Change was the theme of the weekend. Most little, one kinda big. Let’s start small and build from there.

First – Henry got his mane done. I did it with the clipper blade method for the first time to help thin it a bit and it seemed to work better. Of course I totally forgot to take a picture of him post-makeover soooo here’s a picture of him eyeball deep in grass, pre-mane job, because his life is so hard.

Second – I changed his bit again. When I first got him I tried him in a Nathe but it didn’t really go that well. But he’s gotten a lot more responsive to seat and leg since winter, plus a lot more balanced, so I gave it another whirl. He definitely does not get behind the bit in it almost ever. On the flipside when I have to really sit and do a big whoa in a line I don’t have quite as much success. Then again the need for a big whoa is also almost never, and really if I was better with my body/seat it’d be a non-issue totally. For now I’m going to keep him in it and see how it goes.

Side note: I noticed the past week that when Henry gets super sweaty and I get super sweaty, I’m not having as much grip on my reins as I used to. Not sure if the rubber is just getting worn down or what because I’ve never had this problem before. My gloves are still pretty pristine so I don’t think they’re the problem. Waiting to see how I feel about the calfskin reins that come with the PS bridle.

The big change was that Trainer wants me to try riding Henry a different way over fences. Basically he wants me to stay up out of the saddle and let him keep cantering more forward/open after the jump, and not sit again until we’re coming out of the corner toward the next jump. We tried it out a bit yesterday and while it’s always hard to make big changes (successfully) all at once, he did seem to go better with that ride. By nature he’s such a compressed little ball of a horse (basically the opposite of my last several horses) that opening him up gave him more lift in the shoulder and kept him more in front of my leg. Of course, now I’ve got to figure this all out on my end and get used to riding differently, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

I also had yet another fun time with helmet makeovers, but we’ll talk about those tomorrow.

Until then, enjoy this shot from a pool party we went to on Saturday night. Yup, that’s a movie on a projector screen. Yup, those are glow sticks floating in the pool. Yup, those are also glow sticks around the rims of our cups of vodka/lemonade/punch mixture. Winning times three.

Thanks to everyone who has participated in the tack swap/sale so far! I have one more thing to toss into the pile – a size 54 brown Tekna Pressure-Eze girth. If you’re interested let me know and I’ll get pictures to you.

Sadie is officially 14 days in foal to Mezcalero! Please cross all your crossables for an easy and problem free pregnancy. The first 60 days are the most nerve-wracking, I don’t think I’ll have any nails left by the end.

We have yet another new blogger among us – everybody go say hi to B at Auf Der Autobahn – she rides at my barn so obviously she’s pretty cool.

Don’t forget the tack sale/swap! InLinkz doesn’t seem to work as well with WordPress so you have to click on the little froggy thing at the bottom of the post to see the links of the other participating bloggers. Celebrate payday by buying yourself something nice.

Also thought I’d share some pics I took the other day at our ice cream factory tour. It was so neat, I loved it. We weren’t allowed to take pictures in the actual production area, but just imagine a sea of machinery and ice cream and cookies and candy and everything amazing. There were giant boxes of cookie dough pieces that I’m pretty sure I’ll spend the rest of my life dreaming about. My head is now also filled with lots of useless information about Blue Bell… if anyone ever needs to know the top 5 best selling flavors, I’ve got you covered.

 And don’t forget to enter Cob Jockey’s awesome giveaway!

Come one, come all! Gather all your excess stuff, raid your piggy bank, and lets have some fun.

So – what do you have for sale? Or trade? What items are you looking for? We need pictures and prices and the whole 9 yards! Think of this as an opportunity to refresh your horse stuff collection.

Here’s what I’ve got to get rid of (maybe trades? not looking for anything specific but I’m always interested in browsing!):

running martingale attachment. Brown Ovation, never used – $15

Le Fash shirt, lavender with black. Size M (approx 36), only worn once. It just doesn’t go with all my navy stuff so I never wear it and it pains me to see it hanging in the closet looking unloved.  – SOLD

Cheval Fashions shirt. I have no idea how I even have this in the first place because it’s not anywhere close to my size. It’s a 14 (approx 42). Super cute though and in great shape, has a snap collar. – $45

Tuffrider pad, navy trim with light blue piping. I used it at two horse shows but just really prefer baby pads. Has some staining at the girth area. – $10

Pro Choice girth 54″, I’ve used it for a couple years but it’s still in great shape. Princess Henry can’t do neoprene. – SOLD

Bits! 5″ baucher and 5″ D-ring – $10 each (Baucher sold)

Horse size custom navy bonnet with dusty rose trim and a row of ivory pearls. I got this for my mare but there’s no way it’ll fit her Hippoverian head. -SOLD

Alright guys – GO!

get the InLinkz code

1) Take off work. It’s even better if you take off work for the actual day and also the day after. SO has to do the same so that when you want something you get to say “but it’s my birthday!” and they’re required to do it.

2) Go ride your pony. When trainer does a double take and asks you why you’re there at 9:30am on a Tuesday, reply with gusto “It’s my BIRFDAY!!!! I don’t work on my BIRFDAY!!!”. Then he will laugh and offer you a free lesson as a birthday present. More details on the lesson in a minute.

3) Spend some time outside with the dogs. It really doesn’t matter if it’s 98 degrees, pack a picnic lunch, load up the dogs, and go for a hike. Even when it’s hot as balls Austin is still beautiful. Just bring a few dozen bottles of water.

4) Have Indian food for dinner. Because chicken tikka masala and stuffed naan. Boom.

5) Enjoy a brownie pull-apart cake and several Ace Berry ciders in the evening with good company.

 

I feel like I’ve finally mastered the art of How to Birthday.

As for the part everyone cares about, the lesson, I come bearing another diagram. The jumps are still set up the same, with the zig zag exercise, but we did it a little differently. First we did just the zig zag alone except started off the right lead, so it was right lead to the first jump in the zig zag, left turn rollback to the second, right turn rollback to the third, left turn rollback to the fourth, right turn rollback to the fifth.

Then we made a different course out of it.

 

It was just okay. Henry felt a little behind my leg and I still don’t really feel on my A game right now. I’m trying so hard to fix a lot of little things but only succeeding at about half of them at any one time, so I’m getting impatient with myself. I know it’ll come eventually but still frustrating. Very grateful for the surprise lesson anyway… the more we work on it, the better it’ll get.

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes on Instagram and fb! Today we’re off to an ice cream factory for a tour and free ice cream, to cap off the celebrations. Because that’s how it’s done.

 

Tomorrow: tack swap/sale! Hope you’re ready.

I just can’t resist a blog hop like this one.

Hillary of Equestrian at Hart asked:

I want to know about what you ride in and why? Show us your Equestrian Fashion choices and tell us why you wear them!

Riding clothes are my favorite. Breeches, shirts, boots, helmets, gloves, socks, boots, belts… all the best things. Functional is important but I also want to look well put together and nicely turned out.

First, breeches. As we all learned last week, I’m obsessed with Animo. My second favorite is Tailored Sportsman, and these are the only two brands in my closet. I have navy Animo, french blue TS, charcoal TS and hunter green TS for schooling, then a pair of tan TS and a pair of tan Animo for showing. Since I do jumpers I am usually not limited to only tan for shows and some of my other breeches have been known to make an appearance. I’m fairly satisfied with my breeches collection except it needs more Animo and I feel like I’m in dire need of some Redwood or dark brown (or both).

For shirts we’ve also already covered my love of Kastel. I have 4 of those (with plans for more) in peach, white, gray/tan and royal blue. I also sometimes ride in a few old Essex show shirts or, if I’m feeling particularly fancy, a Le Fash – although I usually save those for shows. I also have a long sleeve Animo polo that I love but it only comes out in the winter.

As far as footwear I’ve got brown Mondoni tall boots and black Ariat Monaco’s. Generally the Monaco’s are for showing only but I’ll whip them out every once in a while for a lesson or something. I’m digging having brown boots a lot though. Whenever the Mondoni’s die I want to order Eiki customs in chocolate brown with navy piping, because I’m a little obsessed.

My GPA Speed Air is one of my favorite things, although I have a little Ovation Schooler that I use during the summer to prevent the GPA from developing The Funk. Both have their own Personally Preppy monogram of course.

I have to give a mention to hairnets here too, since I consider them essential and I’m honestly a total snob about them. I do proper “hunter hair” every single ride and having the right hairnet is really important. Aerborn heavyweights, all day every day. None of this fancy one knot or no knot or whatever other modern day voodoo they’re trying to bottle these days. No bobby pins, hair clips, double hair nets, panty hose, or what have you. If you know what you’re doing, an old school Aerborn heavyweight and a hair elastic is all you need. I’ve never once been unable to get someone’s hair done properly with just those things. And it takes less than 30 seconds.

As you can see, I’m a Roeckl-only girl when it comes to gloves. Nothing else lasts as long or looks as good or works as well for me. I absolutely love those things and need them in every color.

For socks I’m a little different – I really hate the “boot socks” sold by most equestrian manufacturers. Those thin little slippery things were great when everyone was still suffering through pull on boots but in our modern day zip-up boot era I mostly just find them annoying. They’re too thin and wear out too quickly. Instead I buy socks mostly from Sock It To Me . These things wear like iron, are thick enough to be comfortable, but at the same time they’re not too thick as to be hot or alter the fit of your boots. Plus they have some awesome ridiculous socks and I love ridiculousness. For how majorly stick-in-the-mud I am about hair, I’m the total opposite about socks. Be crazy, have fun.

  

Last but certainly not least… BELTS. The Mango Bay obsession is real.

Plus I’ve got a wide navy Equine Couture quilted belt, a couple of plain leather belts and a Peruvian belt on the way.

 

You’ve probably noticed by now that Hillary and I seem to have a lot of the same stuff. Mutual awesomeness, that’s the proper term for it…