Thursday's Threads

Happy Outfit day everyone! You should be SO PROUD of me because I remembered to get pics of my riding outfit this weekend, knowing I would likely be rained out this week. So let's start there!

What an unflattering pose. Lol. I forgot to grab a photo of my helmet, but I wore the green Charles Owen with this outfit.

Jacket: Skidmore College

It was hot in the indoor we went to, so I didn't actually wear this to ride, but since I had it on most of the day otherwise I figured I'd include it. I got this one at reunion in 2017. I love the color, and it is super soft and warm. Fleecy jackets, though annoying because hay and stuff sticks to them, are my favorite. They're comfortable to move around in, and you can throw them right in the washer and dryer.

Shirt: Ariat

You guys have seen this one before, last time with a brown puffy vest. It wasn't quite vest weather, so it got to stand alone this time.

Belt: Sandy Duftler

I have two of these, a black and a brown from Sandy Duftler. I thought they were just knock-offs of the Ralph Lauren belt that's like $800 but then I saw the name on the inside and was like OHHH! The spur belt lady! I think I like this design better with a side zip breech, but it did the job here too.

Breeches: The George Morris Collection

These really seem to fit better than a lot of the other JPC brands. Not sure why. But I like them! Doesn't hurt that they're my barn colors. I should probably get a second pair.

Boots: Regals

One of these days I'll get back to breaking in boots. But in the meantime, it's pretty much all Regals all the time.

So that's what I wore to ride this weekend. Now let's see what I have on today!

Yeah... that's a lot of denim. It's cute denim though!

Top: Ralph Lauren

This top was mega on sale in the clearance section at the outlet, and I thought it was super cute. I'm not sure why, but it screams fall to me. I've always had a thing for bandana prints. And snap buttons.

Belt: No brand

I'm not exactly sure what search led me to this belt on ebay... but once I saw it, I had to own it. Who doesn't need a horse's ass belt?! Plus the western-y belt seemed to work with my bandana print today.

Jeans: Mavi

Just your basic dark wash blue jeans here today. Super stretchy. Super comfy.

Shoes: Rocket Dog

The same day I got the shirt I also stopped in the Tommy Hilfiger outlet. And they had the cutest bandana shoes on sale. Unfortunately, not in my size. So I took to the interwebs and found these Rocket Dog sneakers. So comfy. And yes, I'm actually wearing socks today. Boo.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

I made this wrap bracelet quite awhile ago. Originally I wanted to use that fabric for one of the horse head bracelets, but it was too thick to fit. It looks nice on its own though!

Righty:

I think this little denim stack was one of my first horse head creations. They're both actually a hair too big, but hey, I was a rookie then!

That's it for today! Any favorites? Bandana print: yay or nay?

What's Up Wednesday

Late again! Work's been nuts lately. This is going to be pretty short and sweet since the last What's Up Wednesday was on Saturday night...
Sunday I was up fairly early to ride the Unicorn one last time. He was perfect as he's always been. I hope we find another just like him! After unicorn time, it was Eddie time!
The original plan for Sunday was to take Eddie to a horse show. But Eddie's mom and I decided to change that plan when we realized the show we were going to was indoors. We aren't sure if Eddie's every even been in an indoor ring, and didn't think it fair to make him show in one for the possibly first time. Especially because that particular show has a pretty spooky indoor. Instead, we decided to bring him a dressage barn not too far away and ride him in their indoor.

He was extraordinarily unimpressed. Which was great! We let him lunge a little just in case (plus he wasn't ridden Saturday) and then I hopped on and had a great ride. We jumped a little raised cavaletti on the short side a bunch of times, which is super challenging for us. But I think I finally realized what some of my troubles have been with jumping him. When I come out of the turn and see that stay the same and it will be perfect distance, I can't just keep leg to maintain the canter, I have to actually add leg on him to maintain the canter. He's not super motivated, but truthfully, I don't mind the leg ride. I just have to get a little stronger and remember how to use it! I'm really having a lot of fun with him.
I had planned to go grab a lobster roll at the lake after riding, but it was kind of a dreary day and they had closed early. Boo. But I had my horses to walk and groom, so it was probably for the best that I keep moving! It was kind of a long day, but since it was full of horses, I have no complaints!
Monday was a chilly day. Like stupid chilly. You already know. I complained about it yesterday. But the horses got their walks, and Rio got to have some grass. Unfortunately, Tuesday was a complete wash out. It rained steadily all day, but by evening it was like the sky had fallen. I don't have any idea where this storm came from, but it was a doozy! Not really windy or anything like that, but so much rain! My town got over 7 inches in one day. And I had the bright idea to go to grocery store in that! It was a real miracle my car started this morning after some of the standing water I had to drive through. I had a couple of inches of water in the basement and my chimney was leaking too!

You'll have to excuse this creepy basement... That insulation keeps falling down and it regularly floods. 

However, THIS doesn't normally happen!

A few smaller bridges and several roads have completely washed out in my town and neighboring ones. Fortunately, I haven't heard of anyone being injured, so that's good. We were supposed to have some severe weather again tonight, but I think it stayed north of us. So far anyway.
Normally on Wednesdays I ride Eddie after work but I didn't because of the forecast. I am planning to ride him Friday though. I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk the horses tonight after all that rain yesterday, but the ring wasn't too bad. We stayed on the front half and it was actually pretty dry.
And that's it! What's up with you this Wednesday? Get to any shows or lessons this weekend? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday

I'm just gonna whine about the weather and shorter days today. It went from 90 degrees and humid to 55 and raining in like a minute and half it seems like. I mean, I get that it's fall, but isn't it supposed to be 75 for a little while? It was in the forties the other night! My horses are wearing sheets! This is ridiculous. Not to mention how early it's dark already.
Last night I was a little late getting out of work. By the time I got myself organized and took Jamp out of his stall for his walk, it was almost dark out. So I walked first and groomed second. Jamp's not known for his bravery outside under the lights... But he was actually a good boy, so I'm hopeful I'll be able to keep hand walking him at least until there's ice and snow everywhere.
The only bright side is the incredible sunsets that come with fall. I tried to grab a few snaps Sunday while grazing Rio in the evening. I couldn't do the colors justice with my phone though.

 In theory, I like the concept of fall. The leaves changing color is pretty, and I'm a fan of things that taste like pumpkin. But that's about all I like. I hate when it gets below 70. I'll be cold to the bone until summer comes back. And I am not a fan of it being dark all the time. Nor naked trees. Yuck. I swear if my horses were healthier I'd find a way to move them to Florida for the winter. I do have it in my contract that I can work remotely, so it's somewhat feasible.... It's a good thing I love them so much!

Ok, I'm done whining... for now. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow (though still raining) so hopefully I'll be in a better mood! Are you enjoying fall so far? What's your favorite season?

What's up Wednesday: Saturday edition

Heh... Better late than never amiright?! You guys. The past week+ has been a complete whirlwind. Let's back allllll the way up to last week. Thursday the boys got their teeth done and their fall shots. Jampy got some new x-rays too so he could get shod. (All's good as can be, so yay!) I can't remember anything special about Friday. So let's skip to the weekend.
Saturday morning I ran a few errands, and then met my dad and stepmom to go look at our first horse to try! You guys. He's an actual unicorn. He let me pop him over a few little jumps and then my stepmom got on and he packed her around like an angel.

Oh and yeah, he's big and white like a unicorn. Seriously.
After meeting this one, I went straight home to ride Eddie. We had a horse show the next day, and I wanted to practice a little. He was very good and I thought we were ready to show. Especially since we were just going to do some flat classes. After that I took care of the boys at home, and then had a hot date with my pillow. I was pooped!
We didn't have to leave early Sunday which was awesome. Neighbor picked me up at 9 and we were at the horse show a little before 10. We had a bit of a wait, but I got on early to see how he was feeling. Eddie's never been to a one day show, so we didn't know what to expect. At home, he's REALLY lazy. Like leg every step kind of guy. But he wasn't like that at the show. Which was mostly nice, but he was just a bit more fresh than was ideal I think. He never stepped out of line, but he also didn't work down as much as I would have liked before the class.
Our classes were out on the grass hunt course. It's not a huge ring, but it's a decent size, complete with some slightly hilly areas. Eddie is from Ocala, so he's not especially used to terrain like that. He thought it was SUPER fun to canter down! The first class went ok, I made a few circles to keep his attention, and he was a little tense. But overall it went fine. There were four horses in the class and we finished in second. Respectable for sure!
The second class was just a few minutes later, and it was just two of us. He was a little more relaxed this time. But I messed us up in the second direction. I knew he'd get rolling down the hill at the canter, so I went to balance him a bit, and he broke to the trot. Just for a second, but the judge totally saw it. Oops. Second again. Out of two. My bad. We were going to wait around and do the warm up before the 2' division just to practice, but it was going to be awhile and Eddie's mom decided we should skip it. He was pretty up still so it probably wouldn't have been the best experience. I was totally on board with that decision.

Still got satin.

After the pony show, it was home for the usual. Walking the boys, getting the pups out, and the last concert at the lake for the season. (I'm so sad summer is over you guys.)

I stayed till the end, chatting with some friends. It's like I can't let go... (I totally can't.)

Bye summer.

Monday I spent trying to get my work done and also touch base with the unicorn's connections about a trial, and the boarding barn about a stall. I got all those things worked out and we decided he would arrive on Wednesday. All very exciting, but Wednesday was pretty packed full already. Thankfully his arrival fit in my schedule. Which looked like this:
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Yom Kippur Services
1 PM Unicorn arrival and maybe a quick hack
3 PM walk the boys and feed
5 PM meet up with mom and finally break the Yom Kippur fast
6 PM get on the road for the Elton John concert

Well. You know what they say about the best laid plans. Unicorn actually didn't leave on time, so he wasn't going to arrive until 3:30. I took care of my boys first, but that wasn't going to give me enough time to ride unfortunately. I didn't want to literally pull him off the trailer and get on. So I let him settle into his stall, and then just took him for a hand walk. Everything else worked out fine.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! Badger was vetted on Tuesday, and Wednesday I had an offer! We went back and forth a bit and settled on a number both parties were happy with. So it's official! Badger has a new mommy! And they love each other to pieces! It's the best news all around.

And after that amazing news, mom and I headed off to see Elton John in his farewell tour. 

The show was AMAZING! As you might expect.

It was back to work on Thursday, but afterward I went to finally ride the unicorn. My stepmom got to have her lesson on him earlier in the day, and he was perfect. I asked the trainer to hop on first just to make sure. Reports were all glowing. I didn't want to do too much since he's already worked, but I wanted to sit on him still, so we just had a quick flat. He was lovely!

My own vet happened to be in the area the next day, but ideally I wanted to wait until Monday to vet him so we could all ride him a little more. Unfortunately, vet won't be around then. So Friday morning, step mom had another lesson, and the trainer jumped him around a bit. He was very good, but a bit spicy over jumps. Fair enough, new place and all. I said to go ahead with the vetting that day. Unfortunately there was something Doc found that caused me to have reservations. I decided to think on it overnight before making any decisions.
Whilst mulling over the news from the vet, I headed over to neighbor's after work to ride my buddy Eddie. I think we had our best ride yet. We strung together a bunch of fences, including a line, a roll back, and tight turn over a little jump in the center of the ring. He was really rideable, and my rusty eye found most of the jumps. Maybe there's hope for us yet!

Then it was home to groom the boys and do some chores in the barn. I can't begin to tell you how quickly I fall asleep these days! So busy, but all good things.
This morning my plan was to get to the bank to send the commission money to the amazing trainer that helped me sell Badger. But again, best laid plans and all.... Evidently, you can't send a wire on a Saturday. I first got the wire for Badger on Friday, and since the vet was out for unicorn, I didn't have time at lunch to wire the money to trainer. Hence why I was doing it Saturday. So I sent her a text and said I could either wire on Monday, or if she didn't mind I could drop off a personal check some time today. She was flexible and had no issue waiting, but I hate owing money, and she worked so quickly for me, I said I'd bring the check today, but it would be evening time. She said that was great.

Phew. So after the post office and the useless trip to the bank, I got home to meet the farrier. Boys got pedi's and new sneaks.

Next stop was out to ride unicorn along with my stepmom. We were going to have a family meeting along with the trainer to make a decision. We both had a nice ride, but ultimately decided we should continue our search. Unicorn is available for lease as well though, so if we don't find something, we may revisit him. It's disappointing. He's really a sweet guy and is happy to do both jobs we're asking for. But we also want to be smart. He's the first horse we even looked at after all.
I let his humans know our decision, and they're still trying to convince us we need him. I don't totally disagree with them, truthfully, but I think we need to see some other options. I let them know we'd come back if we don't find something else that would do the job.
Next up I walked my boys and then drove the hour up to drop off the commission check. It's really a pretty drive up there. Plus I got to see Badger and say goodbye.

He's actually staying there, his new mom rides at that barn with the same trainer. Could that be any better? Nope. It couldn't possibly be a better situation!
And now I've finally caught up from last week here on the blog. I guess this coming Wednesday will be pretty short and sweet since I've covered half of this week already... oh well. We'll make do I'm sure.

Thursday's Threads, and what happend to What's up Wednesday?!

Happy outfit day! Let's just get to the pink elephant in the room first shall we? What happened to What's up Wednesday this week?! Well, my friends. My Wednesday was insane. All totally wonderful things, but so many of them that there wasn't any time to blog. And I want to get some (or at least one) of them more final before I tell you all about them anyway. I'm going to try and get that up tomorrow though. We'll see how the work day goes.
Ok, back to the regularly scheduled blog post... I do have outfits for you today! But they're a little... half assed. Hey, I'm all about the honesty here at Amateur at Large! I have good reasons for the half assedry though. I was expecting to ride yesterday, but then things didn't go to plan, so I wasn't able to. Fortunately, I took some photos of my show outfit... unfortunately it was minus the jacket, boots, and hat. But those were the same ones I wore to Skidmore back in June, though so you're not missing anything. And as for today? I was too sleep deprived to make an effort today.  For my mom's birthday I had gotten her floor seats to see this guy:

And thus, I'm exhausted today. #sorrynotsorry

We can start with my show outfit from the weekend.

And a small part of my unmade bed... I'm not domestic goddess that's for sure. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned, but I really love show clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love fun colors and all of that, but I just think tan breeches and a white shirt is so classy. Not to mention, this particular outfit is rather flattering, at least I think!

Shirt: Essex Classics

Tack of the day had these on sale a few years back for $49 so I stocked up on shirts. I LOVE this one with the wine theme. It even has a little corkscrew! I call this the AA shirt, but for Adult Ammy and not the other AA clearly.

Belt: No brand

I snagged this patent belt on Ebay and it didn't have a brand. I've seen some from Gucci like this though, so I think it might be a knock off. I like the bit design on the buckle.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

I have a love hate relationship with TS breeches. I love that they come in side zip. And I triple times ten love how they fit. No saggy crotch from these! It's like they were tailored just for me. I wish they'd get some sock bottoms on them though. The velcro don't bother me, I don't get rubs or anything. I've just really come to appreciate the sock bottom. I also do not love the price tag. I managed to snag these when a local tack store closed up shop for 20% off, but that never happens otherwise. And I hear some pretty terrible things about the woman who runs the brand. So yeah. Love-hate relationship.

That's it for my riding outfit! Now on to today's work outfit.

I call this casual, yet classy. Alternate titles: "Too tired to care" or "It was already on top of the washer"

Top: Ralph Lauren

I collected a few of these shirts. They look like a traditional button down, but the material is like what you see on their polo shirts. Meaning they don't really wrinkle and they can wash and dry. Though all things Ralph Lauren shrink like crazy, so I probably won't dry them. Living near an outlet is super dangerous as I have three of these in different colors. It's so useful though. Looks nice for work but would also looks fab with breeches!

Belt: Mane Jane

Yep, nothing new here. Though there or may or may not be a new one in the mail right now for me....

Jeans: Hudson

I rarely use the term favorite when describing articles of clothing. You've seen my collection. How do you pick a favorite?! But this pair of pants may be close to receiving that title. They're a great shade of blue, stretchy, and the perfect ankle length on me.

Shoes: Sperry

These blue Sperry's are a very close match to the stripes on my shirt. They're from the kids department, but they probably have them for adults too. I love the glittery look to the material.
And that's it for today. I'm wearing my watch, but otherwise no arm party to speak of. Hopefully I'll have a better outfit day for you all next week. Have a favorite from today? Get any new clothes or accessories that you're excited about?

Truthful Tuesday: The One with the Ego

As I mentioned last week, I went to a horse show this weekend! It was just a little one day about 35-40 minutes north of my house. But it was SO FUN to get back into show clothes and be out in horsey public again!
I'll recap that more tomorrow, but I wanted to chat about the feelings today. Since I started showing when I was 10, it's been pretty much nonstop. As a junior, I boarded at a barn that hosted shows all year round, so even in the less busy time, I was still competing regularly. College was the same. We didn't travel to shows in the winter, but my school's barn hosted a few shows throughout the season.
My point is, this three year stretch was the longest I've gone without competing horses.
It's been so long, that I was LEGALLY allowed to show as a modified adult. I haven't ever been eligible for that division. And it might seem unfair to the other riders for me to be in there, do remember I'm sitting on a green horse. And it was hunters. So fair enough.
Anyway, Eddie was a good boy at the show, but he was pretty excited. He's never been to a one day show before. He's never been on a REAL grass field. You get the idea.

literally the ONLY photo I took at the show...

 But despite all these things, my ego still thought we'd probably win the classes. He's a great mover after all. And we were just flatting. (Which was weird to me in itself... go all the way to a show and just flat?! But really, that's all we were ready for.)
Spoiler Alert: We didn't win. 
And you know what? I'm kind of glad we didn't. It shows how much work we need to do, and it reminded me that the rider I once was, is not the rider I am right now. My ego needed that little check. While it was disappointing to not win our classes, it was good for me to see that I need to work harder. Get stronger. I know that rider is still in there. She just needs to get more fit and find herself again.
Eddie's mom made a really good point. She reminded me that I've only ridden him about 6 times. If he were my own new horse, that's not even a week together yet. I can't expect to know everything about a new horse in a week! Never mind the fitness issues... (Mine not Eddie's.)
Have you ever had unrealistic expectations? And/or a bit of an ego? I think the answer to my issues right now is just lots more time in the saddle. But how did you overcome that? Any hints or tips?

If I had a trillion dollars: A Blog Hop

Olivia over at Hellomylivia started a fun blog hop about how her horse life might be different with more moolah. Who doesn't like to fantasize about life with an unlimited horse budget?! I definitely enjoy that past time. So what would I do? Buckle up kids, it's gonna be a fun little fantasy.

In all honesty, I don't think I would move. I love my little farm. But I would definitely make some changes. First off, there'd be some surveying of my property to see what's really wetlands and what isn't. Next up, I'd buy the two properties between my house and the next side street. They're not for sale technically... but everyone has a number. And I have a trillion dollars.

My property is the yellow outline (more or less). As you can see, there's a large wooded area I'm not using because much of it is considered wetlands, and it's heavily wooded. The two neighbors are in blue. I would buy those places, knock down the buildings and create lovely grass paddocks. And maybe throw an indoor up in the wooded area if I could pull that off.

Next I would hire a better landscaper. Pretty tired of my place being an afterthought. Would love to have my planters actually planted again.

Within the past two years I already replaced my truck and trailer, so I'm all set in that department. But I think I'd hire myself someone to drive it. I kind of hate hauling to be honest.

I would also hire a barn manager. It would be a pretty cushy job since I like to be in charge of everything. But this way, I'd have someone on the books full time that could tend to the kids if I want to go away, or if I'm off showing with just some of the horses.


Which leads to the fun part... What would I do for horses?! Well obviously the first thing I would do is clone Rio. I'd probably do one a year. I would hate to run out of Rios.

Since I wouldn't have a rideable Rio for about four years, I would still need to find some horses to ride and show. I would get myself a lovely A/O hunter and a high AA jumper. (I don't want to die over 4'6", I just got rich)! And I'd also get a mini. Because who doesn't want a mini?

Since I wouldn't have to work anymore I'd have plenty of time to ride everyday and hang out with Jamp and Rio of course. I'd definitely get back to showing regularly.

Come winter, I'd be down in Florida. I wouldn't bother with my own place, but I would rent out stalls at my trainer's barn and take my full time groom down with me. That job isn't too hard either. Mostly just stall cleaning and turnouts/in. I like to feed and groom. I'd probably let her/him get them cleaned up for shows though.

So what stuff would I buy? That's a fun question!
I probably have enough boots already... But if something new and exciting came out, I'm sure I'd grab that. I would probably replace my Hermes saddle with a new one, but custom made this time. Probably one for each horse. Why not? I have a trillion dollars. I'd probably have another shopping spree at Boy O Boy Bridleworks AND at Dark Horse Jewels. No such thing as too many browbands.

Speaking of stuff... I'd have my house renovated and figure out a better way to organize all my crap. I might do that in real anyway, because the clutter is driving me bananas.

And the last thing I would do? Hire a chef and a personal trainer. I want to fit back into all my show clothes! I'd have plenty of free time for working out, and I'm too lazy to cook for myself. Having people help me in these areas would be ideal.

I think that's about it. What do you think I forgot? What would you do if you had a trillion dollars?