I'm a 20-something wanna-be eventer living life in Cow Country, Idaho with a cat, two dogs, assorted small animals, and one awesome horse. I've had my ups and downs, and I think I'm finally headed in a good direction.
 |
| Izzy and I in October 2011 |
I started riding when I was a kid and ended up riding a cool OTTB mare (Cassie) that I leased for several years. She won every 4-H trophy that existed, rocked around BN eventing, and even tolerated a few dressage shows. I mostly quit riding so I could go to college, but came back with a vengeance when I acquired Izzy, Cassie's first baby by an Oldenburg stallion during my senior year.
Nothing like an out of shape re-rider and and an unstarted 5 year old mare. We spent three years together, and made it from "unstarted" to 1st-ish level dressage and jumping around 2'6" courses with minimal trainer input (a side effect of being poor). We had a series of defining events, culminating in Izzy and I having a nasty wreck on cross country.
In fall of 2011, we moved in with an awesome eventing trainer wintering in our area. For the first time in our history together, we got regular lessons and really started to put things together. The harder we pushed though, the more obvious it became to everyone around us that something had to give. I met an old red horse (more on him later) and bowed to the inevitable:
I put Izzy up for sale.
 |
| So much better when we're together |
Enter Hakuna Matata in March of 2012. I sold my beloved Oldenburg mare and upgraded to an old, broke OTTB gelding who hauls my butt over fences without holding a grudge when I act like my normal screwball self. He is a 1993 model who kicked butt and took names at the track for years, then converted to eventing. He's a novice-level packer, schools training, and jumps over pretty much anything I point him at.
 |
| Giant jump! Omg! |
It's been a long road, but I am happy where I'm at and excited for what the future holds. Cuna is a master at putting up with my neurosis and frankly, every ride on him is like getting a riding lesson. We're working through my myriad of issues and teaching him that having his picture taken while playing dress up really is fun after all.
For the curious, here's the link to why Cuna is officially defined as "
a mean ass bastard horse".
Meet the crew:
Hakuna Matata (aka Cuna) and myself.
Chaucer the beagle and Lewis the corgi.
My supportive husband and a rabbit.
