Friends of the blog, internet sleuths, and connoisseurs of fine tack --- I need your help! We had our first real ride in Doozy's new consignment bridle last night (which, recall, also has a new bit on it), and I'm feeling pretty optimistic! not gonna lie, it's growing on me! The bit is has a french link mouth piece instead of a lozenge, and obvi the bridle has a flash strap. This combination felt really promising -- Doozy was responsive even when she would have rather been a bit explosive. And I felt like I could push the contact forward more often vs just sorta hanging on for dear l ..read more

Happy Monday, y'all! It's been... whew, a long weekend. After what was a long week, not gonna lie. I spent most of last week in a hotel conference room in the Twin Cities for my company's bi-annual staff retreat.  It was time very well spent -- I've worked remotely since 2016ish so it's always really great to see my colleagues in person! But it was also a densely packed few days of meetings and social gatherings. Was happy to get home again! she missed me <3 <3 <3 (obvi so did charles, who was mucho pitiful after not getting his daily grooms!) My animals seem to do wel ..read more

The combined test series at Thornridge is definitely among my favorite local schooling events for many, many reasons.  It's a gorgeous facility with seriously good juju, everyone is super friendly and encouraging (it's supposed to be fun!), AND -- classes are usually pretty small, esp at the lowest levels where everyone might be selecting different combinations of dressage tests and jump heights. With the added bonus that Thornridge is *not* stingy about handing out blue ribbons haha! this farm is legit the prettiest! Don't get me wrong, I like going out on horsey adventures fo ..read more

It's been an evolving process getting Doozy situated with tack these last few months. Exactly zero of my (cough cough, many) saddles fit the mare when she first arrived, but barn mate Royal's saddle was good enough to get us going. doozy and her ponies <3 <3 and rosette hiding in the corner lol That worked out well enough for the first month or two, tho as Doozy gained weight and finally started settling into 'routine' under saddle work, it was time for her to get her very own 'beater' saddle. Thus I picked up an old but useful Beval from local consignment. This saddle suited ..read more

Doozy officially made her eventing debut at the Fair Hill Starter Trials this weekend, contesting the open elementary division -- 18" fences + Intro C dressage test!!  It was a long day full of challenges, self doubt, and lots and lots of hand walking...., but ultimately a deeply rewarding experience. So let's dig into the details! got to ride our dressage test in the big international ring on the Gallaher side!!  We brought along another favorite young rider from our barn, with her sweet spicy little nugget of a lease pony Austin. You might remember this pony from many pa ..read more

Guys!! I'm officially an eventer again!!! Woot Woot!! And Doozy too!! holy moly i'm at another horse show --- this time with iconic landmarks like the tunnel lol I mean, I guess only if you count the itty bitties to be "eventing." Which, well, I do.  And while it might not be a recognized level (or show), our classes were actually integrated into Fair Hill's Spring International wherein they hosted FEI classes, recognized national divisions, AND a starter trial! stewarded the FEI dressage warm up rings on friday as a pre-game :) A few details made this show ..read more

Happy Friday, everybody! It's promising to possibly be a busy weekend around these parts so I'm trying to clear the backlog off my phone while there's still time... another day, another trial saddle. this is a county solution. wool flocked, stamped narrow, monoflap.  Plus, ya know, we're still in the thick of saddle trials. Basically the same day I put the Custom in a box to return to the seller, another possible candidate got ready for shipping -- this time a County Solution.  looks worthy of a proper test! So naturally, I was eager to put the saddle immediately ..read more

At long last, Doozy met long time dressage trainer C!!!! Longtime readers will remember :D virtual cookies to folks who immediately know where we are! One of the hardest things about being basically a "privateer" (ie, a rider independent from any established program) is building up the team, developing the tribe necessary to be successful in any meaningful way.  And not just because it's hard to find coaching that "meshes," but bc of all the other details... The scheduling, the logistics, the reality that right now my horse is a two-person load job so I can only really ship out ..read more

Days go by and I continue to dink around with various trial saddles. Tho, sadly, we've kinda exhausted the available stock within driving distance... and are now tiptoeing into the painful territory of paying shipping for each trial. oh that innocent (but ultimately naïve) feeling when you first unbox a beautiful saddle! It's pretty far from ideal, but... eh, so is the current selection of saddles in my tack locker. Charlie's fancy french monoflap helps me feel super secure and up for any dance move Doozy might be inclined to pull.... But it's just all wrong for her and she's making ..read more

Happy Friday, guys! I gotta say.... Something has changed in me and my horsey habit over the last few years of Charlie's diminishing soundness and all my related anxieties....  she was a little sad about traveling solo after so many rides with buddies I used to be such a planner, ya know? I used to obsess over constructing these lengthy imaginary chains of dominoes, where each individual ride was interrelated or interdependent with those that came before, and every step built logically into the next...  but stayed sensible while everybody got ready all the same! O ..read more