Owniversary: Two Years

Two years ago today, I acquired a sassy young horse. I'm not one for quotes, but I found some that I kind of like from this one book...

When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he has never dreamed of when he first made the decision.

The day I bought him I was so excited. I couldn't wait to develop him and see where he'd go. I was confident that I could handle him and excited to show him Training level in the fall.

The day I bought him in 2015

The day I bought him in 2015

A year ago, and what seemed like such a long time from the day I bought him, I wrote this post. Everything was so much up in the air and I didn't really know what to say. On the one hand, he was going really well, but on the other hand, he had just been undersaddle for a couple months after a devastating injury and I was still barely able to ride him without help. I ended the post with wondering how things would look a year from then.

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.

About a year later on rehab

About a year later on rehab

A year later and we still had a lot of ups and downs. But I finally feel like I can focus on the ups without feeling like I'm lying.

We finally debuted in the rated ring, showing at four shows, earning eight scores at Training level, mostly above 70%, and winning the majority of our classes.

We finally are trail riding again, and clinicing, and riding off the property mostly with ease. I can ride him bareback. I laugh when he spooks.

Rated show debut in July

He was a horse I bought for cheap as a fun project. He had a lateral canter and a carthorse trot. He retracted his neck like a turtle and spooked a lot.

I chose the name The Alchemist long before he became one. I hoped that he was something special, that he'd grow into this name. If anything, I just really liked the name. I liked the book, chemistry has a special place in my heart, and hey I mean it sounded cool.

In the two years I've owned him, he's blossomed like I never thought was possible. He turns heads at rated horse shows, with every judge making remarks about how much they like him. He lets me ride him bareback, goes out on the trails, travels easily.

That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.

I've put blood, sweat, and tears into this horse. Like actually. I've made him what he is today.

But he's done so much more for me. He has turned me from a rider who struggled to ride hot horses to one who thrives on top of them. He's taught me to sit still, to get out of his way so he can shine. He's taught me how to persevere. He's taught me how to remain cool under pressure.

He's changed me as a rider in more ways than one. I will be forever grateful for this horse's influence over my riding. Rico is my heart horse, the love of my life. But TC is like a mentor, teaching me to be softer, steadier, quieter, more effective, and more sympathetic of a rider. Teaching me about how the tiny things matter and not letting me get away with my asymmetries or my hastiness.

Love the balance and the tail

Alchemy is the act of turning ordinary metals into gold. Rico gets the credit of earning me my gold medal and setting me on a path where I have the ability to develop a horse like this, but TC is truly transforming my riding. I'm so looking forward to continuing to learn from him.