♣Ambitious♣

  Yes, it's here, my very first giveaway, ever. After some careful thought and planning (and some help from my friends), I have put together a giveaway that I hope will be appealing to a good number of people. This giveaway will have three prizes, two basic prizes and one bigger prize. Anyone can enter. Along with their prize, winners will receive a "Congrats!" post on here, and the winning tumblr and Instagram users will receive a "Congrats!" post on their respective networks. There are three categories, and they are as follows: Instagram Drawing: Enter on Instagram and have the chance to win a mint green saddlepad from Dover Saddlery. To enter, simply go on my Instagram (@burnalltheoxers), repost the giveaway photo, hashtag it as #ambitiousgiveaway1, and that's it. Your username will be put into a helmet (mind yo melon) for a drawing. If you don't want to defame your account with a giveaway repost, you can also DM me a funny joke, and I will not...

The universe was really working for me this weekend. Fifi took me to see her new barn for the first time. It was nice to see Miss El and Lee again. It’s been too long. On a super awesome note, Lee is going for her equine massage therapist certification (or something along those lines). I’d like to do something like that in the future, but architecture for now. Fifi and Lee rode outside yesterday. It was a nice day, in the sixties, but the wind was up, and Miss El was not having it. She was all bundled up in her jacket, hands in the pockets and zipper to the chin. Sanibel also wasn’t having it. She decided that forward was not a necessary part of the training pyramid. She did (eventually) get moving but only after lots of begging and pleading and demanding from her mommy. They did some 2’9”-3’0” stuff, too. When it looked like the day was about to end there, Miss El asked Fifi and me if we wanted to go ride some horses that she was training. We said sure. 30 mins or ...

It's a rare phrase to hear me say. We had an over fences lesson last night. I missed last week due to a transportation issue, and we didn't jump the week before that, so I was itching to get on a horse. I started out on Leo today. Lucky for me, the saddle I used was an old, plan flap, CC, deep seated bundle of joy. Unfortunately, while the seat fit my butt, the flap did not quite fit my leg. Plus, when I was pulling my stirrups down, I didn't notice that they were the cheese grater kind, and my gloves are suddenly missing, so, yeah, that was not a pleasant experience. Miss J also had me drop my stirrups down (to where they're supposed to be, but I don't like a long stirrup anymore), and I spent the first two thirds or so of the lesson with a leg longer than a Justin Timberlake song. We did the usual two-point at the walk and trot, then rising trot. After that, Miss J had us do circles in each corner, and everyone had to say where they felt any resistance from th...

Thank you, L. Williams, for giving me something to post until my next ride, which won't be until Friday, and I don't feel like writing up a whole review. 1. How many pairs of breeches/jods do you own? Only six—one pair of Tuffriders, one Equine Couture, one from Annie's, my winter Romfh pair, then two pairs of Tredsteps. I want more. u will b mine . How many horses have you ridden? Okay, let's start from the beginning: • Enrique • Deadline • T Baby • Riddler • Cheyenne • Beau • Trace • April • Splash • Todd • Chess • Molly • Skye • Duke • Zoey • Blue • Fisher • Baby • Mert • Lady • Jazzie • Buddy • Seren • Enzo • Sanibel • Dusty • Leo • Twister • That one horse in Costa Rica • and I sat on Gracie once, but by the time I was riding I was too big for her Survey says 29. I've only been riding 3.5 years. This is a bit excessive. April and me circa maybe 2012 3. How many trainers have you had? I've trained with five people ...

I've never known myself to be mainstream except on rare occasions, but modern fashion has gifted my eyes with something new and unique: the Peter Pan collar. I think it looks exceptionally chic on shirts, sweaters, and shirt/sweaters (shweaters? swirts?), so I've started to integrate them into my Polyvore sets. Equestrian style has be turned into everyday wear. Why not turn everyday wear into equestrian fashion? When winter and fall set in, the general style that I find in riding outfits is a pullover with a button down underneath. It's cute, it's preppy, and it can be personalized easily, but it gets boring after a while. I hate getting repetitive with my sets; this is one of the reasons why I look for new brands and styles. Fortunately, the Peter Pan collar has come along to be my savior this season. The great thing about this style is that, depending on the individual details, they can be worn alone or layered. Even with a thermal underneath, so long as the sweater...

I've (almost) completed the first of the two barns that I was planning on revamping this year. The barns themselves have been put on the back burner since I'm less likely to get class points from them, but I should be able to finish both and still have time for a third. If you've been eying a picture of a stable or even a building that would make a nice barn, leave a link in the comments. I need something to occupy my time with. Bird's Eye View I redid the better designed one first because I knew that would be easier. I ended up adding maybe five stalls. I took out all the unnecessary storage rooms. One was made smaller and became a feed room while the other was turned into a laundry and mechanical room. The 20' wide aisles were narrowed to 16'. The wash racks were also made a more reasonable size, and the tack room was morphed and closed off from the elements. There is a hay loft over the east aisle with an access ladder in the feed room and a hay door is ...

  My Instagram bio lists that I am an entrepreneur, which is true; I am an entrepreneur, just a dormant one. I've always been interested in starting a business and business in general. My mom started her own business, so it's in the genes. Here's where it get tricky for me. I genuinely want to start my own business outside of having my own lesson/boarding/training barn. I want to have my own line of riding apparel (no surprise), and, recently, I've been pondering over some design ideas. My ideas are half based on my own personal style while the other half is based on things that frustrate me within the equestrian world. Some of my current ideas are as follows. - Crystal buttons - More belt loops - Breeches with elastic leg bottoms - Double back saddle pads (you know, with the fleece on the bottom right under the saddle) - Breeches that look like Tailored Sportsmans but aren't - Prints (stripes, tribal, paisley) - Breeches with elastic leg bottoms - Fun...

That moment when your trainer says that they don't like to torture you . . . yeah, I'm going to have to challenge that. Even the nicest trainers get a chuckle out of making their kids two-point eternally or ride with an arm behind the back. It's just one of those things that comes with teaching people how to ride. I must say that Miss S has spoiled me though, both in the amount of work I do in the saddle and in the fact that we have an indoor. It rained yesterday, poured late last night, then drizzled the entire day over here. It's still going, too. Never again will I complain about the indoor, no matter how tight and dusty it is. It's shelter, and that's better than riding in the rain and avoiding puddles, plus it minimizes the chance of your horse's hind end slipping in the direction opposite of the one in which you're going. Dusty (cause I finally remember his name!) was my mount today. He's the same horse from last week. I was happy to be on ...

We've hit milestone with this little, baby blog: 5,000 views! Whoop whoop! Thank you to all my viewers, whether you're a regular reader or if you just stopped in to look at a picture (I will get you addicted to this blog eventually), all the views are greatly appreciated. I started this blog on a whim, and I wasn't very into it at first, but I spend everyday thinking of new things to post (and coming up with minimal ideas because my creativity levels kind of plummeted once I got into high school). I've grown to love blogging, and I've grown to love other blogs (for example, Viva Carlos , The $900 Facebook Pony , Auf Der Autobahn , and Fly On Over who you should check out if you know what's good for you). Documenting my own adventures while also following those of others has been so immensely educational and, often times, fucking hilarious. Fortunately, I save my worst jokes for lunch table conversations and when I text Fifi. Again, thank you! I appreciat...

Yesterday, I took a ride on Zoey after cleaning the pasture, and man did she impress me. I started my ride with trying to get her to relax when I put my leg on, which was something that she wasn't too keen on doing during our last ride. She settled much quicker than last time. I walked a few steps then asked for the trot and kept the transition slow to keep her from getting riled. She stepped into it not as crazily as she usually does, but then she settled right down in less than a lap. She was so together and laid back that I just dropped my reins and she went along, so long as I told her where to go (and if I didn't tell her she went to where the food was). Cantering was different. I'm taking a new approach with it. Miss S said that when Zoey would buck or kick out at the canter, she'd push Zoey through it, so that's what I did this time. We were going to the left, and she picked up the wrong lead, but I just kept her going, through every corner, in a circle, ...

  Ah, yes, it is, in fact, time for change. I forgot to mention in my last post that Thursday was my last lesson on Baby and with Miss S for a while. A local woman has decided to start an IEA team at her barn. Miss S mentioned it to me, and, at first, I simply didn't want to. I'd heard about IEA before and thought it would be a cool thing to do, but I just brushed it off because I thought there was no need to change anything riding wise. Then the texts poured in, and I was sucked into this thing. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to afford riding with Miss S and riding with the team. I actually thought I could for a couple of days, then my dad talked some sense into me, and I picked to ride on the team. It's more expensive, there are shows every month, and the barn is an hour away, but, when opportunity comes knocking, you don't ask it to wait. My first lesson was on Friday. Cas is also on the team, and her mom is my ride for the next couple of months. It's...

Please accept my apologies for my absence. School and ponies have been taking up my blogging time (and my sleeping time, for chrissake). This past Thursday, I took my usual lesson on Baby. She was being used in the lesson just prior to mine, so I couldn't change my saddle before the lesson began, and I've started to become stingy about riding in something other than the Stubben. Then, of course, only one stirrup had a hole that was the perfect length for my leg. I decided to go short for the day since we were going to jump. We did the usual walk, trot, and canter, and we worked on our transitions, then we did a couple of low fences. Before the sunlight left, we worked on a circle of fences, which was fine minus a bad distance to the second fence, then we head inside to finish the lesson. When we got inside, Miss S had us do a pattern where we sit trot between the first two cones, then counter canter between cones two & three, then regular canter between cones three ...