Thursday's Threads

 I awoke this morning to news of a tragic event back at home, and just wanted to take a minute to make mention before continuing on with Thursday's Threads. Folly Farm, a lesson and show barn about a half hour north of where I live had a fire early this morning and they lost 24 horses. They were mostly lesson horses and polo horses, as well as a few privately owned. There were 19 reported safe in a separate barn. I grew up showing at Folly regularly as a junior, though it's been some time since I've been up there. It's a wonderful place, with caring staff and lovely horses. I'm truly heart broken for them and am working on coming up with a way to help. If you'll recall from this post, I experienced a tragic barn fire when I was 14. All day my mind has been jumping back to scenes from that night and the emotions I felt in the days to follow. Our situation was very different as we were lucky enough to save 24 of our 32 horses at the farm (I say we, I was just a boarder they weren't MY horses, but it was my shared experience). So we had animals that needed a place to live and to be cared for. We needed to immediately replace things in order to do that. In Folly's situation, they don't have the same need at the moment. I'm sure they will moving forward, but I'm not certain what can be done right now to help. Any ideas are welcome.

Ok, now on to more fun things. Let's talk outfits! Since I've been lacking in riding outfits of late, let's start there shall we?

Heh... I don't even look awake in this photo. You're getting pre-barn photos today as it would be super awkward to take outfit photos at a barn full of people. Not pictured are my Regal boots and Samshield helmet... But that's what I wore!

Top: B. Vertigo by Horze

I love this polo. It's actually tech fabric, not cotton, so it's lovely to ride in. Plus the color scheme is great, and I LOVE the screen printing on the back which shows a jumping horse, a polo horse, and a dressage horse. Something for everyone!

Belt: Mane Jane

I wore my navy croc Mane Jane belt to match my shirt.

Breeches: Piper by Smartpak

I got these when they had the buy 2 get 1 free sale a few weeks ago. No regrets here! The navy and blue houndstooth is super fun, and I really like that the stitching on the patches is a contrasting blue.

Socks: Dreamers and Schemers

Heh... You all know and love the F bomb socks. Me too!

I had a nice ride on Badger today though he was a little wild! Trainer was in CT for a few days for Christmas so the ponies had a vacation. Today was the first day back for them. Good news is, nobody died!

And now for my Florida leisure outfit:

Not gonna lie, this oversized tee is ridiculously unflattering. Don't care though, cause I'm on vacation!

Top: Two by Vince Camuto

Despite this looking like I'm wearing a tent, I do love the hombre it has going on and the fun shades of pink.

Belt: Mane Jane

Yep, double Mane Jane today! This one reverses to a bright plum color. I found it in the clearance section and it's perfect for  Florida!

Pants: Rue 21

These are a fun kind of tie dye corduroy. They're really light though which is perfect for down here. Corduroy says winter season, but the color and light fabric still work for the warm Florida "winter".

Shoes: Sperry

My feet are really happy to be back in boat shoes and sockless. I was occasionally still trying to pull them off at home... with socks... but it really wasn't working any more.

Arm Party:
Lefty:

Lefty is donning my apple watch along with a vintage bangle from Gucci that I found on Ebay awhile back.

Righty:

Righty is wearing a whole stack of bracelets that came from Zulily. I have no brands on these (sorry), but I think they're really pretty. The two outside ones are both lab created opals and the middle one is faux pearl with a pretty crystal heart in the middle.

That's what I'm wearing today! How about you? Are you bundled up to the top of your head in the freezing tundra? Hope you and the ponies are all keeping as warm as you can! (Missing my boys down here, but definitely not the weather!)

Ten Questions for October

First Question: Which is the real Rio?

I had to jump on the band wagon this month and take a stab at L's 10 questions for October. So here we go!

1. What do you consider jumping high for yourself?
Um, current self or former self? I think jumping high for me is anything 4' or above (roughly 1.2M or higher). That said, I can barely jump around 3' right now so there's that...

Former Self with Rio the wonderhorse.

2. What are you short term goals for riding?
Ride a horse that doesn't have a limp! But seriously, I'm hoping to find a way to keep riding this winter, even if it's not on one of my own horses. I don't want to have to start all over come spring like I have the past many years.

Less of this please.

3. What are your long term goals for riding? Do you think you'll reach them?
Long term, I REALLY want to get back in the show ring with a real partner. I want to find a horse that I trust to not only get back to showing in rated divisions, but to be competitive there. I don't really have a preference over whether it's in the A/O hunter ring or high AA jumper ring. I just want to find a horse I can really bond with. (No offense Jampy.)

Heart horse #1

4. How many barns have you been at in your riding career?
3 trainer barns, 4 if you count my own back yard barn. I rode at the same barn for my entire junior career, then moved on to my college barn. After leaving the college barn, I actually moved back to my first barn before building my own. I count my current trainer's barn even though I don't really ride there that much.

home sweet home

5. How many different trainers have you been with in your riding career?
This number is kind of high. The barn I rode at growing up had a bit of a revolving door, and trainers came and went. College saw some changeover as well. Let's see... I'd say 7 at first barn and 3 at college barn, and then I've had a few different trainers help me at shows once I moved home, so we'll go with 4 after college.  That's what 14? That's an awful lot considering I've not moved horses around much!

Current trainer in natural habitat

6. Ever worked at a barn? What did you do?
Yep! After graduating from a ridiculously expensive college with a psych degree, I got hired as the stable manager at my college barn. I wanted to keep my amateur status, so my duties did not include riding or teaching. I was in charge of making sure the horses all got out every day, were properly groomed and blanketed, they're health care, etc. I also oversaw the working students. It was a really fun job, but a ton of work. We had 45 school horses and about 15 boarders.

Tom and Cajun: best walk trot horses you'll ever encounter. EVER.

7. Scariest thing that has happened at your barn?
Ugh. You have no idea. You guys. My barn where I boarded when I was 14 BURNED TO THE GROUND. It was horrifying. All of the lesson horses died, including my project pony Abbey. I wrote my college essay on that experience and though it sounds dramatic, that fire had a big impact on who I am today.

8. Have you ever given a lesson? What level was the rider?
I have! Not since aging out of the junior ranks of course since I'm an amateur. But when I was in high school one summer I had a couple students of my own. They were a brother and sister visiting the area on vacation for two weeks. They had never ridden, but were athletic kids. She was a figure skater and he was a hockey player. The girl struggled a bit, but I think she did canter by the end of her stay. The boy was some kind of phenom and had started JUMPING by the end of the two weeks. I wonder what ever happened to them...

occasionally I drag tiny family members around the yard too

9. What is your opinion on the accuracy of critiquing riders online?
Pffft. Not accurate. Most of the time online critiques are of a photo. I'll tell you what. I take a decent photo if it's caught at the right moment. But that does not mean I'm a good rider. Feel free to critique this though:

this is how you do it, right?

10. What is the ideal height of horse for you?
Probably between 15.3 and 16.2.  Romey is a bit short, and Jamp and Rio are both around 16.3. Since they're slab sided it works though. I'm short but have normal length legs, so I can kind of fake it on most sizes. Even Venti worked for me this summer, though he was kind of huge. Definitely taller than 17 hands. That said, I do think riding a short horse makes the fences look bigger, so I don't like anything too tiny.

And there you have it! Ten questions for October!

A Moment of Reflection

Twenty years ago today the farm where I boarded my horse succumbed to a devastating fire. 8 horses were lost. I remember the day still as though it just happened... Settle back, grab a decaf, and let me tell you about the day that changed my life.

I was your typical 14 year old barn rat. Since it was summer, I spent about 9 hours every day galavanting around the farm, riding horses, cleaning tack, and generally loitering about.  That Sunday was more or less a normal Sunday at the farm. I got there around nine and got to do a lot of riding that day! I rode my own horse Bud, he was just flatting that day. I had a project pony named Short Sleeves (Abbey for short) who I also worked that day. She was a 3 year old pony and sassy as they come!

Abbey the winter before the fire. Pardon how not photogenic we are!

I remember we were practicing lead changes that day over ground poles. I also got to have a lesson on a horse that I had ridden only a few time named Step Aside (Step was his nickname).

Step and I the week before the fire during a horse show at the farm

I had a tough time with this horse, as he was MUCH bigger and stronger than what I was used to riding. But that day, I had the most amazing lesson. We jumped big jumps, made almost no mistakes, and just generally started figuring each other out.

My dad picked me up from the barn around 5 pm, and we went to our favorite local Chinese restaurant to pick up dinner. While my dad and stepmom were unpacking the food, I went to wash my hands. As I was returning to the kitchen the phone rang, so I answered it in the den. My friend Tricia was on the line. Her dad had a police scanner in the house, and she had heard there was a structure fire at the barn where my horse lived. I remember asking her if she was joking, and she said of course not! I was a bit in shock, but I thanked her for telling me. I walked back into the kitchen, sat down, and picked up my egg roll. I repeated very calmly to my dad what Tricia had told me, and he said, do you want to go over there and see what's going on? I said yes, so we got up and got in the car. My dad lives at the bottom of a hill, and as soon as we reached the top, we could see the black smoke billowing up. It was terrifying. He lives maybe 3 miles from the stable. We arrived quickly to a somewhat chaotic scene. There were horses loose and running all over the place. Some were contained in the large field behind my trainer's house. And the barn... It was all in flames, except for the newer aisle. The eeriest thing I remember from that night was this sign that hung over a doorway to the indoor ring. It was just a piece of plywood, painted white with the word PHONE on it in black paint. (Way back then only really rich people had cell phones. The rest of us used pay phones, which is what this sign was referencing.) That sign never burned. Yellow, red, and orange flames were everywhere, but that little sign shone through. So weird. I wonder what kind of paint they used on it?!

My own horse was safe, people had seen him leave the barn, and assured me hadn't run back inside. But it was awhile before I would find him. As soon as we were able, we led him and a few other horses to an old abandoned barn at the back of the property. He generally couldn't be contained with just a fence as he would jump out of any enclosure we put him on. Hence him being sent to the old barn. The others that joined him were those that didn't play well with others. We had to walk past the fire to get to the old barn, but not at all close. Probably half an acre away at least. And it was still so hot from that far away. So hot.

My friends' horses were all safe outside too. But then I realized who we hadn't seen. None of the school horses. Very few of the sale horses. Both my girl Abbey, and Step who I had just started to figure out, had not made it out safely. Nor had Daisy the old lesson horse that EVERYONE learned to ride on. Myself included. Crackers, Ben, Eddy, Jaz, and a one other who's name is escaping me were all lost that night.

The firemen were amazing at keeping the fire contained, and eventually putting it out. I stayed until about 2 in the morning when my parents dragged me away to go home and get some sleep. There would be a lot of work to do in the morning. A LOT. So I agreed and went home.

The next morning was tough. I arrived early to help and to hug my horse until he couldn't handle it anymore. There were fireman and reporters everywhere. People were delivering all kinds off food and supplies. A tent came and temporary stalls to house the horses in. There were some terrible things that had to happen, such as extricating the lost horses. The adults did an amazing job of distracting us kids while that took place. They gave us a pile of burnt tack and asked us to clean it up and see what we could save. Obviously none of it as it had so much heat and water damage, but we didn't know any better, and were spared any gruesome sights going on in the rubble. Being a "big kid" I stayed strong and businesslike about everything, right up until one of the little girls asked me where Abbey was. I didn't know how to respond... Do 7 year olds know about death? Before I could find some words or maybe utter an "I'm not sure" my eyes welled up. Well that little girl hugged me tight and said "don't worry, you can ride my pony any time you want." Honestly, they don't make kids like that anymore.

Eventually things got back to normal. We went to horse shows. The barn was rebuilt. New school horses came to work at the farm. But that night will always be with me like it was yesterday. I still think about Abbey often. Ducky has her sass that's for sure!

If you're still here, thanks for reading my story. That devastating event has been with me ever since, as I'm sure it is with many of my friends who were there that night. I can't believe it was 20 years ago.