2013 Goals (almost) Full Marks!

I don't know about you all, but when I make a list (of any kind), I prefer that it be comprised of items that I can reasonably tick off.

When there's a mountain of chores on the weekend, I never write down the hard ones I know I won't do.  Instead I fill my lists with totally attainable things like "drink coffee" and "fold clean towels."  That way my ability to cross everything off makes me feel super special and efficient.

My horse goals fall into a similar category.  If anything ends up as a huge "reach" it's usually because I did a bad job of guessing where we'd end up, and not because I think that setting super hard goals is really, really motivating.

I'm sure that for some people that sounds retarded and they might argue that goals are useless if unless they require you to really reach - but I prefer to make a nice little trail of breadcrumbs that I can check off, pat myself on the back for and feel great about.

So, bear that in mind as we review my 2013 Goals that we may, or may not have knocked out of the park.

- Attend at least one recognized dressage show in 2013.

Yeah, NOPE.  I thought this would be an easy one since it really only involved me, you know - filling out an entry form.  But no.  No Dressagey for us.  

- Break 70% at Training Level and 65% at First Level.  Also, show First Level 3

Hard to do if we aren't Dressaging.  Though, as my goal "check in" suggests, We could nail 70% at Training Level if we prepared and I'm pretty sure we could get that 65% at First if I cleaned up our lengthenings again.  First 3 is still scary. But our lateral work is much better and dang near respectable at this point.

- Get our changes 80% of the time 
WOOOO! Yes.  Big ol check on this one.  I'd say we get our changes 98% of the time allowing for Prair's hinds to be late.  We are getting more clean changes though - and they are all happening without much in the way of drama, so that's most exciting.

Honestly I think the spine injections have contributed to this progression.  I think Prair is just way more comfortable and able to step under for good (or at least decent) changes now.

- Attend at least FOUR overnight Hunter Shows. 

Another big check (at least I sent those entries in..).  We made it to eight! Which, as I review my calendar, seems like a lot.  Prair definitely got some miles in, and we both gained a lot of confidence in our new found jobs.  At our last two (real) shows we were undefeated in one Hunter division and managed to win the Equitation Finals.  Plus I felt good about both of those wins, which is a far cry from how we started the year

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- Move Up to 3' Adult Hunters

This one is debatable.  Technically I hauled into a B show for one day so that I could check this off.  We have officially showed as a pair at 3', and nothing terrible happened. But, I wouldn't necessarily say that we have moved up in a permanent sense. If I'm able to ride at Thermal, it'll be in the 2'6" and 2'9" divisions.

We are competent at 3', but not competitive - and I like to be competitive.  If I were planning on a regular show season next year I think spending a chunk of it in the AA ring would be totally realistic.  But I'm not, so I won't. :)  Though hopefully Prair finds someone to get her around in that division.

Again, I'm going to skip Pia's goals since we sort of changed that whole program around.  P is happy, and I'm hoping she finds her next happy home soon but that's a different goal of sorts...

As for the goals that I set for myself - I think I did okay:

- SHORTER REINS

OMG Progress.  Especially over fences.  If I'm on course I seem to be doing a better job of getting my hands up and out of my lap and actually releasing instead of slipping my reins.  When I'm focusing on "real flatwork" something breaks and I have uncontrollably long reins again. I suppose maybe that will be a goal for next year...

- Lighten My Seat

Progress on this too! I've gotten comfortable actually riding from my two point again, and also utilizing my half seat quite a bit.  I'm not chasing Prairie to jumps nearly as much and I think she appreciates it.  Frankly I think a lot of the progress here came from abandoning my dressage saddle and my comfort zone of sitting deep and death gripping with my thighs.  S gets a lot of credit for this.

- Continue My Dressage Education

This is a big, huge, failure.  We did get to that one schooling show (where Prair was convinced she would be eaten by cougars) but that's it.  The judge there spent at least 5 minutes peppering us with advice and suggestions if that counts as any sort of "education."

I will say that we had some seriously hard flat lessons when we hauled out (to our now full time trainer). Some of my best flat lessons I can remember have come from her, including lots of "a-ha" moments on getting Prair to lift her withers (a bit) and really bend through her ribs.

All in all, I think these were great goals for us to have in mind for 2013.  Prair certainly exceeded expectations in terms of her overall progress, and while my bad habits are still very much alive - they are getting better and I am much more aware of them.

2013 In Rewind

I've discovered that one thing I love doing with this blog is looking back month by month and recapping what the heck happened with me, the beasts and our time together.

Therefore, I present to you, 2013 in a Reader's Digest format.

January

January saw us set some goals, and hang out in the rain.

Pia was relatively well behaved and a few visits from Supermom meant we not only got pictures, but we got to take a trail ride too.

The P, bitless

Trail Time

P2 Beak.

Prairie continued her jumping education with a field trip to try some courses away from home, along with another field trip for a Dressage reminder which was fun. 

Also, The Boy rode Gus for the first time and I loved every second of it.

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February

We pretended to focus on Dressage, Prair and S had several lessons with our favorite other trainer, Pia started acting out again and I decided that a traditional training barn was just not going to be good for her.

Prairie had her first show of the season and started with a Championship in her 3' Pre-Greens.  It was a month of ups and downs.

feeding treats at the Back Gate

Strengthening our Trot

The Girls out together

March

We got Gus and presented him to M2.  Gus was officially the cutest thing since sliced bread loved every minute of the extra attention

Pia made the move out of the barn and back to a happier turnout situation while Prair's feet got sore and I contemplated putting some shoes on the mare.  Also, my Dad made an epic tack trunk and the month closed out with both Prair and Gus at a show.  (Gus won his WT classes with a kiddo)

Gus, M2.  M2, meet Gus.

swoon

two black ponies sitting in the shade

Handsome Gus.

April

Prairie got front shoes, and promptly tried to rip them off/shove clips up her hoof wall. She also put on some big girl panties and hauled up to an A show for schooling day.  Remarkably she held her gerbils together and handled the whole thing pretty well.  I made the mistake of actually counting how many saddles I owned (too many) but somehow justified ordering the CWD anyway (oops!). Pia settled into her new routine, put some weight back on and started resuming her happier mare behavior.  Finally, we closed out the month at a totally horrid, rainy terrible schooling show.  Prair was great, but we didn't place well.  hence we called it a "moral victory"

schooling with the big kids

complaining about her new shoes

loving her new life.

Happy Birthday/xmas/everything to me

May

We bopped around a fun C show, and Prair collected a lot of loot.  I decide that there are perks to showing in Hunter Land, and the number of ribbons is one of them.

Gus turned 16 and celebrated with lots of treats and presents, and also by turning up lame (well, lamer).

I agonize over whether or not to keep Prair in shoes (I do) and we have a mostly successful rest of the month.


June

The CWD arrived (and didn't fit), Prair's right shoulder got tight again and nothing was working perfectly.

But went to our first Week Long A show and, well... learned a lot.  Prairie was mostly insane for the first few days but calmed down by the time the weekend rolled around.  I learned maybe Perfect Prep isn't a horrid thing.

Somehow we still got two championships

When we got home I started the great boot hunt of 2013 and pulled Prairie's shoes.

July

The Boots. OH THE BOOTS.  I tried all.the.boots.

We pick a pair (finally) and get back to work.

I go a little nutso and put brass tags on everything.

We head to another A show, collect a few more Tri-Colors (though in novelty colors, grrr) and feel great about our progress.

I find out I have to miss our August show due to a surgery (BOOO HISSS) and that's about it.

August

I turn 30.  Obviously I use the occasion to act like I'm still 22 and dance my ass off surrounded by friends and family

Prair shows without me and does pretty decently at her first AA show.  At some point I gave her hind shoes (and drilled for studs) so she had some grip on the grass.  She seemed to like it.

I have a slight panic about having not ridden a single Dressage Test so we find one last schooling show to hit and enjoy the outing (though Prair acts like a Dragon the whole time).

it was really.pretty.

I went to visit P and she reminded me how pretty and nice she is when I don't lock her in a stall all the time.

September

We move up to 2'9" at our next show and win.every.class in our Hunter Division.  Who would have predicted that six months ago!?  The win comes with our first COOLER.  We get a second COOLER in the Pre-Greens and Prair squeaks out a respectable 3rd in the "big" Classic with S.

2'9"!

I torture myself by riding bareback (semi) regularly and I torture Prair with some spinal injections.

The injections and shockwave made her significantly more comfortable and we start to see the "new and improved" Prairie complete with more relaxation, muscling on her back and all sorts of good things.

Gus' prolonged lameness finally erupts in a massive abscess and he gets (more) stall rest.

Prair and I jump 4'3" and don't die, we mentally commit to Thermal and enjoy a weekend clinic with who will be our regular trainer in 2014.

October 

Prairie continues her shockwave treatment.

I pretend that i'm going to commit to the two-point challenge but really only do it one day.

We head to the Eq Finals and win another cooler (!!?)  Though we had a few disappointments (including not having seen the "test" for the medal finals on our course map)

A good friend from college visits and rides Gus in a lesson with me.

Gus continues to be lame(ish) so we walk, and walk, wand walk

and I decide to clean out unused horse things from my garage.  Though I have totally failed to ship any of it - though I SWEAR I will.  soon!! (in fairness I did say that the ups store/post office is my least favorite place ever)

November 

We find out that Prair won a year end award, though we politely decline to travel to the USHJA meeting to claim it.

The Boy and I find out I'm pregnant, (which starts to explain a lot of things...) and I start thinking about what the means for the horses.

It definitely means I'm out most of the show season for 2014, so I look at my 2013 goals and decide I better sneak in one more show and try the 3' AA's.

I do.  Without a coach, or really any preparation and we get our butts kicked by juniors but Prairie is Really Good.

December

I officially decide to move Prairie to a new program, though I agonize over what the right decision is.

Knowing that no matter what, the kiddo is going to significantly reduce pony time, I relish in easy, lazy hacks and try to enjoy the mare still being close enough to see 5 days a week.

Gus is miraculously sound in the super-cold-weather and enjoys being worked again.

I commit to a new barn, Thermal and draining my bank account, all the while loving every second of this crazy little adventure with Prair.

Holy Crap we did a lot in 2013.

Here's to another wild and crazy year filled with what I'm sure will be even more surprises!

Prair's Moving Day

Friday, we officially got the mare all moved and settled in to her new house.  I did an remarkably terrible job of taking any photos of the process but The Boy was in tow and carried bins of blankets and bundles of tack around to their new homes.

literally the only picture I took (The Boy emptying her haynet in the new stall)

Prairie decided that the drizzle coming down made the trailer look like a much better option than raising a stink about loading - so she hopped right in, nickered a few times to her buddies, and we were off.

The new barn is much smaller (maybe 15 stalls in the show barn?) but very well designed and seems to be very comfy for both the horses and their people.

I'll attempt to take pictures this week so that we aren't relying on my lackluster written descriptions.

Prair settled quietly into her stall and I tried to figure out how to shove all my crap in a significantly smaller (though totally acceptable) tack locker.

Saturday I woke up early and made the drive (50 minutes from home, no traffic - not so bad!!) for a lesson.

As I was tacking up I realized that Prair hadn't been worked in 3 days, and likely hadn't been turned out since Thursday.  Seemed like a perfect time to climb on in a new indoor and go for a ride!

She has of course, hauled to this facility multiple times for lessons, but I question how much that really helps quiet the gerbils when they want to play.

Turns out, I didn't have anything to worry about.  After one hard look at the big door in the far end, she quieted right down and we had a great ride.

After some lateral work and a few transitions, we began working up over a small course and found some of our current weak spots.  The whole course was twisty, single fences and unrelated distances. Prair was really wanting to land and lengthen instead of coming back to me so the first few jumps were "good" but made for an interesting pace.

We focused on circling when I needed to reorganize in order to get the canter I wanted instead of "staying on course."  We had a couple nice go's and just about the time I thought my legs were going to fall off we called it quits.

I spent a couple hours bumbling around and chatting with folks, trying to get a better sense of how things work around the barn.  People seem to all use barn saddle pads (which get washed!) instead of their own, which was one fun tidbit I figured out.  Also, most folks tack up in their stalls.. that was easy enough.  And the peppermints are definitely for the horses, not for the kids. :)  I'm sure I'll figure out more norms as I go, but I always feel a bit like I'm on eggshells as new barns as I try to figure out what the flow is, what the etiquette is and how things work in a new place.

When I was leaving for the day, I caught sight of Prair out in a turnout (presumably for the first time) with her head 27 feet in the air and her tail totally flagged.  I'm pretty sure we'll end up with less turnout overall in this facility so I'm keeping a close eye on her brain does with some different feed and a different routine.

Fingers crossed we see only good things :)

Merry Ho Ho! (and anything else that makes you happy)

From all of us (humans and critters alike), a very Merry Christmas from Pia & Prairie's Parade!

We hope (regardless of what or how you are choosing to celebrate) that you are enjoying the close of 2013 and reveling in something lovely.

Gus won the xmas card contest this year (obviously), though Prair had a close second, what with the whole "calm-ish" thing being slightly more appropriate for her overall presence.

xxxo