Cantering Out of 2021

I love to do an orderly, month-by-month year end wrap up post highlighting our big adventures for each year. 

Buuuuuuut this is probably the least orderly year I've ever had. 

We kinda did everything. But also nothing. 

I didn't take a single lesson, haul off site once, go trail riding in a substantive way, or make it to a clinic of any kind. 

We did, however, cross off a bucket list item for me:

canter my horse bareback through a field

We also did the didn't-know-it-was-a-bucketlist-item:

jump bareback in a halter

We ticked off 2021 goals:

lope in snaffle

walk/job in curb

You can always count on us for great hair:

yup

Great outfits:

dressage

western too!

And great photo ops:

always be a unicorn

who is this fancy lady!

We definitely plunked away at traditional training:

peep new saddle pad

stay posted for more on this

And sometimes we did it in non-traditional ways:

barebacksies!

remember when she thought halters were optional?

Sometimes we just plain did non-traditional things:

tiny dog was NOT THRILLED about this

queue 70 lbs puppy exiting stage left

Can your dressage horse do this?

We trained a new barn dog:

the darling of all the barn ladies

And ZB continued to be the most stand up lady for any adventure:

family photo!

The only time I made it to a horse show was when I accidentally ended up showing a mule at the state fair:

NGL made me want ZB to have a mule baby

But ZB looked fabulous no matter what we were doing:

that shine <3

Whether we played cowgirls:

shiny

Or dressage pony:

you're welcome for the outfit

Or late night bareback adventure:

sometimes you don't knock the mud off

I can always count on her to be my very best lady horse.

<3

I had her in training for the greater part of the year and for the first time ever, canter is just effortless and if I got my shit together, I actually think we'd lay down a really nice 1st level test. I'm really missing jumping right now so we're messing around with poles and fitness and seeing where that takes us. I don't know what next year will bring (other than another list of fun goals!) but I'm looking forward to spending it with very-much-grown-up baby mare. 

Accomplishing Goals

aim high

One of my goals from when I first brought ZB home was to canter bareback through the pasture with flowers braided in her mane. 

Which probably doesn't sound that hard. 

But. 

To make that happen, these things had to come together:

• Let baby zb grow up with enough proprioception to move across uneven ground safely
• Develop her canter to something balanced enough to do on uneven ground safely
• Learn to feel confident and relaxed enough riding bareback that I don't just slide off
• Show up to the barn when the sun is up

And maybe to most people, those things aren't insurmountable. 

tiny barn dog not stoked

Ms. Zoebird is a lovely trotting horse. It wasn't until she spent the better part of this year in pro training and can comfortably do a first level test that I actually felt confident enough with her canter that I wanted to take it out in the field regularly. Prior to this year, she required such a high level of fitness to do it that yeah I didn't make it happen. 

It still never felt like something I wanted to do tho. I'm not about forcing my hobbies anymore. I can have goals, but if I don't get on and immediately think "this is a good idea", I just don't do it. Let's just say that when I sat on my very round horse in exercise tights, cantering never seemed like a super great plan.

I'm a long ways out of the trendy horse world right now, but I have a fabulous group of friends who kept saying "brockamp pad" like it was some sort of voodoo that would help me. 

I'm all in favor of voodoo, but 0/10 do long lead times on non-custom items. 

And then I found this:

Relevant points: PURPLE, less than half the price of name brand, can be at my house in 3 days. Sure, it's not the "THE PAD" but let's be real. I've never seen a real one so I won't know the difference. Worst case scenario, I end up with a pretty purple bareback pad. 

So that happened.

O HAI MUM

Naturally, I dragged Alyssa out to the barn with me immediately. 

warm weather

Hopped on with zero prep and went straight to the field.

don't mind if we do

And rolled straight into the canter

<3

It was the most natural thing in the world. 

cold weather too

It's my new favorite thing. We have a long, dark, cold winter ahead with a cheery purple bareback pad and a whole new toolbox unlocked. 

i am a leaf on the wind
watch how i soar

2018 Goals

I'm having a hard time setting goals with Zoe, just because the whole plan with her is to have fun, which I am already doing. She's so easy going. She's fun to take places. She'd be an easy one to get stuck in a performance rut with just because she doesn't tell me no.

But why waste all that fun and try in the sandbox? This year, I want to focus on creating a well-rounded equine citizen with a lot of different life experiences.

Zoe Goals

1) Show unrecognized training level dressage.

I think paying for recognized training level is a little silly. Zoe isn't going to be competitive with fancy, big-moving warmbloods who are also good at steering. However, I want to get out and help her learn the game with a view of showing recognized in 2019.

2) Get exposure to XC elements ditches/banks/water.

I don't know if I want to event. I don't know if I think Zoe is mentally/physically ready to jump with a rider up.

BUT

I think getting early exposure to these basic elements is critical to developing a solid citizen. Plus water is just fun.

#teammareglare

3) Go trail riding with friends three times.

I've already got tentative plans with Nadia and I want to see if Roxie's mom and I can make something happen. I have local friends who trail ride. I love getting out in the mountains and I have a horse who can make it happen. Let's do it.

4) Develop ZB management plan with vet/BO for long term health.

Zoe is fit and fabulous, but she's a whole different type of creature for me and I want to work with the team of professionals I have on hand to make sure I'm giving her absolutely the best life possible.

Horse Goals

5) Focus on outings that are fun.

Outings with Courage were so hit and miss that I have kind of a lot of anxiety about hauling places. I want to sign up for things that sound fun and then have fun and drop kick this stupid demon.

6) Identify (and participate?) in non-sporthorse events of some stripe.

I'm not quite sure what this is going to be. There are some local ranch clinics I've been itching to try. A cool local NH type trainer runs an equine kindergarten and I'd like to work with him. Mounted shooting sounds cool. I mean. Guys. I have a purpose-bred ranch horse. LETS DO THE THING. (Plus I don't have a western saddle. Shopping? MAYBE.)

7) Attend 3 different types of equestrian competition.

It's a big horse world. I'm pretty familiar with my side of it, but I want to see what else is out there.

Personal Goals

8) TRAIN FOR and run another half marathon

I've already picked my race and enlisted a running buddy. (RIGHT RENA?) I want to seriously pursue this, beat my time from last year, and become a fitter/better partner for Zoe.

9) Say yes to new adventures.

I'm the worst about being stuck in my own stupid rut. I live in a cool place surrounded by cool people and I want to explore the possibilities.

DINOSAUR CALENDAR ADVENTURE

Stretch Goal

10) Expand a creative outlet.

I'm not sure what this means right now. I want to pick up something I'm passionate about and become better at it. That might mean finding a new hobby. It might be finishing writing a book. Getting an actual camera and picking up photography?

I'm not really sure, but I'm hoping #9 helps build into a solid #10 and I'm excited to see what it ends up being.


There you go. 10 tidy, defined goals. Let's see what happens.

2017 Goal Wrap Up

I'll confess to not even doing goal wrap ups some years because the results were not good. Ha. This year, I tried to check in periodically so hopefully we'll see some actual progress. Here goes!

Courage Goals:
1) Starting in February, keep him in work 3x a week--lunging, riding, groundwork.
Success! Definitely more grit than grace at the beginning, but yay for hitting bare minimums.

2) As circumstances permit, pro training (lesson or pro ride) 4x a month.
Ehhhhh let's go with "circumstances did not permit" and call this a success too. I took some lessons on him and he had some trainer rides.

3) 5 off-property excursions: trail ride, clinic, lesson, horse show, or just hanging out with friends.
My records indicate that we left home 3 times--twice hanging out with friends and once to hang out at a show. Plus one time when he moved to his new home. Yeah I'm counting it.

Horse Goals:
4) Get acclimated to riding second level movements whether on Courage or on school horses.
That definitely did not happen. I did ride two horses (one time each) that were capable of second level movements, but I am in no way acclimated to them. Rats.

5) Audit at least three different clinicians.
Well technically I audited one new clinician, loved her, got a new horse, and then rode with her. Since the point of this goal was to develop another trainer to work with, I'm calling it a success.

6) Attend (either as volunteer or competitor) at least three dressage shows.
BOOM.

Well okay I did not compete at horse show one, but I definitely showed up and volunteered and groomed so it counts.


7) Ride 10 other horses in a non-toodling capacity.
I kept a list. I rode:
1) Cocoa - adorable painty mare
2) Nikki - cool second level friesian cross
3) Bowie - fancy warmblood gelding
4) Royal - super cool OTTB dressage horse
5) Hampton - the one and only
6) Roxie - but of course
7) Zoëbird - YAY

I'm 70% there. That's not terrible.

Meta Goals:
8) Attend 1-2 top level equine sporting events (advanced eventing, grand prix dressage or jumping)
CAN YOU SAY ROLEX (aka now not-rolex)? I also hit USDF regionals and watched the FEI tests, so this one is in the bag.

9) Train for and complete either a 10k or half marathon, body-permitting.
Ha. Well. I ran the Beat the Blerch half marathon, then trained for and ran the Beer and Brats 10k. Then I got a stupid injury that I've been recuperating from, but this goal is officially HULK SMASHED.

10) Do core workouts 1-2x a week ALL YEAR LONG (body permitting).
0/10 epic fail here
I can't even go with "body not permitting". It's mostly just that I super hate core workouts.

Official goal count: 7.7/10. THATS PASSING, Y'ALL.

a passing frolic

I do like the process of breaking up goals by specific horse, general equestrian, and personal--it definitely mitigated the effect of epic fails on one front dragging down the whole list.

Goals, Updated

I keep getting asked what my goals with Zoe are.

I don't really know how to answer that.

The whole point of Zoe was to do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and have a horse that I could just have fun on, every single day.

trail ride!

And like.

first ride!

I do that already.

SMOOSHES

Sure, I have my long-term bucket-list type goals (event above BN, get my bronze medal on a horse I trained), but it has never mattered less to me whether those happen or not.

She nickers at me every day. She meets me at the gate. She trots up to me in the field. She's always game for an adventure.

So yeah, I mean. I guess we have goals. It's just that we're already achieving them.

Eight Years Apparently.

The other day, Teresa and Leah pointed out that my blog archives are kind of... extensive... and I looked to see just how far back they went.

Eight. Eight years since I got my first horse as a newly-married college kid and started blogging for the stated reason of not driving my husband nuts. I was hoping to find some like-minded souls to connect with so I'd have someone to talk to about all things horse.

Since then, I've been through three horses:

Izzy 2009-2012

Cuna 2012-2014

Courage 2013-present

EIGHT (count 'em) barns:

1) first trainer, old barn

2) first trainer, new barn

3) first time on our own

4) second trainer, first barn

4) second trainer, first barn, second horse

5) second trainer second horse, second barn

6) sans trainer, second horse, third barn

7) second horse, final barn

6) third horse, repeat barn #6 (omg baby C!!)

8) third horse, repeat first trainer, brand new barn

I can't count the bridles that have passed through my care or the number of amazing people I've met along the way, both in real life and through the blog. There are lots of things I love about blogging and certain things that drive me crazy. I started the blog to meet new people, and that's definitely happened. Also awesome has been the opportunity to mark our progress through the years. I'm definitely not the same person who started this whole things eight years ago, but I like who I am a lot more now.

sass

Here's to friends and fun and new adventures and dear god let's stop moving barns omg.