more Saddlebred than anything else. I’m talking about the government/cavalry type Morgans with bigger, blockier heads, more bone, and butts so wide you could have a picnic on them.

I’ll never forget one of the most fun rides I’ve ever had in my life… it was when I was a working student at an eventing farm in Maryland. One of the boarders had a couple of (very obese and very very cheeky) Morgans that she mainly just trail rode. Every once in a while we would get to take them out into the neighboring state park and ride around. One day I was on one of them and another working student was on another, and we decided to race each other across the top of a grassy levee beside the lake. On the count of 3 there we went on these two Morgans… legs flying, manes flying, fat just a-jiggling all over the place. They flattened themselves out and galloped for all they were worth (which, granted, was not very fast), because if there’s one thing about a Morgan, they have a ton of “try”. We were laughing so hard both of us almost fell off, and those Morgans were so proud of themselves they pranced the whole way back to the barn, neither of them wanting to let the other in front. What those two lacked in size they made up for ten times over in personality and sheer will.

One of these days I’ll eventually own a Morgan. It’s on my bucket list. Or maybe even a Morgan x TB? They might not be the scopiest thing or the most athletic thing or have the best gaits or the best style, but there’s just something about them I’ve never been able to shake.

At one point Denny Emerson was even interviewed for an article about Morgans in eventing. I am not the only one enamored by these keen little horses.

And look at this little guy jump. Springs for legs and super honest. One of these days, little Morgan… one of these days.

Time for everyone else to fess up. What’s that “weird” breed that you’re totally smitten with, but isn’t at all mainstream for your discipline?

The weekend started out with so much promise. I got an awesome package of new Mango Bay in the mail, had a nice gallop out in the field, and had a lovely happy hour at the barn on Friday night with food and drink and great company.

By Saturday morning it was still going well. Trainer has been working like crazy to get the property ready for the horse show next weekend so the arenas were perfectly dragged and watered and fresh jumps had been newly set. We always lesson on Sunday so I hacked in the ring then went and rode for a few minutes in the field before calling it a day and heading home for a day with the SO.

Then it rained 1.5″ overnight. The perfectly watered rings became perfectly swampy and all riding plans came skidding to a halt. Womp womp. So instead I headed to the store for some hair dye and we had a spa day! Henry’s previously sunbleached tail is now re-vamped and ready to go for the fall show season.

 

Since my weekend was so boring, here’s a bonus. Chasing the Dream gave us 10 more questions to follow up from Viva Carlos’ from last week!

1. If your horse was a person, who would they be? (you can generalize personality if you can’t think of someone).
Maybe Johnny Depp? He can be really broody or really funny, but he’s always eccentric. Plus versatile and intelligent.

2. What is one (or two…or five) piece(s) of equipment you CANNOT live without.
my CWD, for sure.

3. When did you start riding/ what discipline?  
Started weekly lessons at 10, at an eventing/Pony Club barn.

4. Do you have a barn dog? If so, what breed?
two dogs – my JRT mix and SO’s GSD mix, but they don’t get to go to the barn very often. No horse sense. The JRT doesn’t stay out from underneath them and the GSD just tries to play with them.

5. Do you like doing stalls or nah?
I’ve worked at many barns in my life and mucked a hell of a lot of stalls. I don’t mind it but I’m appreciative of not having to do it on a regular basis.

6. What treat(s) does your horse go nuts over?
Basically anything except apples or hard/strongly flavored peppermints. He loves anything oat and molasses based the most.

7. If you’ve switched disciplines, why? If not, also why.
Several times. Sometimes you just need a change of pace.

8. What is your least favorite discipline and why (yeah, I ain’t afraid to be scandalous)?
Barrel racing, TWH gaited stuff and hunters (sorrynotsorry).

9. Who is currently your favorite rider? 
Joe Fargis has always been my favorite.

10. What is your BIGGEST pet peeve regarding horses?
In horse people: Willful ignorance. Not putting the horse’s welfare first. Recklessness.
In horses: Bad manners and bad work ethic.