"Each and every one of us could pave a yellow brick road of success for ourselves. It's just about laying that first brick."
-Schmidt
Reminiscing (literally a pretty pony photodump)
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So, I went for a run last night, and my phone was near dead, so I opted to use my iPod instead for music. One thing led to another, and I started looking through my gallery, digging up some old photos and videos (some of which I posted early on with this blog), including some from my first show season. Let's just say I've always been bitter about having to ride a horse before noon.
Short, cold, tired, AND bitter
Twix w/ her old owner
Baby in her short stirrup mode
Still short stirrup, but looking real good
Sometimes Duke went fast
I also used to take pictures during lesson weekends, too. Two full days at the barn every other week (sometimes every week) from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and noon to 4pm on Sundays. I'm a barn rat at heart, and I hate being an adult and having to do adult things because I get minimal barn time.
Chess/Chester/Chesapeake
Fish/Fisher/Fish Face
Splash (he had no nicknames :/)
Todd/Toddy/Toddster/Mr Todd
The best part is that now I have copious old, embarrassing photos of Izz. Yes, more embarrassing than her walking into the ocean while wearing jeans.
My fellow barn rat
When the jump is 2' but you're dramatic
Probably smart mouthing @ me
Of course, my personal favorite.
wen u try 2 b artsy but ur horse disagrees
I also have a copious photographs of Baby, partially because I used to be obsessed with having post media, but also because she's so damn cute.
Sunset Bean
Sunset Bean but zoomed in with more sass
And, of course, old courses during lessons (I'm G-A-G-G-I-N-G at these).
This is the course from the day I decided that Zoey was too much for me followed by a more daring but laidback ride a couple months later.
As a bonus, some more recent footage of Corbinator just as spring was making its appearance, and Miss J was letting us jump competition height again. 2'6" never felt so good.
Yup, that time of year again. I still didn't qualify for regionals, but after seeing how last year went, I didn't even put it down as a goal. Eh, I might try senior year. I don't feel too pressured about it. Reaching (in vain) for my taco My parents and I made the 2.5 hour drive on Saturday morning. We actually arrived early, so I started helping bring horses in and unblanket them. Everything ran smoothly during set up. I was only schooling Leia, which went fine except her being super slow. Over the past year and a half, Leia has gone from being super strong and forward to fences to being a leg ride the whole time. We started with some trash distances but got it together for a good school. Unfortunately, so was just as slow and chippy with most of the people who rode her. Eh. Horses are kind annoying anyway. Looking for free tacos I spent a decent amount of time cuddling with Carlos in the morning before helping tack up Murry for the flat classes. I also finally...
So, yeah, it snowed, and waaayyy more than expected. Forecast said we'd get 3"-6". Final totals were anywhere between 8" and 11" for the Eastern Shore. My Saturday lesson was cancelled, and the sub-freezing temperatures haven't let the snow melt at all. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow and Wednesday. We'll see. Still, it's fortunate because guess what's happening down in Wellington??? I'm still on Anne Kursinski's ride , but her horse and the information she's giving is a little bit more relevant to my current riding state than the whole session was last year. First, the horse she's on is quite similar to Silver. He's an apparently laid back gray gelding that, every once in a while, loses focus and gets dramatic. He's even weaker to the right and occasionally swaps off behind, just like Silver. Big difference is that Anne's horse is significantly less dramatic than Silver. He swaps off, thinks for a minute,...
Somewhat recently, the topic of trainer to student relationships came up on tumblr, and since we're equestrians there was a strong amount of disagreement. In reality, everyone is different. Some people may never talk to their trainer about anything except riding while others may be their trainer's best friend (though I personally advise against this). I'm more of an in between type, and while I lean towards the "best friend" end of the spectrum, I do intend on staying closer to center. Regardless of your comfort level with your trainer, I find that an importance must be placed on how you communicate with them. It's easy to nod your head and say "Yes" when your trainer asks if you can feel your horse doing something, and I am guilty of doing this, but it does you no good. If you're confused, ask questions. Never be afraid to ask questions. You're likely to get some more knowledge along with your answer. A situation that I've heard ...
So many colorful ponies tho!!!
ReplyDeletePerks of riding with a Paint Horse breeder ;)
DeleteIt's fun to stroll through memory lane. I also miss being a barn rat
ReplyDeleteI would be a little bit of a barn rat if I had a car on campus, but alas
DeleteI love looking back at all the horses I've ridden
ReplyDeleteI'm always shocked that there are so many considering I haven't been riding for very long.
Delete