You know what I decided? I’m not making any horse-related goals this year.
The reality is that making goals with a super green, super sensitive young just seems a bit overreaching at this point. There’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs, and who the heck knows where we will be in two weeks, let alone 2 months or a year.
So instead I’m going to focus on personal goals: things I can strive for without placing expectation on Smitty. Things like:
1.Meeting more bloggers
I’ve now been blogging for 3 years, and have come to love being a part of the horsey community locally and online. I hope to meet more of you in person, so if you’re ever in North Cackalacky hit me up!
Blogger hangout in CA!
2. Focus on growing my photography skills
Meaning self-educate, maybe play with artificial light, and learning to be bold and reach out to the local horse community to break into other disciplines and areas.
2016 sessions
3. Continue to make healthier decisions, and try some non-carnivorous meal options for Pete’s sake
Last year the husband and I started to cut out red meat from our diets. This year he’s going cold turkey, but this girl loves the occasional steak, so that’s a no-go. Instead, I’m going to try and make one day out of the week a “Meatless Monday”- fish/veggies only.
I realize the list is short, but I think by keeping my goals concise I hopefully have a better chance of success.
2016 was a roller coaster year for us. In a lot of ways it signifies the closing of several long chapters, and the starting of new stories. In April we sold our house of 3 years, and in May my beloved Foster became someone else’s to love. But we also purchased our dream home, and in September I went crazy bought myself a gangly 4 year old warmblood sight-unseen. So with that in mind, let’s look at my original intentions for the year.
2016 Goals
The Horse:
Find the perfect situation for Foster. Done, and unintentionally done again.
Keep riding, even if catch riding Thank you Darcy and Riley for keeping me in the saddle
Participate in at least one dressage clinic Nope!
Darcy dressaging
The House:
Paint upstairs – hallway, study, State room
Wrap up giant handyman to-do list covering all sorts of small sins
Declutter in the extreme….
In order to put the house on the market!
This was a wrap!! 15 showings and a full-price offer within 24 hours on the market!
Stay positive and keep calamities in perspectiveFound some balance in my life and a new positive attitude
Focus on savingsSaved those pennies and then lost them buying a horse!
Final Thoughts
I think 2016 will forever stand out in my mind as a bittersweet year. Bitter in the loss of Foster as my eventing and everyday partner, but sweet in the realization of selling the house- the culmination of 3 years of hard work and literal blood, tears, and lots and lots of sweat. I will say that I’m a happier person now than I was at this time a year ago, and I’m thankful for all that went into that as well.
As part of my night at the Olympia Horse Show in London, I purchased a ticket to go visit the warmup ring backstage. This was essentially a spectator area filled with tables and seating and its own personal bar (which you know I took advantage of on my way out!).
So before the final class of the day, the 1.55m Martin Collins Christmas Tree Stakes (not to be confused with the Mince Pie Stakes – not kidding), I scuttled down (or rather, up, over, down- very confusing to someone who’d already had a glass of wine or two) to the warmup arena to watch the big names go.
PS of Sweden made an appearance!
I think one of the most interesting things about showjumpers is the variety of tack that they employ. I saw every combination of hackamores, drop nosebands, figure 8’s and double bridle variations, and that was before even looking at the bits. The most popular bitting option appeared to be a gag bit, but I did see a few standard snaffles here and there.
Other trends included leaving a patch of hair on the sides of the horse (like above), something I hadn’t noticed before in other disciplines but surely to avoid any spur marks that might eliminate an otherwise clear pair.
Besides the horses themselves, it was fascinating to watch the riders warmup so differently from one another. Many would take a medium sized oxer (say 3’3″ to my eyes) and then go over a small vertical like below. I would have loved to pick someone’s brain to know the reason for the small vertical, but alas, I never found the opportunity.
Others, like the horse below, would repeatedly stop their horse in front of the fence. My guess would be to get their horse listening and on his haunches, but again, I really can only speculate.
As you can see, I took the opportunity to document as much as I could without being absolutely obnoxious, and enjoyed chatting with the other Olympia-goers about their horses and their favorite riders and horses. It was awe-inspiring (because let’s be serious, I am never going to have to prepare for a 1.55m track) and educational to see all the differing approaches in the warmup ring, and amazing to get to see some of the world’s top riders up close!
After wrapping up my work duties Friday afternoon, I spent the rest of the day searching for the myriad items my family and friends had asked me to bring back for them (lamb stock cubes, Lady Grey tea, mulled wine infuser bags, etc). After successfully finding a grand total of zero of these, I instead girdled my loins and prepared for a very horsey day in London the following morning.
The entrance to Hyde Park Stables
So Saturday morning, I threw on my winter jods, caught the tube, and made my way over to Hyde Park Stables. As I breathed in the smell of horses, I put on my loaner paddock boots and helmet, and filled out paperwork describing my experience level. I was then introduced to my mount for the day, a moustached fellow named Ivan.
We then mounted up, my tour guide Katie aboard a tall ISH-type guy named Sovereign, and we walked across the road to Hyde Park.
Sadly, they wouldn’t let me wear my GoPro camera, which resulted in a bit of sketchy one handed riding while filming with my iPhone. The GoPro probably would have been safer, but ya know, whatevs. Katie and I chatted about, what else, horses, as we rode around a sadly very foggy Hyde Park.
A rough idea of our path
Katie was a student in London and had previously been a horseback tour guide in Kenya, and while we navigated crowds she regaled me with horror stories of dealing with the un-horsey public and wild animals in Africa (the former of which there were more stories!). At every opportunity, we would break from a relaxing walk into an increasingly brisk (on Ivan’s part) trot, which made the ride way more satisfying than your average ride-a-plug-tourist-ride. Once Ivan realized what we were about, his personality became more and more apparent, and I actually had to ride to keep him from leaving the much taller Sovereign in the dust.
Crossing the road after catching up to another group
Sadly, the hour long ride was over in a flash, and before I knew it we were heading back to the stables. I loved on Ivan and told him what a good, fun boy he had been and handed him off to the staff (that’s a weird concept!) so he could get a warm mash and stuff his face with hay.
Being curious about how a stable in the middle of the city works, I then proceeded to hang around like a bad smell and investigate the stables themselves.
As you can see, they utilize every inch of available space. The horses are either in small stalls or bays and no stall seems to be shaped like the others. Tack and boots are stored over the horses’ heads, and I’m told that at night some of the saddles are removed from more rambunctious occupant’s stalls. The horses don’t have fields, so they are taken out several times a day to stretch their legs and get adequate exercise, and all seemed happy and shiny and full of personality given their jobs. Each horse rotates between working in London and a holiday field where they spend a few months eating grass and getting fat and muddy.
My ride was a wonderful way to view London and get a reprieve from the busy work week. I think I probably had a stupid smile plastered on my face the whole time, and I would whole heartedly recommend this experience to any horse person who finds themselves needing the smell of a barn amidst the busy London streets!
If you’re an online shopper like me (because fighting holiday crowds at the mall is for the birds), you are well acquainted with goodies arriving on your doorstep. But when they are horse-related goodies, it’s like double the fun.
So when the husband told me that my Secret Santa gift came while I was away, of course I was stupid excited.
Hillary of Equestrian at Hart knew just the thing to satisfy a mouthy youngster’s oral wishes. Things he is encouraged to put in his mouth!
The other rather exciting package is not so fun for Smitty, but rather delightful to me in a money-saving kind of way. Funnily enough, this one also owes credit to Hillary for her suggesting it in the first place!
AbGard is an Omeprazole product that isn’t marketed here in the US, but has the same dosage and active ingredients as Gastrogard/Ulcergard. After reviewing with my vet, it also has the entritic coating that allows the drug to survive long enough in the equine stomach (which is why other types of Omeprazole won’t work for horses- it lacks the right coating), and at $13 per tube versus $28, it seemed silly not to give it a go. That’s $450 savings for a month’s supply- well worth the wait of having the meds shipped in from another country.
So when I saw Smitty last night after my long absence, it was armed with all sorts of goodies.
I got my first little whicker of recognition, which warmed my heart, and a snuggle, albeit with my anxiously wondering if my ponytail would end up in his mouth. I then threw him on a lunge line to make sure all 4 legs were working as they should. Sorry to the lady who probably had a heart attack at seeing me walk my 4 year old into the arena in 34* weather in just a halter.
Wild thing!
After a quick session and a bit of head-tossing, we came back in and I dosed him with his new Abgard and introduced him to his new Likit. For once his first instinct wasn’t to eat it, and when I left he was still breathing in the aroma of the contraption in front of him.
Smitty says thank you to Hillary for his new toy, and maybe not so much for the Abgard- although as a side note- I do think we are moving toward a happier, healthier, Smitty as a result of our treatment plan!
2016 has been a totally weird year. Somehow a little oddity has creeped into every corner of the universe, whether that mean clowns on the street, the Cubs winning the World Series, and please (no really, please) let’s not even mention the election.
In a lot of ways it’s been exciting, in others, definitely bittersweet. But I’m thankful for the changes, because it means growth and hopefully a little bit of wisdom too.
What are the events that defined your 2016? How do you see 2017 being different from this year?
I’m running on a grand total of about 2 hours sleep, and the dreary weather just screams “naptime”, but nonetheless, I’m pumped and excited to be writing to you from England this morning (or rather, afternoon)!
Here begins a photo catalog of horsey things done in England. First up, seeing War Horse in London
My flight over was fairly uneventful, the only trouble being an exceptionally long customs line (note to self: get UK passport updated- that line was much shorter!) and lugging around goodness knows how many pounds of camera gear.
Hanging out with feral ponies in the New Forest
Though I’m here on business, I do have a few personal adventures to attend to while on British soil. One being the aforementioned Olympia, and the other being a ride through Hyde Park (thanks to Lori for the suggestion!).
Saying hello to a guard horse while honeymooning
Traveling alone can be a bit of a pain, but these horsey activities will make the trip more than memorable, especially since sadly my family is indisposed and unable to meet while I’m here.
Having dinner at the family pub where we met Olympic Gold medalist Showjumper Peter Charles
Since I don’t have a selfie-stick, the blog will likely be saturated next week with crummy iPhone photos and selfies of questionable attractiveness, and hopefully one helmet cam of an ideally sunny day riding through London.
With Small Business Saturday just in the recent past, there were a couple small businesses I couldn’t help but buy from.
Grey Horse Candles is one – these candles make excellent gifts for your equestrian buddies, and I just love the scent ideas that will charm just about any horse-inclined person in your life.
A peaceful scent for the trail riders out there
FarmhouseMusings is a new one to me, started by a former IDA teammate of mine. While much of her work is baby-inclined, be sure to snap up the equestrian themed items (before I do!). I just love these horsey fabric coasters, which I included as gifts to friends and bought an extra set just for me!
Coasters by FarmhouseMusings
Lastly, Field & Field has been on my list for a long time. For those that adore equestrian accessories without wanting to be bedecked in horseshoes and horse heads, this is your store. They use scrap saddle leather to create beautiful handmade purses and other leathery loveliness. I’m particularly lusting over the Oh Honey Crossbody, not so subtly hinting to the husband that this is on my wishlist!
The Oh Honey Crossbody bag
What small businesses out there are on your list? Do you know of a small business that needs some love, or has a great story that wants to be shared? Comment below!
Red on the Right 