What's Up Wednesday

 

Had another great week with the ponies! Still low on media, but I do have some of Al! We'll get to him later. Let's cover the rehabbers first. 

Pammon is trotting five minutes and so far, that's going just fine. It's nice to be trotting him again, but boy did I forget how much bounce this horse has! It's a good workout. I'm kinda glad it's only five minutes right now... Ten minutes next week! I think he's happy to do something other than walk again too. We both agree, thirty minutes of walking in circles is pretty dull. 

Shiny pants is back to work after her injections, and I do think they helped her a lot. Her shoulders are so much more free. I can literally see them moving longer and looser than they were before. The hind end is also much improved. She's not nodding anymore tracking left and there's a little more bounce to her step. It didn't magically fix her angry canter departs, but I do think they are improving. I think some of it is that she expects it to still hurt. Then when it doesn't she's like, "oh okay, canter. No problem." I let her canter a pole on the ground today and she was really excited about that. Took me right to the forward distance off both leads. Good pony! Hopefully we can start her jumping again soon. 

Eros had a great lesson last week! We kept everything very simple, and never actually strung a full course together. Instead we worked on single jumps, one at a time. Sometimes stopping after. Sometimes letting him do some flatwork after. It was really helpful in keeping him from taking over after the jumps which hopefully will translate when we start putting lines together again. I'm sure it's not a magic cure, but it's for sure a step in the right direction. He lessons again tomorrow morning. Hopefully he'll keep on this trajectory. 

Al and I are starting to find our groove I think. Which isn't to say we don't still have lots to work on. We certainly have a lot to figure out still. But I think we're starting to speak the same language at least. I caught myself in my last lesson with a huge stupid grin on my face when the jumps starting get raised. In the past, that sound filled me with angst, but with Al, I get excited. I think that's a pretty big deal for me! 

I still find him kind of annoying to flat some days. He is the least focused animal I've ridden in a long time when he's not jumping. In our weekend lesson, we were cantering to a raised cavelletti on a circle, and the goat walked into the ring. This happens all the time, and the horses really don't care, but he literally turned his head to look as he was leaving the ground. Like, really Al? Focus buddy! But I also secretly like the challenge a little. While he can spook (we've done a fair amount of rapid direction changes), he's not dirty about it, and he makes an effort to take me with him if I'm not able to shut it down in time. I appreciate that. He's pretty tall. I'd like to stay in the saddle. He's a ton more focused when we're jumping though and that makes up for the sometimes annoying flatwork. He gives me a ton of confidence. Even if he looks a little at a spooky fence, as long as I keep my leg, I know he's going to the other side. And it's pretty rare that he even jumps it like it was scary. He just likes to check things out I think. Anyway. I'm still pinching myself that this horse found his way to me. Seems like a dream. I have some video from last week to share. I did edit where I had to circle due to traffic, but the rest is untouched; the good and the mistakes. 

In other news... I can't remember if I mentioned or not, but I once again rolled the dice for the Celeris Black Friday sale. I still wasn't fast enough for the free boots, but I got 20% off. Also a nice deal! I'm on hiatus from buying boots I don't need, but I DID need new show boots. My Parlantis are too big and too short so it was time for an upgrade. They arrived Monday, and while definitely the most boring boots I've ever ordered from them (I literally apologized in the notes on my order, and let them know they really were what I wanted in case they thought it was a mistake) they are as usual, GORGEOUS. And they fit like a glove!

I especially love how tall the tops are. Even if they fall some, they will still be tall enough. Guess I'll have to break them in soon... That's the only bad part about new boots. Next step... put some shows on the calendar, I guess? Ugh, that seems daunting.

What's Up Wednesday

 

This was a relatively quiet week. The most exciting part was my first lesson with Al! I rode in my old Bellino lesson, but it's grown to a big group. A couple of the kids were less experienced so everything stayed low and easy. Perfect for our first time jumping courses together! I have some pretty terrible quality media to share... But it's media none-the-less! (Winter is tough, what can I say?) 

Guys. I had SO MUCH fun! I absolutely do struggle keeping him going sometimes, and we have a lot to learn about each other. But this horse is game! He takes zero offense if I make a mistake, and seems to be really brave to the jumps too. He popped over all the boxes and some flowers and while I won't say he didn't take a peak, he never offered anything but to do his job. I'm STUPID excited for what might be to come with this horse.

I also had my second lesson on him this past Tuesday. It was a flat lesson which we desperately need. We did do some work through a line of poles. It was set as a four stride line if the jumps were up and we had to do four, five, and six. While we did make some mistakes and didn't nail it every time, we did manage to all three options very nicely (eventually). He's only six after all, so it's understandable that we're not going to be perfect the first time at everything. 

Unfortunately (there's always one of those, isn't there) I discovered he has a quarter crack after my ride today. He's completely sound on it, so I'm hoping VERY hard it won't really be an issue other than my farrier having to make some changes. Unless it bothers him, I'm hoping it's okay to proceed with caution. 

It honestly is less apparent in person. Hopefully this won't be a thing. Ugh.

Eros had his first real lesson too! I have no media though because his lesson was early and there weren't any pony moms around to record for us. He was a good boy, and we only jumped about six fences since he's really just starting back to jumping. I remember now why I dislike doing formal lessons with him. Trainers always want to get the horses moving forward on the flat, which yes, is good practice. But in the case of Eros, once his stride gets bigger than 12' he has very little interest in shortening it back up. And thus, when we trotted in and cantered out of a three stride (cantering in...) line, we were not successful in putting four strides in that line. I wasn't going to fight with him about it right now, as he did stay soft and relaxed and wasn't a freight train. That's a lesson for a fitter day. He has another lesson tomorrow morning, and I'm pretty excited to try again!

Chronic blanket sniffer.

Shiny seems to finally be feeling better. I've been keeping our rides a little short, letting her really warm up before asking for contact. And once she gives me some nice work, I let her stretch again for a bit before trying again. Today was the first day that she felt pretty sound while in the contact tracking left. So that's a big step for her. Hopefully she's on the mend!
Part of her plan right now is to make sure we do our carrot stretches before our ride everyday. Guys. She's turning into a bit of a treat monster due to that! I always give the horses a cookie at the end of the day before I go home (or at night check if they're home with me) but I don't generally treat them on the cross ties or before we work. But since she has to do these stretches, she gets treats. And she looks for them now! So bad. Very annoying. But it's pretty cute when she does the stretches on her own hoping she'll get a reward. Sorry Shiny, the only reward is a well stretched neck...

Nothing has changed. He still eats everything I wear.

Pammon is doing well back in the barn. I was very worried he'd be weaving a lot and upset to be back in the stall, but honestly, I think he's really happy to be back. He's been so relaxed and happy. His body, however, is taking a little longer to acclimate. He stocks up all around right now. I'd be super worried if it was just one leg, but since it's pretty consistent with all of them, I'm not freaking out just yet. The legs look better after our 30 minute walk too, so that's reassuring. It's tough though, because I'm supposed to watch for swelling in the bad leg, and well, yeah it gets swollen... But he's walking nicely and seems happy, so we'll carry on until his next vet visit. It's fun spending real time with him again. I hope he makes a real comeback. 

That's about it from here. How was your week? Do anything fun with your horse(s)? 

What's Up Wednesday

 

Holiday weeks are always full of all kinds of things, aren't they? This one is no different! I spent most of Wednesday morning at the car dealer picking up Betty's replacement. You've all heard my car woes all summer, and last month I finally took the plunge and ordered a new car. She arrived Wednesday. Everyone, meet Beatrice Mila Winthrop:

Yes. I bought a green car. And it's a convertible. I think it's clear to all of us that I'm having a pretty solid midlife crisis, what with the horse and the convertible... It sure is fun though!

But you're not here for cars. You're here for horses! Most specifically Al. 

Stands for hoof picking like a champ!

Since he had surgery, then a month of recovery, and then he flew here, we're taking things slowly, letting him get his fitness back. We've mostly just been flatting. But on Sunday, I managed to get on during a quiet time in the ring (VERY rare on a weekend!) and the assistant trainer was riding the barn owner's young horse and having a little school. Barn owner had set a little pile or rails on the ground, and I asked if I could join. She said sure, so I followed the baby horse over the poles. Eventually it became a little vertical and barn owner said to keep going too. So I did! And you guys... Al is wonderful to ride. He's adjustable and feels pretty brave. It was a plain white rail with nothing really under it, so nothing spooky. Not really a bravery test. But he didn't worry when I made him add one too many or kicked up for the long one. He was just like, okay yeah, cool. 

I know you're not supposed to compare horses to each other. But I have to tell you guys. This horse rides EXACTLY like young Rio. Al is a touch more green, but Rio was 8 when I bought him, and Al is just 6. So that's expected. But everything else feels weirdly familiar. Even how he acts when he's fresh. The same. It's crazy! They're not particularly closely related so I'm pretty surprised by the similarities. I mean, I had a feeling watching the videos and seeing how he carries himself. But it's a little mind blowing. I'm feeling VERY excited for the future. We'll probably mostly flat this week, and then maybe start jumping small next week. I don't see any reason to rush into things. We have all winter to get to know each other. 

He's been so cooperative for everything we've thrown at him since he got here. He goes out in the med paddocks next to mares and doesn't misbehave in the slightest (phew). He got worked on by our body worker last week (which I've already talked about, I know) and then on Thanksgiving morning he got shod. 

The farrier took his time, since not all of Europe hot shoes, so who knows if he's had that done before. He wasn't concerned about it, so I'm guessing he has. My farrier pointed out something interesting. Al's outside heels are kind of scrunched up behind. He says that's very typical for stallions (due to um... them doing their job... and also how they stand to accommodate "the jewels") and it will correct itself now that he's gelded. Al will see the vet I think next Friday so they can meet and get a baseline for how he goes and feels. 

I got on Al first yesterday morning. Unfortunately, I was in a big rush because I had to run my dad and stepmom back to the airport, so there were two horses getting rigged while I was trying to ride. Al came out FRESH, so being stuck on a small circle wasn't such a bad thing... lol! He settled down though, once we trotted for awhile and had a nice, albeit short, ride. I put him down for a free lunge today so hopefully he enjoys that and gets some fresh out. I really like how sensible he is, even when he's feeling wild. I hope that feature stays with him!

Everything is going well with the other two also! Eros still hasn't jumped. I need to sit down with the lesson book and find a spot for him. Shiny didn't jump last week either. She normally lessons on Thursday and with the holiday we missed out. I could have put her a different lesson another day, but I figured I'd give her the week since she had all that vet work done the Friday before. We'll lesson tomorrow. 

She is feeling great though! Her canter transitions are feeling better, and her hind end feels so much... smoother? If that makes sense. She's been a little sassy for her first canter lately though, kicking out some. So I'm not sure if something else is bothering her now, or if she's just feeling a little sassy. It's sometimes tough to distinguish with her. She feels very sound, so I'm leaning toward attitude. 

Eros is feeling good too, despite me using the wrong saddle on him for two days. Boy do I feel silly for that! In my defense, they look nearly exactly the same. Heh. Oops.

This isn't my saddle... -Eros probably

But in the more midlife crisis (and non horse) news... Pia is getting a sister after New Years! 

Her name is Rita and she's some kind of Chihuahua cross. There is a pair of sisters who have a pony at the barn and their parents are a vet and vet tech. They've been fostering Rita. She was hit by a car and her former owners surrendered her because they couldn't afford the bill. (Though they also didn't stick around long enough for the x-rays even to know that the bill wasn't going to be too bad... People suck.) Anyway, from the accident, Rita had a broken pelvis and one of her eyes was popped out. Fortunately, the eye went back in with no damage at all, and her pelvis did not require any surgery. She's been on crate rest for a few weeks, and is now having light exercise and doing great! She will be spayed this week (seriously people, do this for your dogs as soon as they're old enough, don't wait!). She's about two years old, so past the puppy stage which is nice. I'm taking a trip after Christmas, so I asked if they could keep her until I get back. Seems unfair to take her, then give her back, then take her again. It would be confusing I think. So they are happy to do that since they also love her. I also feel more comfortable having her rehab with the vet for a little longer. 

Pia and Rita met on Sunday. I had told the fosters, I really wanted Rita, but it was up to P since she's in charge of the household. While I'm not sure Pia loved Rita, she didn't mind her at all. So I think they'll get along just fine. 

So many changes happening over here lately! Horses and cars and dogs... Oh my! If anyone is looking for me, I'll just be over here enjoying my midlife crisis to the fullest. 

What's Up Wednesday

Sorry for all the late posts recently. It's best to ride earlier in the day at the boarding barn (less traffic) so instead of doing blog stuff first thing, I've been heading to the barn. Today I had an appointment in the morning that took FOREVER, so this is even later. Life happens. This has been a big week/weekend as you already know! So let's dive in!

Last Wednesday was Covid Booster day, for real this time. I was lucky to not have any real side effects other than a sore arm and maybe I was a little tired that evening? Hard to say, I'm tired most evenings! Thursday was Shiny's lesson. This week, we joined one of the mom lessons so we did some slightly bigger jumps than last week. Happy to report that after peaking and popping up over the first couple, she leveled right out and started taking me to the jumps like the Shiny I used to know. Good pony! Unfortunately, it seems I'm feeling a little nervous still, so we will continue with smaller fences until we're both feeling brave again. I have no timeline, and honestly don't care how high we jump. I just want it to be fun for both of us. 

Pammon had his walk on Thursday too. But I have decided to hold off for now on tack walks with him. He's perfectly fine, the only reason, honestly, is that it's a real pain in the ass to bring him for it. I have to time things just right so the ring isn't busy. I have to fight off his pasture mate when it's time to come in. And the mud out there is the sinking kind. Then once he's in, he spends much of his time screaming the call of his people. It's obnoxious. He'll be moving inside in about a week, so after speaking with his vet, we decided it's perfectly fine to hold off for now. 

Perfectly happy out with his friends!

Friday was vet day again! He doesn't usually come every week, but his list was long the week before and resulted in needing a second visit. Eros and Pammon were seen the week before, but this week was Shiny's turn. I've been feeling like maybe she was ready for some maintenance lately. She's been tripping more, and the hind end just hasn't felt as strong to me as it has in the past. It never hurts to have them looked at anyway! (Just your wallet... it always hurts your wallet.) Doc agreed with everything I had been feeling after watching her go and doing some flexions. We decided to do the prostride injections for her neck again since I really thought it helped last year. As for the hind end, her hocks are actually in good shape (as they should be for an 8 year old pony!) but her stifles showed some positiveness on the flexions. We decided to do steroid injections for those. I'm really reluctant to put steroids in the pony because she looks like a founder waiting to happen without adding additional stressors. But after talking about that with the vet, we both decided it would be the best way to go. So far so good! I actually feel a huge difference in her back end already. Her neck isn't quite there yet, but the prostride takes a little longer to kick in. Already the tripping is vastly improved though, so that's definitely a good thing! I really failed at taking photos again this week. Doped up Shiny is pretty adorable, and I'm sorry I didn't think to snap a photo to share. 

Saturday was the big day! Al's arrival! He was released from quarantine around 10 in the morning, but the shipper had a few stops to make before us. It worked out well though. I was able to ride Eros and give Shiny a good groom in the morning. Plus I had all of Al's things to get unpacked at the barn. I hung out for awhile after he arrived also to make sure he was settling in. Eating, drinking, POOPING! All the important things. 

Mmm, water!

Since weekends are pretty busy in the indoor this time of year, for Sunday we opted to just let Al have another day to get settled rather than trying to ride. The barn is closed on Mondays, so it seemed kind of silly to start and then have a day off again anyway. So that morning, I took him out for some grooming. I really want to get to know him, and I think spending time on the ground together is a big part of that. I mentioned yesterday we had to take a break when the mom and baby walked by, but otherwise, he enjoyed his grooming and seemed happy. He also had his first turnout which he thought was fun. Eros had a nice ride inside. It was actually a nice day and not too cold, so I took Shiny to the outdoor ring for her hand walk. She seemed to enjoy that. She just likes attention in general. As long as it doesn't come from a horse. The horror. I wonder if she's aware she IS indeed, a horse. And then, something unexpected happened! The barn owner has this one sales horse that I've been dying to sit on. He's not my type at all, but I've always wanted to see what he feels like. He's HUGE. Like over 18 hands huge, but a gentle giant. A bunch of the little kids have flatted him even. Total sweetheart. But as mentioned, you really don't get to sit on extra horses very often unless you come at 7 and work. And then get judged for how poorly you work... Not really incentive for me. But I DID judge the schooling show a couple weekends ago pro bono, so I earned a ride! And Sunday, I finally got to sit on the sweet, giant boy. I didn't get any photos of me on him unfortunately. But I did get some of me trying to groom him after which apparently was hilarious because everyone laughed as they walked by... ha! So here, me and the giant horse:

Maybe I needed help to do his head. Shut up. I'm short, okay? Lol. As for the ride itself? It was so fun! He takes awhile to warm up, so I struggled a little trying to get him put together at first. But once he was loose, I felt stupid for the struggle because it was so easy. He felt more or less like I imagined he would. So glad I got to sit on him!

Monday is normally a no barn day, but the barn owner said I could be there with the body worker which I appreciated. I wanted to make sure it was okay to work on Shiny since she had been injected, and was curious to see what she had to say about Al and Eros too. We opted to wait until next month for Pammon. Shiny was good to go for body work, and just had a few of her usual adjustments that she needed. Same with Eros. She thought he was in pretty good shape! So that was nice to hear. Al she said felt pretty "pretzely" as in tight and knotty, but to be expected after his plane ride and traveling. She said it was perfect timing to get him worked on right away after that. She will be back in a month before she goes south for the winter, so it will be interesting to see what she has to say after that appointment. He feels quite pliable and wiggly when I ride him, so whatever she did must have helped him!

The rest of Monday I spent doing boring house chores like laundry, and then also busted out the Cricut. I had to make Al his baby pad to match the other horses'. I had also ordered the horses new standing wraps and I needed to get them labeled before bringing them over to the barn. 

So many wraps... 

It took way longer than it should have. I had a batch of crappy iron on, so I wound up having to do a lot of labels to get enough usable ones. Annoying. They came out nicely in the end at least. 

I already talked about Tuesday's rides with Al on Truthful Tuesday. Eros and Shiny had fairly easy rides that day too, so not too much to report on there. Today I started with Al first. He felt a little spicy, but still did not put a foot out of place. He was a little snorty at the start, and a couple of times shook his head a little, but all his feet stayed on the ground appropriately, and even when he was a little looky at things, he never actually spooked. I got on him totally cold too. No lunging first, and he's on the turnout schedule for the afternoon so he hadn't even been out yet. Very proud. Hopefully this pattern continues! We have some work to do on our canter transitions. I'm certain the issue is likely me... Lol. Isn't it always? But that's fine. It's nice to have things to work on anyway! Probably next week we'll start to pop over some little jumps. Likely I'll let the trainer do that first. Just in case. That's why we pay them! 

Eros was a good boy today, but I've noticed that if they only have some of the indoor lights on, he gets real looky at the banners at the end of the ring. All the lights on? Doesn't care at all. Horses are weird. Shiny felt great today! She was a bit fussy about the connection, but I think that's related to her neck still feeling a little sore. But the hind end? It felt like a whole new pony! I'm excited to see how she feels jumping. 

That's about it from here. Things are all sorts of new and exciting, and I'm so excited about all of it! How was your week?

Truthful Tuesday: The One about Al

 

Today's confession is kinda big... I've been keeping a secret because I really wanted this thing to happen. Like really a lot. And things happened, and so now I can tell you all about it. 

Back when Eros came up lame at the end of the summer, I realized that maybe I should start thinking about seriously starting to look for a new show horse. But like, I wasn't really seriously doing that. I was kind of just waiting for the right one to appear before me. Because I just don't trust my own judgement anymore. So one evening, I was doom scrolling through Facebook and saw this:

I mean... it says a child can ride it. And does it remind you of a certain horse from this blog? Just a little? Here's a hint:

See it now? I mean, I know logically that I shouldn't try to buy Rio again because that would never be successful. But obviously, I have a type... They aren't particularly closely related, but do come from a similar Holsteiner line. 

Before you all get too worried about my potentially buying a horse from Europe off a video... The agent representing him is the same one I worked with when I bought Jampy. So he knows very well the type I can ride versus the types I CANNOT ride. When I went over the last time, there was an entire barn full of sales horses that all terrified me. So he was well aware of what I wouldn't want. I had some semblance of trust that the horse was being appropriately represented. So after consulting with my investor my dad, we decided to go ahead and vet the horse. As we all know so well, things often come to a screeching halt right there anyway. 

"Ahhhhh" -Al, probably

The vetting went pretty well. He's not perfect, but I have never found one that is. He's a reasonable risk. So the next step was to negotiate the right price, and then... ahem... have him de-balled. No more Stallions. Listen. I know it takes me awhile to learn some lessons. But after the Vermont debacle with Jamp, that lesson is firmly learned over here. NO MORE STALLIONS. The only problem with having to geld first is that I have to wait that much longer for him to ship! Though honestly, it's the same amount of time if I imported first since stallions have to quarantine for so long. Geldings only have to quarantine for three days. In the end, it was probably still faster to my door despite gelding first. 

All of that took some time because things don't happen super fast in Czech where he lived. But finally, when I felt I could wait no longer, I had a new horse and he arrived at the boarding barn on Saturday evening! 

Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Casual! We're calling him Al in the barn, and so far he's an absolute love. 

Walking off the trailer into his new life!

Still smiling like an 8 year old getting a pony as I type this.

Testing out the water in CT

Meeting his new neighbor who happens to be my friend's horse!

Showing his good side for the camera.

Our first Selfie!

He's a six year old Holsteiner; Casall x Newton. He's shown a bit at the 1.25 level. Including jumping open water and a big wall, so he's pretty brave to the jumps hopefully! I gave him Sunday off to settle in. I took him out to groom, but he is still a little bit studdy (to be expected at this point!) so when the mom and baby walked by him he got a little excited. I let him go back to his stall to calm down before finishing our grooming session. Later in the day he got to have a few hours out in one of the med paddocks. (Grass paddocks are closed now because it's been so rainy.) And he seemed to enjoy that.

Today he even turned out next to an old mare and he behaved himself just fine out there. So that bodes well for the future!

Monday the body worker came so he got to have a nice adjustment after all the surgery and traveling he's done. Lucky boy! 

And today was our first ride! I had the trainer ride him first. You know. Just in case. She let him play on the lunge line first, since we're not really sure if he's been back to work since he was gelded. Might have had over a month off... Hard to say for sure. I should have asked. Oops. Anyway, he was fresh on the lunge line, but just wanted to canter a little fast, no real antics. And wasn't a puller. Also bodes well for the future. 

Once she got on, he was very sensible. A little tense, and was looky at the end of the ring. But it was noisy down there due to it being a very windy day, and there are some banners on the wall that a lot of the horses like to stare at. His "spooky" reaction was just to stare and wiggle a little. No attempts to spin or run away. So all good things so far! I got on after she flatted him for a while and just did some quick walk, trot, and canter each way. Didn't want to torture him the first day or anything! He didn't put a foot wrong, and I'm really feeling excited about him!

So that's today's confession! I bought a horse! 

What's Up Wednesday

Buckle up kids, an awful lot happened this week! I'm going to go out of order, because if you follow my social media, I'm sure you're dying for a proper introduction. And if you don't, well... my family and I bought a new horse yesterday! Unicorn 2.0 seems to be what we were looking for, and he officially became a Seidman yesterday.

We have to work on the media situation, as I am desperately lacking. But I'll introduce you anyway!
His name is Eros (he has just the one name, but honestly, I think he needs a better barn name. Eros doesn't roll of the tongue) and he is an Oldenburg. He's nine years old, liver chestnut (as you can see), and in the words of Tracy from Fly On Over Eq, he has fabulous hair.

He's shown in the hunters a bit, up to the 3'3" greens. His main job with us is to be my step mom's horse for her to learn on, but I also will get to ride and show him.

We get along famously on the flat, but we have a lot of work to do over fences. He likes to get a little strong jumping, and I love to pull which kind of irritates him. But I'm confident we'll figure each other out.

He's a total love, and has pretty amazing manners on the ground. I think he'll fit right into our family. I've been riding him almost every day, and my step mom plans to ride three or four times a week. I'd like to get our schedule worked out so he doesn't do too many double ride days. But she doesn't work him very hard, so I also want to make sure he works enough each day.

Speaking of working horses... I rode Eddie a whole bunch last week in preparation for our first show over fences. I'm really starting to like that horse. He's so unflappable, even when I make stupid mistakes. Anyway, I rode him Friday and Saturday to prep for our show on Sunday. Here's a little clip from Saturday:

As you can see, we're keeping the jumps small while we get to know each other. We only jumped 2'3" at the show. I think maybe next time we can do the 2'6" though. I felt like I needed to know he wouldn't be looky at the jumps before I tried to jump bigger.
So let's talk about the show! It was very low key. I think the largest division all day had five people in it. My division only had two.

Despite the small attendance, the day kind of took forever. We got there way too early, and Ed had a lot of time to fill his belly while we waited. He seemed to like that just fine. Eventually, it was time to get dressed and get on.

I really love show clothes.

They allow a short time to school before starting the classes, so I definitely took advantage of that. I was feeling a little anxious, just because it's been so long since I've prepared my own horse... or you know, actually showed. After cantering the first jump though, I knew we'd be just fine. Eddie doesn't care what you put in front of him, he just wants to jump all the things. He rode almost the same as he does at home, but maybe a bit more forward (which is quite nice in his case).
Our first class was going fairly well. The only bauble during the first half of the course was that one line rode pretty tight, and we chipped out. That would have been ok, and probably still would have won the class... but the last jump was a long approach vertical going away from the gate. I must have been running out of steam, because Eddie broke to trot a few strides out. It was a lovely trot jump! But we were supposed to canter it. Maybe we were just showing off how handy he can be?! I think a lovely trot jump should earn some bonus points! Anyway, we were second in that class.

 The second trip was much better. The tight line was our first one this time, so it rode more easily. The only negatives to this round was that Ed swapped his lead in front of two of the fences. Just something for us to work on, and a little of his greenness coming through. We won that class!
I was feeling really good going into our third trip. It was the same course as the first though, so I REALLY wanted to make that quiet line ride perfectly. I found exactly the spot in that I wanted, sat up to get his stride just right early on. It was going to be perfect! So I softened.... You know what happens when you soften on Eddie? He trots, that's what. You guys, we trotted the oxer out of the line! DOH! The rest was lovely. Honestly, if you could omit that one jump, it was pretty perfect. Even held all his leads! But alas, second again. We won the flat though! The two of us riders in the 2'3" training hunters technically tied for champion, but since the other rider had more points over jumps, we finished in reserve.
Overall, Eddie and I had SO MUCH FUN at the show. I can't wait to go to the next one. I need to get stronger still with my legs and Eddie could help out a little more with maintaining his pace, but we're definitely on the right track.

I've been super busy with these red headed boys lately, but that doesn't mean my brown haired guys are getting neglected. Not completely anyway. We've been doing some late night walks during the week. Most nights Jamp even almost behaves.

And both weekend days we got to walk in the daylight. Saturday was chilly, sheet weather even!

But Sunday was like summer again. So that was much more pleasant.

Jamp has zero interest in selfies whilst walking

And now for the other random stuff... The pugs had their annual check up on Saturday morning. Pretty much everything looks great, though P has a lump behind her ear with some unidentifiable cells. We're sending that sample out to find out what's up, but hopefully it's nothing. Keep your fingers crossed, if you can!

Ok... I think that's everything. It was quite a week, but all very exciting and wonderful things happening! I've sacrificed sleep and any sort of organization in my home, but honestly, it's totally worth it.