♣Ambitious♣

Welp, I'm officially a college student. I moved in on Thursday, and I'm living in a triple with two awesome roommates. The Desk; plain, but it works The meeting for the equestrian team is on the 6th, and I’m super excited, and I’m ready to do this, but . . . dues. I told my dad a while ago that I wasn’t going to be able to pay the dues because hey, poor college student. After letting him know the cost, he said that he’d pay for it no problem, but he’s been known to back out of things (not even kidding, he let me believe that I was getting a horse and then pulled a 360 once I had all the information he asked me to get, but that horse is still for adoption so . . .). My mom says to hold him to his word, but, at the same time, I just feel like it’s a lot to ask. Bed with gross riding bag visible The equestrian club is my other option. I knew that I was only going to do the team for a year or so due to both time and possible changes in my amateur/pro status (not enti...

Now that my computer is finally connecting to the internet . . . 1. Wilker's Hunter/Jumper Half Pad     shop.wilkers.com 2. De Niro Salentino Snakeskin Boots     equiport.co.uk 3. Hogan Leather Belt     yoox.com 4. Fixdesign Alcantara Breech     fixdesignhorses.it 5. Tekna CLUB Saddle     equestriancollections.com 6. SSG Schooler Gloves     doversaddlery.com 7. Hunter/Jumper "Winning Colors" Saddle Pad      shop.wilkers.com 8. GPA Speed Air Evolution Helmet     unavailable 9. Alia Equestrian Shirt     instagram.com/alia_equestrian

Haven't been riding a lot recently due to schedule conflicts. Miss El and Fifi are out this week at HITS, so I might get in a lesson next week, but then I go to school on Thursday. I actually remembered that I wanted to reset my goals for the year. We've got four months left, therefore four new goals. I would like to take a minute to note the goals I did already accomplish this year. ✔Keep working to get Baby moving more correctly It really just got better and better. I think the biggest change was with the halter. When I first tried it out oh so many months ago, she hung on me a lot. My general stiffness and saddle issues didn't make for a very pretty picture. But, after changing the saddle up and continuing to be soft, we achieved what was, for us, absolute perfection . ✔Get 50 entries on a giveaway I did end up having an impromptu giveaway on tumblr because of a popular selfie in which my shirt was the funniest thing ever. I gave away that shirt plus a bag...

I hate saying it, but Music was being an absolute mare on Thursday, and of course that attitude didn't show up until after we had 30 minutes or so of awesome, forward, soft flatwork. Too bad she was only forward because she wanted a friend in the arena with her. She got pretty speedy at the canter, which I was fine with to the left, but then Miss El had me really real her in the right, which was easy enough with a half halt, then she maintained it. We tried some sitting trot . . . and tried is about as far as we got. It's been a while. Then we tried to jump and good Lord that was an effort, but the time between good flatwork and okay jumping was spent doing circles trying to get her to slow down because the minute I tried to get back into the trot after our walk break, she was go go go. That was another 10-15 minutes of running around then slowing down then running around again. Of course when we did actually do the first fence, she had four beautiful halts. We went through t...

I have found my next obsession: bow ties. 1. J Crew Petite Keeper Chambray Shirt     jcrew.com 2. Mondoni Kendal Riding Boot     divoza.com 3. Dsquared2 belt     yoox.com 4. One K™ Defender Matte Helmet     doversaddlery.com 5. Yellow and White Chevron Saddle Pad     luckypony.com 6. Horse home decor     epshop.us 7. Horze Grand Prix Self Patch Breeches, Women’s     horze.com 8. Stubben Portos Elite     stubbennorthamerica.com 9. HKM Sports Equipment     jazdeckepotreby-elthoro.com 10. Zag Yellow Bow Tie     brinkoties.com

Which is very different from a show hunter. And not only that, she was the front of the pack. Half halts are going to be very important as time goes on. Today was a jumping day/get that marching walk down day. While I understand that Music needs to move forward more at the walk, I never know how much to ask for. Miss El made sure to let me know today exactly how much to ask for, and it's a lot, but you'd be amazed how easy the trot came after the walk had some energy to it. The canter didn't come as easily, but that's a same old-same old thing, a work in progress. We did basic trot poles first, then added a single vertical in a bending line, then eventually put the outside line with it. Second course was the single vertical to the diagonal vertical, trot poles, then outside line. That course went so well. I almost cried when we finished. Third course was outside line, diagonal line, then the diagonal vertical. I felt myself torque on the second fence of the diagon...

In light of International Helmet Awareness Day, I'd like to share a review of my absolute favorite helmet thus far. It's not too late to take advantage of the sales. Your melon needs minding! For the most part, I like to keep my show gear and my everyday riding gear separate. My helmets are one of those items that I have a show and schooling category for. I also took into consideration that my show helmet was a gift, and I needed it to last, so began the search for a helmet that was both inexpensive and attractive. Ovation has always had my back on this. from Dover Saddlery Ovations are a step up from Troxels in price, but they're a leap in quality. I dealt with the Troxel; my time with it is the very reason that I asked for my IRH, but, honestly, neither of them quite compare to my Ovation. The helmet itself comes in S, M, L sizes rather than your typical inches, but the dial makes this thing fit perfectly. The summers around here get fairly humid, and I sweat a ...