Barn Friends are the Best Friends

I blame JenJ for getting my culturally irrelevant self started on the Justice Crew. I had a pretty kickass weekend--fun with pony friends, sportsball, breeder's cup, bollywood... I like weird stuff. (Anyone want to watch Quantico?)

Anyways. This song struck a chord with me.


In case you hate videos, happiness, or music (not judging), here's a breakdown of the lyrics with vastly-improved visuals. 

At the end of the day

Some you win, some you don’t

So I’m glad that I’m here

With some friends that I know

Always there with a smile

Saying you’re not alone

Singing la la la la

Que sera

(Here we go, yo)

Yesterday is history (oh)

You gotta get through it

Tomorrow is a mystery

So let’s just do it

And even when the rain falls

You and I will stand tall

No matter what you go through

I’ll never leave you

So you gotta be strong (strong)

Live by the words of the song (song)

Together is where we belong (long)

Never stop dreaming

Keep holding on

I may be a grown ass adult with a real job and life responsibilities and hard stuff (tm) to sort through, but my constant has been the friends I make in the barn. I think the massive responsibility of caring for a thousand+ pound animal makes for the most kind, caring, hilarious, understanding and mature friends a girl could ask for.

I'm incredibly lucky to have the friends that I do, and I always know they'll be there to back me up in a crisis, talk me off the ledge, celebrate my victories, and cry with me when I lose. And I know that, because I'm there for them the exact same way. 

So here's to barn friends, new and old. I'd be sunk without them.

Audacity of Hope (or something like it)

look at skinny race Courage!

Alternately titled "with friends like these...". But I digress.

Most of you know that I met Courage when he was still racing. When I met him, he was the been-there-done-that horse that anyone could handle. On the ground. He was definitely NOT his exercise rider's favorite horse and he certainly wasn't one they put new riders up on.

I knew that. 

Sometime after C came home with me, I started hearing more about why exactly the exercise rider wasn't a fan.

this horse be stubborn?!

Basically, before my friend the trainer got a hold of Courage, he had a nasty reputation. So nasty that his previous trainers never galloped him because the moment they'd turn him around to run on the track, he'd bolt until he was good and done.

My friend the trainer got C about a year before I started going to the track. And he wasn't going to pander to C. And I've heard stories about sky leaping and rearing and hopping down the track on his back legs because he was so mad that he wasn't getting to bolt.

loving the evening light

So when I met him, I knew he pulled like a train and wasn't a ladies' ride, but he was well beyond all that nonsense. He did his job and he was fine.

Once he figured out it wasn't going to get him anywhere, he gave it up. (Of course, his exercise rider was ECSTATIC to see him go. I can't really blame the guy.)

So at the end of the day, that's the horse I knew and that's the horse I know I can get back. Courage can and will give it up. And then he'll be fine.

hard things make sexy bodies tho

I mean, let's face it: Courage was perfectly fine for quite a while with me, but then we started stepping up the workload. And he's just not quite convinced that retirement from racing ought to involve hard things.

Unfortunately for him, he's too much horse to be happy tooling around giving old ladies trail rides, so he's got to learn to love his job.

He's a jackass, but I love him.

I've debated sending him off to different trainers, and I still haven't ruled that out (shhhhh no one tell the bank account. it would FREAK OUT). Honestly, the root of this problem is Courage testing me. He has his tantrums and he sees what he can get away with.

And to this point, he hasn't thrown anything at me that I can't handle or that is dangerous.

Even the other night, when he had his complete meltdown on the lunge line--when he started escalating, he got in BIG TROUBLE. And he only had to do that a couple of times before he realized it was a Really Bad Idea.

And quit.

It's definitely not a perfect situation, but I believe in the little guy. 

Blogger Road Trip!

it is beautiful. also not satin.

While all y'all were out winning ribbons this weekend (I swear me and Serena are the only ones with no loot), I plotted world domination.

Kidding!

I pretended my horse would get on a trailer.

Funny joke!

so much road! (photos by redheadlins)

I caught up with Niamh from Life of Riley on her cross country adventure and planned a meet up. Redheadlins, Alyssa, and I headed east across the state to meet in a small(ish) Idaho town for yummy lunch at a local place. I didn't know the town at all, but the text under the name informed us it was a "damn good bar" and that seemed like a good place to start.

Haha. The sign wasn't wrong.

At any rate, it was basically the OTTB Lovers' Club, USA style. Funny how despite being worlds apart and living completely different lives, we all have so much in common. And can talk for hours.

I mean, Niamh walked in and sat down. We didn't even need introductions and the poor waitress was probably ready to shoot us because we kept talking about horses instead of reading the menu to order. Ooops. Sorry nice waitress.

It was a total blast (Niamh is awesome. I already knew the other two were.) and I'm so glad we can meet up. I mean, isn't half a third some of the fun of riding just having other people who are crazy like you to hang out with?

I certainly think so.

Ammy Hour: Meet Elena!!

Here's the latest installment of Ammy Hour. I love to run this series because I get to learn about so many cool and interesting people and the way they manage real life with horses. I know it's a slow news two weeks because of the holidays, but I have a great interview with yet another cool adult amateur!

Elena blogs over at Out of the Box, where she keeps up with two OTTBs and has possibly the coolest wedding photos of all time. (Why hasn't a horse blog run a 'cool wedding photos' post? I should do that. I love pictures!)

Anyways. Elena is another adult amateur making a go of it and here is how she answers the questions that life throws at her:




1) You’re at dinner with work colleagues. How do you introduce yourself?  Hi, I'm Elena. This is my husband George. Yes, I know, we got married young. Yes, I also know I look just like Jennifer Lawrence.

2) But what you really meant to say was this: Hi, nice to meet you. Would you like to see some pictures of my pets? No, oh ok. I guess I don't really have anything to talk to you about then...I'll be heading to the barn now!








3) Tell us about your horse(s): The Great Gatsby, "Gatsby", is a 17 y/o OTTB who I bought back in 2006. He is kind of crazy but also ridiculously amazing. He LOVES cross-country and pretty much any jumping in general. Not so crazy about dressage but is pretty darn good at it when he pays attention! He loves peppermints and licking my hands. We have a very strong bond but he also has a strong independent streak and may have been tagged by some as arrogant.

Chi-Town, "Kanye", is a 2 y/o TB with no race training. He is still growing and we are still getting to know each other but so far he pretty much seems like a puppy in horse form. Nothing bothers him and he would just like to be next to me at all times.  












4) How did you meet him/her? I met Gatsby when I was 16. I had finally come to terms that my lovely 14.3hh QH mare wasn't going to be my superstar eventer so we decided to put her on the market and start looking for something else. I went through thousands (or so it seemed) videos and ads but Gatsby was actually the first horse I sat on. It was pretty much love at first site when I saw him in the cross-ties. He was 100% nutso and absolutely the wrong horse for me but the more I heard that the more I loved him and, as you can see, it's turned out pretty well!

Also met the dog

I stumbled across Kanye when I was window shopping the SoCal CANTER listings. I was totally not in the market for a new horse but absolutely adored his photos and pretty much had to have him. So far so good on that one!

5) What have you done together? Gatsby and I have competed up through Training level eventing together and schooled Prelim. Kanye and I have gone on many walks together and attempted to lunge.







6) Where are you going together? Right now Gatsby is rehabbing a minor tendon injury. I would really love to be able to compete him at least one more time to be able to enjoy cross-country with him again. In my heart of hearts I also have a, fairly unlikely, dream of taking him to an FEI event one day.
Kanye is still growing up. I plan on starting him sometime next year and seeing how he does but my hope is that he will be a fantastic eventer also.



7) How do you finance the addiction? I have been lucky enough to have a father who was willing and able to finance the addiction from the start. He supported my riding completely until about 2 years ago when we discussed it and thought at that point it made more sense for me to be responsible for it. Generous as ever though, he gifted me a portion of his ownership in a company he jointly owns to assist me in getting by. This still puts me on a pretty tight budget for my boys but I am forever grateful to my dad for making it possible for me to keep them as an adult.

8) How often do you ride? I try to ride about 4-5 days a week but unfortunately my work schedule often gets in the way and I'll be lucky to get 3 rides in.

9) What’s the single biggest thing that helps you achieve your goals? The support of my dad and my husband are hugely helpful but I also like to think that I am a pretty stubborn and motivated person.



10) If there was one thing you could say to people getting ready to join the ranks of riding (or re-riding) adults, what would it be? Prepare to sleep A LOT less. I don't know about everyone else but often the only time I have to ride is before work which means getting up before 6am and then returning home after 7pm.





11) What are your horse keeping arrangements? Gatsby lives at a fantastic facility in Santa Barbara. It's got all the facilities we need plus really amazing care and some great people to ride with. They've got stalls and paddocks but I was lucky enough to snag a situation where he lives out 24/7 with the owners retired mare. Kanye lives at my house in our paddock with our retired QH mare. We have the option to open the paddocks up to the trails and let the horses wander and graze which I'd like to try in the summer but it depends on how our other horses are with him.

12) What is/are your long term equine goals? I think I have pretty much the same ultimate dream as every other eventer stateside, to compete at Rolex Kentucky. More realistically, I would be beyond stoked to compete at an FEI event and do decently.












13) Bottom Line: Riding is my passion. There have been times when I've though about how much easier things would be if I gave it up but when it comes down to it, it's definitely one of the most important things in my life. I wouldn't be happy without my horses and I definitely wouldn't be me without riding.

Wherein Courage Has a Bad Day

Courage reared and spun as Lindsey tumbled to the ground. I grabbed for his reins, but his brain was already checked out. He leaped away from me, his body taught from his ears to his tail. I swear his feet never touched the ground as he trotted through the parking lot, straight toward the road.

"He'll come back," I said as I speed walked after him.

"I've got to keep Diva moving," said a now-dusted-off Lindsey. "Let's hope she keeps it together."

Then Courage stepped through the reins. His mouth got a violent jerk every time his right front hit the ground. He spun and started running backwards to the road.

I moved as fast as I could, but I didn't want to scare him any more than he already was.

He slammed on the brakes and threw his head straight up in the air.

I stopped, hardly daring to breathe. "Whoa, buddy."

He looked at me expectantly. The reins were caught in his boot, and he needed someone to get that mess sorted out.

Oh Courage.

It was a bit of a procedure to get in the gate. Lindsey had been holding the reins from the ground while I encouraged him to go from behind, so nothing was injured but our pride. Even the reins survived, somehow.

Can't beat a sunset trail ride

A new arrival came to our rescue and gave us the combination to get in the locked gate without having to step over the latest permutation of the great wall of China. Somehow, despite all the commotion, my little man was completely unrattled. He stood quietly while I got on, then he and Diva marched off side by side, down the trail.

Just he and Diva. That's right. Our first ever unassisted trail ride with only OTTBs along. It was the second time for each of them to be out in the hills.

Through the brush

We chose to take them down a new trail. We met other riders, hikers with loose dogs, and saw some deer. Courage was sure to pose dramatically for each and every encounter, but there was nary a spook between them.

As we wound through the sagebrush behind Diva, Courage got a little bit twitchy. The pokey branches were touching his delicate hide. Our only concession to his greeness was to make Diva stop every once in a while so that he could catch up without feeling like he needed to jig.

He finally gets Diva to look at something.

Despite our misadventure at the beginning, Courage (and Diva!) were total rock stars.

I am absolutely dying to do some trot and canter out there and I CANNOT WAIT to gallop the little dude, but we're taking it slow. I want him to learn that it's low key, fun, and easy so I can always ride him on the buckle if I want to. We'll make it more fun once he more thoroughly understands what it is that we're doing.




As we loaded up to head home, I couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face.

Again.

This horse is SO MUCH FUN.

Also he needs to learn to walk over things behind me. There is definitely some groundwork in our very near future.

Here We Go!

As you may have noticed, Hilary and L. Williams are hosting this year's round of the Two Point Challenge. I wasn't going to participate, given that my ride is a whopping two months off the track.

But then I realized that my riding really needs it. Plus I have a buddy to do it with. Plus if there's anything a racehorse can do, it's let people two point over him.

Because we're badass

So we're in. We took our baseline time today in the cold blowing wind. The little man was perfect and I shocked myself by getting 5:38 for my start time. Yikes. I'm going to have to bust my butt to get most improved.





Possibly the most interesting video in the world:


Not only was the little man a star to two point around on, but he's also feeling GREAT post bodywork. The practitioner said it would take him a while to really trust the adjustments, and yeah. He's like a different horse, but his brain is just as awesome as ever. I am loving his new willingness to reach out and cover ground with those long legs of his. Winning!!

Who else is down for the two point challenge? Am I the only one on a green horse?