♣Ambitious♣

Yeah, we're doing this again. I like year end reflections because I can shamelessly praise myself. So, yeah, this year was an adventure, but I had already predicted that in January , so cheers to me for being psychic. There were a lot of ups and downs. I was definitely riding on a high from, like, October to April because so many things were going right, but what goes up must come down. I crashed, literally and metaphorically, and while it started out slow, it got pretty bad pretty quick. I finally bit the bullet and switched barns, but it was long overdue at that point, and I'm still working through the issues, slowly but surely. So, key events for this year in chronological order:     - Saw Jacob Pope in the flesh        - Went to WEF     - Took risks with Zoey     - Encountered & conquered Corbinators 4.0, 3.5, and 4.0 Junior Edition     - Probably screamed profanities at the snow at ...

Okay, I actually got fortunate with this one and found the actual, original image files in the depths of my mom's old laptop. They look 1000x better than the scan of the printed image. I never knew pixels could be so pain inducing. This one was based off of a barn I saw on the forum (and wow, this place got a major update) a loooooong time ago (I'm talking years). As I recall, it was a beautiful barn, quite rustic with it's gambrel roof and dark wood siding. It was large, too, and somewhat high end. Anyway, not the point here. I actually loved the look of the barn because while it was upscale, it was practical, and there's nothing I love more than seeing functional luxury. So, here's the full plan. The detailed views are following. So, here's the barn, first floor and second floor. The roof is two gambrels that cross right through each other, so vertical space is pretty good. The biggest change I would make is to the stall sizes. Literally ever...

As a hopeful architect, it's important that I have some education and/or experience with the associated fields, such as mechanical and civil engineering, but those are difficult and require a lot of math and logic. As they say, architects are dreamers. It's the engineers' job to make that dream a reality, no matter how many laws of physics they must break in the process. Anyway, interior design is also a field closely related to architecture, and I personally think that it's near impossible to design a house without considering the smaller details that go into making it a home. It is for this reason that I am currently obsessing over Darcy White Designs . The majority of minimalist styled interiors bother the heck out of me because it's overdone. Newsflash: You don't have to live in a white-washed abstract to appreciate minimalism. Darcy's shop is similar to mine in that she makes the designs while another company (in her case Red Bubble) puts them on ...

This barn is based off of one in my neighborhood (yeah, two barns in my neighborhood, damn suburbs). It's a small thing, but I've only ever seen one side of it, and that's the front side, so I base the plans off of that. The property is currently up for sale, but my parents want to move to the Caribbean next, so that's out of the question. Maybe it'll still be for sale when I'm ready to move out in like 10 years. It's just your typical barn, nothing super fancy (except those beautiful arrows done by moi). It's a decent set up.Of course, I did my math wrong at one point. The wash stall in the smaller barn is 14' x 14', not 12' x 14'. Stats: Style: Gable Stalls:     (2/4) 12' x 12' Stall     (1) 12' x 14' Wash Stall     (1) 14' x 14' Wash Stall Tack: 16' x 14'/12' x 18' Feed: n/a Width: 80' Depth: 30'/44'

If anyone ever tells you that Instagram isn’t useful, please allow me to smack them silly. It was through the social site that I came to know of Katie and her lovely Lusitano gelding, Babaloo. It was nice to come across someone else who was as fond of classical Dressage as I am, and it was through her that I learned about positive reinforcement. She's been a huge inspiration for me, and it was exciting to talk to her about her experience. Katie started riding in the 5th grade at a lower end, backyard barn with a hunter/jumper trainer. She then moved to a saddleseat barn where she competed at small tournaments, but she wasn’t super interested in competition. When she finally started looking for a horse, things remained complicated. She said that she had high expectations for her price range, but the reality was disappointing, even with Babaloo, who she affectionately calls Bubs. She says he was as good as it would get. The struggle didn’t end there, either. Bubs came with ...

Yeah, one time I did an arena, but not even an indoor arena, just a layout for some fencing. Such work. So effort. In my defense, the announcer's booth would require some structure. Stats: Style: Outdoor Arena Fencing: 548.6 linear feet Gates:     (1) 16' Double Gate     (4) 8' Single Gate Width: 108' Depth: 180'

My return home over winter break led me to find my old binder full of blueprints, but these are like the super old ones from middle and early high school, the ones that make me cringe for the most part. I figure they're horse related, so I might as well share. I've got 50+ plans in the collection, so that's about how many you can look forward to. I remember for the most part where the inspiration for most of these came from. This one was supposed to be a stallion barn for my future stallions (I can dream if I want to). What I notice in general from a lot of my older plans is that they tend to waste space. Do I really need four wash stalls? What's with the two large open areas at both ends? What's with the awkward placement of all three stair cases? To clarify, the "Show Ring" isn't meant to be a competition ring. It's supposed to be a place to show stallions to people because apparently I expected people to visit me just to see my pretty hor...

1. Ted Baker Belt     no longer available 2. Pretty321 Floral Sweater     amazon.com 3. Wilker's Hunter/Jumper Baby Pad     shop.wilkers.com 4. Charles Owen GR8 Helmet     smartpakequine.com 5. Harrys Horse Black Diamond riding breech     no longer available 6. Tekna CLUB Saddle     equestriancollections.com 7. De Niro Salento Red Greta     joshuajonesuk.com

I thought about saving this for my end of the year post, but it's a little bit separate from my goals and achievements. Plus, it's not exactly how I want to end the year As a rider, I have developed a number of long standing habits that stem from less than stellar instruction and being over faced too many times. At this point, I still have trouble even with some basic components (e.g. actually sitting in the saddle and using my legs), especially when it comes to my shoulders. Despite being on so many different horses in such a short time, my skill set is quite limited, and it always takes a while before I can adequately control a new mount. Being repeatedly over-faced has made me wary of faster horses or even when a typically slower horse gets moving too quickly. At this point, shows are little more than expensive anxiety attacks. I wouldn't care so much about my issues if they didn't persist so much. That's what I mean by "long standing". I feel ...

How many times have you walked out of the dressage ring? I'm asking for a friend. Despite only warming up in the ring for maybe four laps total, we did manage to walk up once again. This dressage thing is just not for me. Some rain made the footing less than ideal, so we rode out in the jumping field, and Abbey, the part-time jumper, got the wrong impression of what the day's work would be. I'd say this ride was better than the last in that it didn't take as long to get it together, but it the bad parts were exponentially worse, all because of either a) too much energy or b) a dropped right shoulder. Lots of right rein and right leg. The whole ride was walk/halts and trot/halts with varied success. At the end, we did a figure eight, and I think that's when I started to figure out the right rein/right leg thing cause it was a hell of a lot of confusion. We attempted a canter, but it may or may not have been a trainwreck. But again, she's a large ...

Please pardon me for putting $4k earrings in this set. 1. Longshanks Polo Shirt     countryclubprep.com 2. Mondoni Winchester Boots     discontinued 3. 18K Baby Swiss Blue Topaz Earrings     scullyandscully.com 4. SSG Lycrochet Horseshoe Back Glove     doversaddlery.com 5. Tory Leather Snaffle Bit Belt     doversaddlery.com 6. Newmarket Belle Breeches Ladies     discontinued 7. Tekna CLUB Saddle     equestriancollections.com 8. Wilkers Hunter/Jumper "Winning Colors" Saddle Pad     shop.wilkers.com 9. Samshield Helmet Alcantara Central Panel     equiporium.co.uk 10. HKM Roma Open Front Boots     hkm-sportsequipment.com 11. Wilkers Hunter/Jumper Memory Foam Half Pad     shop.wilkers.com

When I went to WIHS with the Eq Team back in whatever month, I saw Callan Solem for the first time in the President's Cup. Immediately, I was impressed by her style. She pulled two clear rounds, and was sooo close to the win, but the Smolder got it at the last minute. It goes without saying that she is one of my favorites, and I may or may not have cried (hint: I cried) when she agreed to do an interview. Callan began riding after doing one of those horseback riding things on the beach while on vacation. Her mother rode as a kid and while in college. At some point, the group split into two: one for riders who would be able to canter and one for the less experienced. When her mother went with the more experienced group, young Callan was "grossly offended", as any child would have been. She began taking lessons soon after, and she hasn't stopped riding since. Callan said that she wanted to be a professional rider as long as she can remember. As soon as she unders...

I have a confession to make. Back a long time ago (i.e. like 3 years), before I liked polo shirts, before my Polyvore even existed, before this blog was even a passing thought, I hated people who dressed up for riding. Yes, it's true. I thought it was the dumbest thing, but now I have a passion for fashion and a button down collection that could perhaps use some thinning. As I was just beginning to find my own style, I came across a post by Style My Ride on Pinterest, and I was hooked instantly. I've never been one to dress conservatively, and their out of the box looks greatly intrigued me. Taylor Burns for Style My Ride I had a chance to talk with Noelle King, president of Style My Ride and Judge My Ride. Noelle has always been a lover of fashion, but the idea was influenced by then junior rider Taylor Land, who was already winning Grand Prixs in Show Jumping. Noelle says, "Taylor was one of the inspirations that helped shape the idea that had been formulatin...

Because some green ponies don't know the meaning of leg. Even after smuggling an apple from the diner for the posh pon, we barely got it together. But, honestly, his personality makes up for it. The last ride of the semester was on Wednesday, and we got to ride our favorites. I picked Pixel (obviously), but I was stuck between him, Romeo, and Vick for a while. My confidence has been fairly low lately, and I didn't want to push it, so Pixel was the best option. Me??????? We started out with walk, trot, and canter, but for us it was more like lumber, fast jog, and maybe I'll canter, but I'd rather fast trot. We did one fence on the center line at the walk and trot, and that's when he actually got some forward motion. We also did the fence at an angle a couple of times, and Coach S threw in a half circle at the sitting trot plus a counter canter. It was eh for the most part and didn't really come together until we went through it the final time. I...

1. Holiday Hunt Sweater     customizedgirl.com/theambitiousequestrian 2. Sevil Designs 14k Gold Ball Stud     groupon.com 3. Tory Burch Logo Belt     toryburch.com 4. Mondoni Kingston Boots     divoza.com 5. Horze Silvia Denim Self Patch Breeches     horze.com

And by calendar, I mean Google, there is a little under a week left of Hanukkah. I would have actually posted this on the first day, but recent stress has clouded my memory. Also, my computer is having an emotional breakdown. Anyway, while I am not religious at all, I did want to make some holiday oriented sweaters, so here you have it! Nothing says "Happy Hanukkah" quite like getting eight horses. There are six colors: green, black, blue, orange, gray, & gold. Just click on the image to view the item. I have one sweater on the way right now, but it's the Holiday Hunt Sweater . If there's an issue with sizing, material, etc, you guys will be the first to know.