I Quit

At the horse show I had a lot of time to be thinking about what I want to do with my horses. The truth is, and I've been coming to it for a long time, is that I genuinely am not enjoying the sport of dressage anymore. 

What started it all was when my horse looked miserable, felt miserable, went miserably, and still scored in the 70s at Third level with S judges in the rated dressage ring. 

It ended with me having more fun than I think I've ever had in my life... in the jumper ring. 

I still have fun doing anything with this guy though!

I came back from the show and immediately had to prep for a dressage clinic with a new trainer. I went to pick up my saddle, which is now fitting me and TC quite well, PHEW. I did some lateral work and some transitions, and mostly just looked up at the hill and down at the cavalletti blocks wishing I could do something, literally anything, else. 

We went to that clinic and it was... completely and utterly acceptable. I didn't really learn anything. I mostly got told where to go and what movements/gaits to perform when I got there. TC's balking had come back and we mostly just worked on getting him more forward. It was totally fine. Didn't get yelled at, didn't get told to yank on his face or kick the shit out of him. I was told that he was talented, to not give up the dressage on him, that the lateral work came so easily for him and that he had nice gaits. 

I got back from this lesson and immediately was like well that's it, I quit. I don't know what I want to do with this horse, but I do not want to do dressage. It just isn't fun on him. It isn't that he's bad at it, it's that the sport as it scores well in the show ring makes him feel miserable to ride. 

More of this and less "shorten your reins and kick
him into the contact" please

How much of the fun I had at the show
was due to squeezing the shit out of
Kate's little parkour champion? Lots.

I definitely want to do some obstacle shows. That seems to be the most fun I can have with this horse without totally investing in another horse/discipline. We don't even need to practice all that much, he's just brilliant at everything. 

I also do want to see if he wants to join me in some very low level jumping just at home. If I could do a little poles course or pop him over some cross rails, I think that'd be really fun for both of us and wouldn't stress his suspensory or his feet too much. I have no inclination to really JUMP him because I want him to be sound and I also don't want to die. The horse is not lacking in enthusiasm. 

And I do want to do some dressage. But I want it to be on my terms. I want to do it the way I want to do it and not abide by any sort of rules or guidance from the USDF. I don't really want to have another lesson where I'm told to shorten up my reins and intimidate my horse when he doesn't jump off my leg. 

I like riding my horse like this, which looks so off
the bit after being around so many dressage horses!

I also just want to enjoy my horse. Not put any pressure on to get him out every single day and keep him super super fit so that we can do clinics and shows and lessons. I want to trail ride just to trail ride and not to cross train. I think I have this feeling of "oh god what do I do with him" so the obstacle shows will give me a way of feeling like I'm "doing something with him" without really needing to work hard/take lessons/stress myself out over it. 

I feel like I'm in this constant battle of why I do dressage. Like, I'm *good* at dressage, I have the medals and the scores to prove it. It's nice to do things you're good at. But do I do dressage because I love it, or because I'm good at it? Am I super passionate about dressage, or am I just a perfectionist who doesn't want to start from the bottom of another sport? Do I get joy from cantering down centerline or do I get joy from having the judge tell me that I was the best one who cantered down centerline? I honestly don't know. 

And I think I won't know until I take the pressure off of myself. I have to test my hypothesis. I feel like I have to quit the sport, quit trying to get back into the show ring, to really find out if I actually like it anymore. 

Wise words from work (I work in our Star Wars
themed building lol)

So many trainers have wanted me to shorten my
reins and to that I can now say, nah

I can absolutely see myself returning to the sport one day, even on TC! But I need to rephrase how I'm thinking about this sport. Right now I feel like I'm just constantly pushing my timeline out of when TC and I will return to Third level. Instead, I need to just throw that timeline in the trash and enjoy my horse. And if enjoying him leads me back to the show ring, so be it. If it means that I ride him bareback on the trails and teach him silly tricks and go to obstacle shows, that's great too. 

The only thing is... what do I rename this blog if I never return to the sport??

2022 Q1 Goals Review and Q2 Goals

Time to look back on the goals I set up for the first quarter of 2022! I was pretty successful with these but I also think I chose really easy goals. That was on purpose given that I didn't know how much rain we were going to get, but I'll take the win given that last year I basically scrapped all of my annual goals. 

I feel so lucky to have my boys together at the ranch

2022 Q1 Goals

TC

- stay sane and sound

Yep! 

- get through the rains well

There unfortunately wasn't much to get through

- continue rebuilding strength

He is definitely stronger than he was!

- buy a saddle

Yes!! More details coming soon!

- be consistently cantering

Yep!

Look at that reach to the contact, wow, I might make
an entire post about this one ride!

Sunny

- stay sound (he is always sane)

Yep! He was actually not particularly sane this quarter but it seems I have my pony back

- get through the rains well

Yep!

- continue working on strength 

Yep! He's looking so good these days

- continue working on forward

Yep! It's way better now

- do a schooling show or a clinic?

Nope, EHV ruined our plans

- start jumping him again?

Not yet

Love this new trail through the trees

Jumping

- get back into a regular jumping lesson schedule

Yes! It's been so fun to be jumping regularly again!

- work on my breathing

Definitely have been putting a lot of effort into this!

- work on my foot light

This got better and then worse, oh well

Worse lol oh well

My Riding

- continue building core strength

Definitely much stronger in my core than before

- strengthen my abductors 

Ehhhhh haven't done as much work on this

- work on my weird twist

Worked on it in my biomechanics lesson a couple weeks ago!

The SO and I went on a bike ride before he got
mono, who gets mono in their thirties?!?!?! Oh, 
I mean aside from me in 2019 lol

Msc

- get my back looked at by a doctor again

Not really, I've seen a chiropractor and acupuncturist though!

- get my wrist looked at by a doctor again

Not yet, hopefully this quarter

- stay consistent with copilot or another gym solution

Up until my hip injury, I was super consistent, hopefully I can get back to it next week with a modified program since my hip is refusing to do anything but light work right now. Time for bench to catch up to my other lifts lol

- start my new job

Yep! It's been great, I honestly love it so much!

- settle into a routine with the new job

I have, it's a funny schedule but I really love it

The food at work is amazing btw

2022 Q2 Goals

TC

- stay sane and sound

- be consistently schooling all of First level again

- continue working on the collection in trot and canter

- trail ride a lot

- maybe go to working equitation camp

- break in the new saddle!!

Sunny

- stay sane and sound

- successfully swap over to the bitless bridle

- maybe start jumping or even just pole work again

- maybe go to working equitation camp

- get my niece to ride him by herself

- maybe get my mom back on him??

The cutest fish!

Jumping

- feel confident over 2'3-2'6 courses with fill 

- be consistently landing on the correct lead over fences

- be successful at the horse show! I'll define what success means later

- continue working on my foot light/jumping position in general

- continue working on balance without rigidity

My Riding

- fix my right hip

- fix my left hand (lol or just make progress with it)

- continue working on my breathing

- continue to build my core strength

Msc

- continue with copilot (or another gym solution)

- fix my right hip 

- get an injury looked at, back or wrist (my job has a fabulous PT I might work with)

- have fun in Kentucky!!

- ... don't spend too much money in Kentucky

- feel more settled at work 

Hopefully this quarter will be good! Hard to top Q1 with my new job and TC doing so well, but Q2 has Kentucky, a couple of clinics, a jumping show, and WE camp. 

(Tentative) Plans For This Year

So for the first time ever, I put three different show calendars into my calendar!

Will we ever stop road walking???

I went through the California Dressage Society's calendar and put all the local rated shows in first. I want to have them in there for TC, sure, but I have no expectation of showing him this year. However, I am interested in seeing how Sunny does in the dressage ring too! I'm hoping to take him in a schooling show this spring to see how he scores and then maybe show him rated this year. Might be fun!

I also looked up the Working Equitation calendar. While dressage is a maybe for the pony, working equitation is a DEFINITELY. There are a bunch of clinics with our favorite WE trainer coming up that we'll do and then I'm hoping to start going to shows with her. There's also a WE summer camp this summer! I definitely want to go to that with at least Sunny. If the stars align, I might bring TC too because there will be COWS there. The fourth phase is working cattle and we so rarely get to do that in California. 

Then finally, I put the USEA calendar in as well. I don't know if I'll event this year. It depends on a lot of things, including me getting my shit together in a lot of ways and Kate's schedule, as well as the horse I'm riding. Kate and I have things in the works to have me try one of her horses who would be available for half lease. We have high hopes that I'll be able to do that this year since it helps her out and a half lease for me would allow me to continue riding Sunny a bit too (vs a full lease would require me to move TC and stop riding Sunny, boo). 

I'd like to get some of the B hunter jumper shows on my calendar too, Kate goes to a few of them and they seem super fun! But I'll be putting just the ones she is going to on my calendar so I'll wait for her calendar to come out. 

Such a good boy

I have some non show plans this year as well. 

For the first time EVER, I am (pending my new manager's approval) flying out to the Kentucky Three Day event, something I've dreamed of for SO long. I'm heading out there with some of my best friends, which is even better! I'm excited to watch the cross country and go shopping and just generally experience something I've wanted to do for most of life. 

Speaking of shopping, I also have Horse Expo in my calendar. It's not as exciting as I typically go each year, but it'll be fun!

I'm also going to make it a priority to get TC up to my childhood trails and trail ride him there. There are two places I grew up on the peninsula and apparently you can haul into both of them! My dream is to bring my mom with me and put my helmet camera on and have her tell me stories about riding together when I was a kid and before then. I just think that would be the most amazing thing to have. But she's still figuring out how to get back to riding after her hip was bothering her, so while I'd love to have her, I still want to do it even if she can't come (and still have the helmet camera so I can share the trails with her). But fingers crossed! 

And finally, I super want to go to the beach again, ideally with my dad like we did years ago, but again I'll go by myself if I have to. I want to get out there enough to get TC comfortable on the beach if possible! I just super want to get pretty pictures of us on the beach one day and print one out on canvas and put it on my wall okay? It's a weird dream, especially given that the horse is pretty put off by waves, but still. If possible, I'd love to get that started, especially during yet another development year. 

We won't be road walking forever at least

Hopefully all of these things can happen! With Omicron, I'm a bit skeptical that everything will actually work out, especially given that a lot of my plans have me staying overnight away from home, which is challenging during COVID times. But fingers crossed that it'll all work out and we'll have a fun year!

2021 Q4 Goals Review and 2022 Q1 Goals

 Ahhh these posts have been obnoxious to keep up because everything has been so chaotic. But I'm going to continue making them for now to see if this year can get its shit together. 

This guy is hilarious

2021 Q4 Goals

TC

- stay sane and sound

yep!

- buy a saddle???

not yet but it's coming!

- rebuild strength using what we learned at the clinic

slowly but surely 

- haul to the trail facility at least a couple of times

whoops, failed there

- find a trainer to ride with at least semi regularly

nope

- have fun at the working equitation clinic

I took Sunny but it was fun!

- participate in the next bodywork/riding clinic

Yep! I took both horses

My Riding

- work on my core strength

yes! my trainer has been programming a lot of core

- work on my biomechanics

yep! I did biomechanics check November and took a biomechanics lesson

- start regular jumping lessons again!

fail! Hopefully we'll figure out a schedule this month

- when I get a new job, work toward solidifying my riding schedule to fit in a second horse

haven't started the new job just yet but I'm brainstorming

Msc

- keep on keeping on with the gym 

yep! I also found CoPilot, which has been great

- find a new job (hopefully!) 

yep! Just need to start it now

- settle into a new routine with the new job

not quite yet

- hopefully see family members for the holidays! 

yes! I saw my mom's family for the first time in two years, my SO's family for the first time ever, and spent a lot of time with my niece

- spend more time with friends

I'd like to have spent more but I think I'll always feel that way!

I had so much fun with this pony this quarter

2022 Q1 Goals

TC

- stay sane and sound

- get through the rains well

- continue rebuilding strength

- buy a saddle

- be consistently cantering

Sunny

- stay sound (he is always sane)

- get through the rains well

- continue working on strength 

- continue working on forward

- do a schooling show or a clinic?

- start jumping him again?

Jumping

- get back into a regular jumping lesson schedule

- work on my breathing

- work on my foot light

My Riding

- continue building core strength

- strengthen my abductors 

- work on my weird twist

Msc

- get my back looked at by a doctor again

- get my wrist looked at by a doctor again

- stay consistent with copilot or another gym solution

- start my new job

- settle into a routine with the new job

I've added some more categories! I figure I'd give Sunny his own list of goals because in some ways, his are more tangible/possible so it'll give me something to think about. I also really want to stay consistent with my jumping so that when I do eventually have the ability to buy another horse, I can actually get the horse I've been dreaming of (which I do not have the ability to ride right now). 

Hopefully the rain stays away enough to make some of these things possible!

2021 Review and 2022 Goals

I don't think I've had such a failure of a year goals-wise on this blog. I don't think we hit ANY of our 2021 goals this year. Oh well. 

I just love him

This guy is weaseling his way into my heart too

Let's get it out of the way right away:

2021 Goals

- TC stays sound and sane

yep

- Rico stays healthy and continues to enjoy his retirement

yes!

- hit the trails more

we certainly did at the ranch!

- take TC swimming

nope

- take TC to the beach again

nope

- take TC to an obstacle clinic or show 

nope, but I took Sunny to a WE clinic!

- figure out what to do about the L program

nope

Early 2021 working at our old barn

- find a new training situation

nope

- qualify for CDS Championships at Third level

nope

- qualify for All Breeds at Third level

nope

- debut at Fourth level

nope

- solidify the half passes

nope

- start schooling the working half pirouettes

nope

- solidify the four tempi changes

nope

Early 2021 trail ride!

- start schooling the three tempi changes

nope

- solidify the piaffe

nope

- work on the passage

nope

- qualify for All Breeds at Fourth level (stretch goal)

nope

- debut at Prix St George (stretch goal)

nope

FAIL. Well, let's find out why. 

2021 in Review

January started out with TC being lame on his left hind, his go-to stifle weakness. The smoke in the fall and the rain in the winter kept us off the hills and his left stifle said "no thanks" to that lifestyle. Luckily, he was fine after a few trail rides. On a lighter note, I discovered that TC had achieved his Silver Elite FSA after scoring well at Third level the year before. I started to torment myself with the equicube and we tried out a lesson with Jec who helped us with some cavalletti exercises. And then at the end of the month, we got hit with a horrible storm. 

February began with a vet visit to my lameness vet to see what was going on with him. The answer was: nothing, he was totally sound. He recommended more cavalletti and a muscle building supplement, so we did those and even went to a cavalletti clinic for the former. I also took a lesson with Tracey who helped me with his bend in the lateral work. 

Cavalletti clinic!

I started March off with a bang, entering a show and paying for all of my memberships in preparation for Championships this year (LOL). We continued our trail riding adventures and also went to ride with my former trainer who helped me find a connecting leg aid. By the end of the month, TC was boarding at the ranch and I stopped taking lessons. 

In April, we mostly worked on TC settling in at the ranch, which he did quickly. We walked down the road and back, he got time in pasture, we played in the hills, my niece helped us with bombproofing, and we did a lot of work in the arena. In the mean time, the SO and I managed to trick someone into giving us their house for more money than is reasonable. We also both got vaccinated! TC started to make demands at the ranch, which my mom gave into because horses at the ranch get what they want (he is still, to this day, fed outside his stall because he hates stalls). At the end of April, Kate let me borrow her Butterfly saddle and I thought I'd found the one. 

TC the pony ride horse

Turnout with Riot

The SO and I moved into our house in May! Then TC saw his PT for the first time (and second to last time, ugh I wish we could have continued working with her). Unfortunately as much as I was excited about the Butterfly saddle, I couldn't commit to buying one because it turns out, it was hurting my back. I confessed to starting jumping lessons with Kate on Flounder in April, which were so much fun. TC moved into the first stall at the ranch and got a half acre pasture to himself and Rico as a neighbor. At the end of the month, TC saw the PT again and I was so hopeful.

In June, I started looking into new saddles and because I was saddleless, started long lining TC again and riding him in Rico's dumb bareback saddle. My jumping lessons continued with Kate addressing some of my old bad habits and my poor breathing over fences. I started trying to pony Rico off of TC which had pretty good results! In an exciting return to normal, I finally got back up to Horse Expo, which was a blast. I tried out a saddle this month and TC said "absolutely not" to it so we were back to the drawing board. My parents' house started construction and TC was unperturbed so I rode him through the construction. At the end of the month, the SO and I spent a week in Tahoe!

Jumping Flounder!

TC says no to a saddle

July started off with my fun data project to compile all of my dressage tests into a database, which I posed about a couple of times. I worked with Jen's friend Mary to figure out what TC needed in a saddle and continued my search. At the end of the month, I put TC and Flounder in my trailer and we hauled down to Twin Rivers for cross country camp! Flounder and I jumped around the intro and some of the beginner novice which was SO MUCH FUN. I was surprised to discover how much my previous cross country experience came right back to me. TC was a bit nervous down there but still allowed me to hack him out. 

My first post in August shed light on how much my eye has changed over the last year and how much it has tormented me. I had taken a saddle out on trial and so I took four lessons in the month of August. Two with a local trainer (1, 2) and two with a remote trainer (1, 2). I also got a helmet camera, which was exciting, although I mostly used it for trail riding this year. I went down to San Diego to visit L and have a jumping lesson! TC finally let the acupuncturist know that it was his neck that was bothering him, which now makes a lot of sense but at the time I was excited to have another piece of the puzzle even though I didn't know where to put it. My mental game continued to suffer, although little did I know, I was about a month away from answers. 

TC and Flounder!!!!

Jumping with L's trainer!

At the end of August, we had a bit of smoke that meant that both horses had some time off. In early September, I put the horses back to work and started riding Sunny more, even jumping him a bit. I had to give the saddle back and thought about buying it (deciding in October not to buy it). At the end of the month, Kate invited me to a clinic that was life changing. 

October started out with me unsure of what to do for the winter but ultimately deciding to keep TC there through the winter given that we were probably not going to be doing much. I made some changes since the clinic, such as treating TC for hind gut ulcers and not cantering him. This had huge effects on his previously narrow chest. While TC enjoyed the new work on his thoracic sling, the pony was skeptical. With all this new information, it was hard not to look back on what I'd been doing and feel frustrated, but I tried not to let it get to me. TC and Sunny continued to do well with the work, so remaining positive was relatively easy. Plus, we had our first rains at the ranch and they weren't too bad. At the end of the month, Sunny did fabulously well at his first Working Equitation clinic!

Best pony!

TC looking amazing after auditing the clinic

November began with a clinic with the clinician I audited back in September. It was life changing for both TC and Sunny! I didn't have much to say this month because we were working very slowly, but slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Given that riding was a little slow, I took advantage of this and spent some time with the SO, we took a weekend off to go to SF and then we spent the week before Thanksgiving on the east coast visiting family. 

I didn't start posting in December for a week because it felt repetitive to say that everything was going well with both horses but that nothing had changed. We had some winter weather and I got to experience the joy of having a gray horse in pasture. I managed to sneak in a biomechanics lesson on Sunny in the middle of the month, which was helpful to share with my trainer on CoPilot. I got to participate in my first Land Safe clinic, which was amazing! It rained a bit more but cleared up enough for me to have a lesson with the bodywork clinician just before Christmas. I sent her pictures of the super pony and she was so excited at how well he was doing too. Meanwhile, I was dealing with a job offer that I was accepting! 

Pony benefited from the clinic too!

Land Safe!

Overall, it was a pretty great year. From buying the house to moving TC to the ranch to figuring out what was wrong with TC. As much as this was not reflected in not achieving *any* goals I put out, it just doesn't matter. I'm so excited to be moving forward this next year with my wonderful horse! 

Main 2022 goal: more of this!

2022 Goals

- TC stays sane and sound

- Rico stays healthy and happy

- haul out to trail ride more

- trail ride on my childhood trails

- ride on the beach again

- rebuild TC's strength 

- rebuild TC's canter work

- continue working with the bodywork clinician

- find a trainer to work with semi-regularly

- start schooling Third level again

- retrain the simple changes

- retrain the changes

- retrain the haunches-in

- retrain the half passes

- restart the half steps

- restart the pirouette canter

- (stretch goal) show at Third Level again

- move TC for the winter next year as long as things are going well with him

- teach TC Spanish walk! 

- continue developing Sunny (as long as it makes sense)

- do a dressage show on Sunny (schooling is fine)

- do a working equitation show on Sunny (schooling is fine)

- continue jumping Flounder (semi-)regularly!

- do some kind of jumping show (schooling is fine)

- school cross country again

- do well in my new job 

Can't wait for another year with my best pony

I have no idea how TC is going to come back, so some of those goals may not happen. I'm going to just listen to him and figure out what he needs, but it'd be fun to check some of those things off. 

Fingers crossed that 2022 goes well! I figure nothing can be as bad goals-wise as 2021 so we are starting with a very low bar there. 

Back to Saddle Shopping

For the clinic, TC and I borrowed Kate's butterfly saddle again. We used it a while ago and TC LOVED it and it ended up annoying my back. 

We didn't use it enough to annoy my back, but it did make me realize how much of a difference the saddle makes for TC. He really adores it and it fits him like a glove. Even though he is a different shape now than he was this last summer. 

I've been back and forth on the saddle front, there are so many options, but I think I have an idea of what I want to do at this point. It's kind of absurd but this journey is going to be a little absurd. 

TC says yes I love this saddle

Essentially, TC and I are looking at another development year. And during this time, I am hoping/expecting him to change his body shape quite a lot. So even if I were to buy a traditional saddle, the saddle I buy this winter may not even fit him next winter, even if the tree can be changed (due to the shape of the panels maybe needing to change). I can't imagine he won't change shape, and if he actually doesn't, then I will probably call it on the dressage front with this horse. But we will just assume that this work is going to be the answer to his issues. He's already looking like a different horse. 

So knowing that even if I buy something perfect now, I might have to buy two saddles, I've decided to just plan on doing that. 

I have a message into the butterfly rep to see if she can come out and bring me a variety of what they carry to see if we can get something that fits me better than Kate's saddle does. 

He doesn't look bad in my bareback saddle but
neither of us love it

This way I have something to ride in for the next year that I KNOW will fit TC and won't need any adjustments (since it adjusts itself). I mean that is saving me a ton of money anyway, right? Given what most saddle fitters charge and that I'd probably be getting one out once a month for a year. Plus then there will be no days/weeks/months where I know the saddle isn't fitting and we have to wait for the fitter. It will just fit. Every day. 

After a year, when he's more of a normal dressage shape, I plan on figuring out a better saddle for me that also fits him. This could potentially be me just getting my Custom fit to him again! He went well in that saddle for a while, after all. Maybe if he's got an actual topline protecting his shoulders, the saddle will be able to be fit him properly. This could also mean that I end up buying a saddle from the local saddle maker who says that he can do a fully custom saddle for me and for TC for under $5k. That would be really amazing and honestly, that's a deal for something fully custom that comes with two years of free fittings. Even that plus the Butterfly will be only a little more than a lot of fully custom saddles and I'd have two saddles. 

Such a good boy

The other upside is that the Butterfly will fit Sunny and I would like to do some WE and/or dressage shows on him if I can swing it. 

And moving forward, it'll fit TC between saddle fittings, it'll be helpful to have to compare to his saddle to see if I need to get the fitter out, it'll be great to use if I event Flounder this coming year, it'll be good to use on my future horse before I buy that horse his own saddle, and it'll fit any horse I choose to lease. 

Plus, I have a slew of back issues that need to be and CAN be addressed this year. Outside of the saddle, my back is probably at its worst it's been since the original injuries this year. I need to figure out my gym situation, which dissolved during COVID and hasn't returned, and I'm not sitting TC's trot, which was my saving grace during iffy times. This January the SO is so excited to send me to the doctor whenever he wants because I'll be on his plan. First step is to fix my back. I want x-rays and potentially an MRI to see what is going on in there, then physical therapy to fix it all. 

So there is a chance that the saddle will be fine for my back and I won't actually have to buy a second saddle. But I feel confident that I can swing the second saddle if necessary. 

I just want this horse every day

So that's the latest in my saddle brainstorming! Who knows if I will be able to bite the bullet. I am hoping the fitter will allow me to keep it for a month but I know that's unusual. I think if TC says yes and my butt says okay, I'll go for it.

I've gone ten years without buying a saddle worth more than $1000. It's time for me to pay my dues to the saddle fitting gods I think. Two saddles in a year sounds like a lot, but I figure a lot of eventers have to do that! And let's not forget that my new horse will need at least a jumping saddle and that will happen in the next few years (hopefully!). It was a nice ten years. 

Winter Musings

Luckily for us, fire season has been relatively chill. We are at the beginning of October and I've been able to keep TC in work. That's great! But fire season could absolutely pick up and ruin our fall and winter as I rehab TC's lungs. Fingers crossed that won't be the case. But either way, I'm wanting to keep riding through the winter given how things are going. 

But, without a covered arena, I've been trying to figure out what to do about the winter. The ranch will remain livable for TC, he'll have at least his 50 foot paddock off of his stall (12x12) and porch (12x12) and then he'll have the sacrifice pasture (probably another 50 feet out and 50 feet wide) when it's not too muddy. It's mostly how to keep him in work when it's raining. 

TC's paddock, this whole pad is mud free in the
winter!

The arena will hold up to some rain, but it gets sloppy quick and doesn't dry out too quickly. I don't mind riding in slop but not the whole winter. Plus, I don't have the gear to ride WHEN it's raining. I could certainly acquire rain clothes but I dunno, I'm not super interested in riding when it's pouring rain onto me. Plus I'll have just bought a new saddle. 

We are not scheduled to get a ton of rain, but I also don't want to assume that I'll be able to ride all winter and then realize too late that I should have made arrangements. 

These are my current options: 

Find a Haul In Barn

There are covered arenas in the area that I could probably haul into. The pros of this are obviously that TC can stay at home in his giant paddock and when it's not raining, it'll be great. If we end up traveling this winter (unsure if that will happen), it's easy to just take off and let him hang in his pasture with excellent care and a lot of room to roam around. 

The downside is that I'll have to haul to a barn and back to ride and wow doing that when working, that's going to be tough. I'm worried that we'll have a long storm that takes the ranch arena out of commission and I won't be able to make the time to haul him out. 

Move to Kate's Barn

Kate's new barn is great, TC and I have been there a few times and they have a huge covered arena. The paddocks will not be the size of what he has at the ranch, but it'll be just for the winter. The barn is the same distance from my house as the ranch, so that's helpful. My mom also said that she might want to put Sunny over there for a rider in Kate's program (or me if I can keep riding him with my new job) to keep going and for her to ride through the winter so she can get a head start on riding him next year. So that'd be cool to be able to ride together there. 

Downsides, I don't really see any other than having to share a covered arena and having TC in a smaller space. I don't know what spaces are available yet so it's hard to know what that is going to be like. I don't know how small of a paddock I'd be willing to put him in. We'll see! 

No matter what, we lose these trails to the rain
in the winter, boo!

Move to Local Trainer's Barn

Local trainer's barn is only 20 minutes from my house. They have an amazing covered arena and even have hills where we can climb in the winter. That's huge because TC's stifle usually gets iffy over the winter because we can't do any hill work on the trails. There's also local trainer! I could take two lessons a week and we would be so much better off! 

The major downside is that the paddocks are small and there aren't many of them. Most of the horses are in box stalls and turned out for a few hours a day. If we couldn't get a paddock, there's no way I'd put him through that. They do have a gelding pasture but I don't know how muddy those get and if it's just temporary, it seems silly to try to put him in a pasture. 

Buy a Giant Tarp

I've literally thought about investing in an arena tarp for the ranch. One of the barns in the area has had luck with theirs. I haven't looked into this to see how much it would cost or what the logistics would be. But this would be the ideal situation. Tarp the arena during storms and give him a day or two off when it's the worst rain. Then just roll the tarp off the arena to ride in it right after the rain. I've contacted a company for a quote just in case. It'll probably prove to be too expensive and too tedious but it sounds like the best of all worlds to me. 

By the way, covering the arena is not an option with permits and costs and things. I wish! 

Local trainer's arena is soooo nice, such good footing
and mirrors too!

I've ruled out all the other barns in the area just because they either have long waitlists for stalls with paddocks or they don't have good footing in their covered arenas. So we'll see what ends up happening! I need to contact both barns to see what paddocks they have. I'm thinking of moving him just for January and February. It usually doesn't rain here until mid December and the first few rains don't do much to the arena footing so it's no big deal. 

Part of me hopes that we will have a mild winter so I don't have to move him, but most of me hopes to get drenched because we are in a terrible drought. 

2021 Q3 Goals Review and Q4 Goals

Another quarter in this obnoxious year down and just one more to go. I don't even remember my goals for this quarter so hopefully I kept them fairly light! 

One of my very favorite things I did this quarter!

Q3 Goals

TC

- stay sane and sound

yep!

- continue enjoying the ranch or move somewhere closer

he's been loving the ranch so we haven't moved yet!

- when we have a saddle, work on TC's fitness

he's definitely in better shape now, having that month with the saddle helped a lot, as did the smoke mostly staying away

- when we have a saddle, start taking lessons and maybe find a trainer to work with regularly

we took four lessons this quarter! I think I've made a decision on who to ride with regularly but we'll see how that holds through this new stuff I've learned

- when we have a saddle, trail ride off the property!

ah we didn't get to do that, I prioritized hauling for lessons

- when we have a saddle, rebuild TC's connection and collection

definitely getting better this last week

Another favorite thing I did!

My Riding

- continue doing my best until a saddle comes along

TC has stayed in pretty regular work, which is great without a saddle and during fire season!

- when we have a saddle, work to build fitness in the dressage tack again

I had just started sitting the trot when I went to the clinic and now I'm going to post for a while longer, but I've been working hard on my core on Sunny!

- when we have a saddle, work on my biomechanics with a biomechanics trainer

haven't gotten to work with her just yet, hopefully this winter! 

- continue jumping with Kate! 

Kate went through a giant barn change and then little Flounder had a bout of pigeon fever (the external kind, he's fine) so we haven't worked together lately, hopefully this will change very soon! I've been jumping Sunny a lot and practicing what she's taught me so hopefully I'll be well practiced

- work on my breathing, especially over fences

definitely been working on that

- work on using my core over fences more effectively

I think this is getting better!

- maybe school cross country?

I did! Kate's barn did a cross country camp and TC, Flounder, and I went down for it

Had so much fun with this guy too

Teaching

- get my student her Silver medal???

yes!!!

- pass ratings, do well at shows, everything else

yes!!!

- reduce teaching this fall when students go to school

I'm now clientless except for my clinics, it's been really nice

Msc

- continue enjoying the house

yes!

- continue enjoying the garden!

yes!

- stick to the gym plan

I set my bar pretty low but I've been really consistent this month so that's good!

- potentially see the doctor about my insomnia but I'm waiting to get on the SO's insurance in November so it may have to wait until then

turns out that when you're insanely burnt out, insomnia is part of that, I am no longer insanely burnt out so I am now sleeping well for the first time in a very long time!

- visit a few friends I haven't seen in a while

I got to see L but then my life blew up a bit so I haven't been able to see as many friends lately, boo

- maybe find a new job (ideally this fall or next spring but if the right one comes along, I wouldn't say no to earlier!)

not yet, I've had some promising interviews though

I just love this horse, he's so funny

This quarter coming up is so up in the air. I mean, this whole year has been up in the air. But we'll see how things go! Hopefully next year I can have some better goals. I think this year has just been a year of learning. I guess at least I like learning. 

TC

- stay sane and sound

- buy a saddle???

- rebuild strength using what we learned at the clinic

- haul to the trail facility at least a couple of times

- find a trainer to ride with at least semi regularly

- have fun at the working equitation clinic

- participate in the next bodywork/riding clinic

My Riding

- work on my core strength

- work on my biomechanics

- start regular jumping lessons again!

- when I get a new job, work toward solidifying my riding schedule to fit in a second horse

Msc

- keep on keeping on with the gym 

- find a new job (hopefully!) 

- settle into a new routine with the new job

- hopefully see family members for the holidays! 

- spend more time with friends

These two! 

Fingers crossed I can knock some of those out. I'd honestly take failing most of them except TC staying sound and me getting a new job.