2015: A Full Year of Blogging in Review

My first full year of blogging has drawn to a close! This year has certainly had more lows than I would like, but it definitely ended on a higher note.

January
It was pretty cold for Alabama. I adopted a female guinea pig (Lila Bear), Candy was a drama queen and colicked, and Sawyer started to show his soundness issues. I started riding with my current trainer, H.

I'm so happy Sawyer is still at my barn- I still love his cranky butt.

February
Candy's ulcers finally resolved! Sawyer and I did a Hunter/Jumper clinic with Jason Costick and jumped a 2'9" vertical (it was a big deal!).

March
I finally remembered to blog and did FIVE(!) entries. I had my first show on Sawyer, and competed in the Schooling Hunters (2'3"); we didn't place, but I saw major holes in my riding that I managed to fix for our next show.  Sawyer and I placed 3rd in a Schooling Hunter (2'3") O/F and 4th in a flat class out of about 7-10 people in our second show.

April
The month of the lameness. It started off nice enough- I did another Jason Costick clinic with Sawyer and jumped a 3'6" vertical. But from there... April was... interesting. I was knocked out of the saddle for 2 weeks with a stomach bug, Candy came in from the field with a left hind fetlock the size of a softball, and then one week later, Sawyer developed an on-and-off lameness. Candy went on stall rest, Sawyer went on stall rest, and I got bucked off a potential lease horse (literally got one foot in a stirrup and got thrown). I took a break from riding. I started running. April was a mess.

He loved April. I did not.

May
I ended my lease on Sawyer, and Candy was a boss during the rehab process. Lots of exciting handwalking adventures. I finished the dreaded second year and started my research position for the summer.

June
I started lessoning again, and went back to the Jumper ring! Candy come off stall rest, and was back in turnout. He returned to "work" walking bareback. Wilbur "celebrated" one year with me (I'm happy-he remains indifferent).

July
A couple women I grew up riding with lost their horses to old age; it was a bit of a reminder to snuggle Candy a little harder every day. After almost a month of bareback rides, Candy finally bucked me off, I got the vet's permission to ride in a saddle, and a humble reminder to stop taking myself so seriously.

August
Candy got an A for effort in the rehab process; he rehabbed back sound from his soft tissue injury, and flunked out when his hocks had failed to fuse. I made the very difficult decision to retire him to pasture, and hung up his bridle. I had my first ride on Lexie, the fat, sassy Westphalian who has stolen my heart. I started my third year of vet school.

September
I started hacking Silver, Lexie, and Charlie on weekends and continued my lessons with H in the Jumper ring. Candy adjusts to retirement, and seems okay, but not entirely pleased, with "Peppermints, Grooming, Peppermints, Turn Out".

October
School really slammed me hard. I promise I did continue to lesson and ride, but during October, tests and surgeries really took over. I took a 6 year old OTTB on trial, but he ended up not meeting my standards.

November
Lexie and I did our first show together in the 0.70 and 0.80 jumpers. I managed to swing a 3rd place in the 0.70s, and nearly fall off in the 0.80s; I learn all I had was steering and no breaks when I rode Lexie. I show Lexie again at the barn year end show, and we enter the 0.75 and 0.85 jumpers; we got 1st out of 2 both rounds. I try to show again the next day, but my body just says, "Enough", and I scratched. Candy continues to be the sweetest retiree, and gets his annual chaser clip.

December
I finish the hardest semester of my life, and am only 6 weeks of lectures away from being in the clinic! Lexie and I clinic with Doug Payne, and really start to come together as a team; I'm comfortable over 2'9-3' fences in the clinic. Steering remains questionable, but the brakes have finally arrived, even in a loose ring snaffle! Candy continues to get snuggles and mints; I contemplate riding him or doing groundwork.... something. I decide to lease Lexie!

- K & C & L(!)

2016 Resolutions

I've definitely got a lot of room for improvement in most aspects of my life- here's a list to hold myself accountable.

Horse Goals in 2016:

• Reach goal: School 1.10 m jumpers comfortably
• Show 1.0 m jumpers comfortably
• STOP SLOUCHING

Personal Goals in 2016:

• Reach goal: crush the mini-mester matching or a better GPA than my first year GPA
• Get an internship
• Get in shape
• Stick to or stay under my budget

Blog Goals in 2016:

• Reach goal: blog 2x a week
• Blog consistently
• Reach out to the equestrian blogging community more

There aren't many; the next year is going to be tumultuous with clinics, internship applications, and my final 1.5 months of lectures. I had to make them vague to make them something I can do without going insane, but hopefully I can achieve them this year!

- K & C & L

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a merry (and dry!) Christmas!

From K and all the critters (Wilbur, Lila, Candy, and Lexie).

Doug Payne Clinic Recap: Day 2

While I may have been underprepared the first day, I came ready to jump the second! Again, focus was on collection, finding a good canter, and steering. Once again, we struggled with steering, but found our canter, and re-learned collection! Lexie got a bit tired and flat towards the end, and I really struggled with the skinny jumps throughout the entire day.

First round of fences.

Four minutes of a hot mess over skinny jumps, and cute Lexie over bigger fences.

Overall though, I saw a major improvement in my ride. I definitely "clicked" with Lexie, and felt incredibly comfortable over the 2'9, 3'0 jumps at the end of the day. So while I wasn't perfect (and was far from it), I felt more confident and capable riding Lexie than I before the clinic. Even as a hunter-jumper, I felt like the exercises were helpful and beneficial across all English jumping disciplines. Doug was so patient, kind, and professional; even though I spent 99% of the clinic screwing up one way or another, he made me feel very comfortable asking questions.  If you ever get a chance to ride with Doug Payne- I highly recommend it.

Merry Christmas!

- K & C & L

Doug Payne Clinic Recap: Day 1

Day 1 of the Doug Payne clinic got off to a... less than ideal... start. I managed to successfully leave boots, spurs, and gloves at home, but luckily A brought them to me.

Walked over to the ring, and what I had thought was strictly a dressage day had become a "flatwork over poles and small fences" according to the barn's Facebook page that I neglected to look at. Whoops- maybe an e-mail would have been nice so I didn't show up with freight train mare in a loose ring snaffle? But regardless of these bumps, my weenie self was determined to make the best out of the clinic, and I am so happy I went!

We started with a great exercise that involved a large circle (roughly 20 m over the center of the poles), and a small circle (roughly 10 m over the center of the poles). Enjoy my lovely attempt at Paint to show you:

Black poles= 20 m circle, red poles= 10 m circle

Goals were collection and accuracy. I definitely struggled with both those goals; I'm not sure if it was the bit, or the fact that my shoulder has gotten substantially worse, but I really struggled to collect  and steer due to my fitness, Lexie's fitness, and I'm sure the "gentle" bit didn't help matters.

We started at a trot aiming for the center of the poles, spiraling in to the middle, and back out to repeat at a canter but as the videos show.... it was easier said than done. In fact, Lexie was feelin' herself so much, that I expressed a little anxiety to Doug about jumping her in a snaffle. So Doug RODE HER, and like any mare, she threw a little sass his way as well.

I figured you all might like the good and the bad, rather than editing for the good. Sorry for the chatter from the peanut gallery- what can ya do?

Pre-Doug:

Doug:

Post-Doug:

Huge difference! She was so good, and I am so proud of ourselves for making it around a small course in a snaffle. Especially in the last video- you can see where I'm not as in shape as I'd like, and I've just started physical therapy for my shoulder. Still so proud, regardless!

- K & C & L

Coming Up Roses

Life seems to be on the upswing. Finals are coming to a close (1 surgery, 1 final to go), there is a light at the end of the tunnel- clinics in 3 months!, and my horse life has been on the upswing.

It's no secret this semester took the wind out of me; I'm struggling academically (won't know the results until the 9th), in my relationship, and in the riding ring. Unfortunately, it's been a small disaster in every aspect of my life, and one of the reasons I've been so lackluster about blogging lately. I don't handle stress well, and it's gotten the best of me this semester.

However, I am so excited to announce that starting January 1st- I will be leasing a new horse! Obviously- it will come as no surprise, I'll be leasing my lesson horse, Lexie. She's a 14 year old, 16.1 Westphalian cross. Lucky for me, she literally fits into every single piece of tack I own. I'm so excited to be back in the saddle on a regular basis.

I'm also so excited to attend a Doug Payne clinic this weekend. I've signed up for the BN/N category; I'm a little worried Novice is a little ambitious, but I'm still excited for a good learning experience.

Lastly- I'm hoping to increase my blogging output; I've got a couple reviews planned (thank you Black Friday), going to try to do lesson recaps regularly, and a few other miscellaneous things I want to write about.

I'm hoping this upward trend continues- I really need a little sunshine in my life.

- K & C

Practicing Thankfulness

I've decided recently to try to focus on the positives in my life and remember how blessed I am in every day life.

• I am thankful to have a family that supports me in all my endeavors (no matter how misguided). Between helping me out with the horses, being a shoulder to cry on, and being there for me during the joys of life, I am incredibly lucky to have a family that loves and supports me throughout my entire life. I wouldn't be able to ride, wouldn't be able to attend vet school, and wouldn't be able to life as comfortably as I do if it weren't for them.
• New and old friends. They've been my life line and kept me sane throughout vet school, undergrad, and high school. They're present for the highs and the lows, the difficult decisions, and provide the best decision sounding boards for when I struggle (and I struggle a lot!).
• Trainers new and old and their bottomless patience. I'm not an easy student, but I am so blessed to have had as many trainers who believed in me and my horses; without them, I would not have made it as far in the saddle as I have.
• Two lil guinea pigs. They've been my cuddle buddies and made studying tolerable, if not a little stinky.
• My wonderful boyfriend. Not only is he a horse show boyfriend, he's been a shoulder to cry on, and just an incredible supporter throughout this tumultuous journey.

And finally...

• Horses new and old. I am so lucky to be riding my current lesson horse, Lexie, who has reminded me to sit deep and tall, and keep my heels down. I am so grateful to have my old man, healthy and happy in retirement, who taught me more lessons than I can count as we moved up the ranks. I am so fortunate and so lucky to have both of my fat-bottomed horses in my life.

Not sure my sister would appreciate her face broadcasted to the world, but I'm thankful for her too!

Just a small sampling of the ladies who make vet school fun!

"Breaks are important for treats!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

-K & C