Truthful Tuesday

 

Phew. After last weeks turmoil, I'm reluctant to admit anything anymore... But this is my space to talk about my experiences and feelings so fear not! Truthful Tuesday is here to stay. Today though, I am going to use this space to share my background again. I think it's only fair that my new readers learn a little about me, and perhaps why I think and do the things I do. This is an abridged version. There were lots of horses and rides that happened amongst what I'll talk about today. But these were the highlights.

I'm 41 years old. I've seen and done a fair amount. As a kid, our family business was in its fledgling years and I started in horses on the lower end of the spectrum. I took lessons for a couple of years, then leased a lesson horse for a summer. 

Bear With It and 8 year old me in a school horse show

After that summer, a family friend had a horse for care lease available, and so I leased that horse for a year. 

Hershel, with my at 9 in Maiden Fences

After that year, I got my own horse. 

Comedy Act and 10 year old me in the Children's Hunters

He was a four figure older horse, who taught me a ton, and was the cutest thing ever. I only had him a year, as he was an amazing teacher and we were both ready to move on. And that's when I got my first green horse. 

Just Humour Me and 11 year old me doing a jumper class
for extra ring time. He was coming five here.

We had a tough first year learning together, with lots of ups and downs. But by the end of that year, we really had our poo together and were winning champion or reserve pretty much every time we showed. (Mostly thanks to my horse, I know where the credit goes.) He turned into an AMAZING hunter. He showed up through the 4' division with pros like Leslie Howard and Molly Ashe-Cawley. They only rode him at the shows though. Most of his training I did myself, with help when needed along the way. And of course with good eyes on the ground to help me. No one does anything alone in the horse world. Together, Just Humour Me and I managed to qualify for indoors five years in a row and even went to Devon in 1997. 

Just Humour Me and 14 year old me at Harrisburg
in the 3'6" Junior Hunters

Just Humour Me and 17 year old me at Devon in
the 3'6" Junior Hunters

We always had to manage Bud (aka Just Humour Me) carefully as he was prone to colic episodes. Back then we didn't know as much about horse's tummies and we never knew we should scope him to see what was going on. I took Bud with me to college in 1998, and sadly that October I lost him to what we thought was colic, but turned out to be an enterolith that had caused an impaction. I kept pushing on though!

I got my jumper Cosmo that following spring. I had shown the jumpers with a really incredible little mare the summer before I went to college, but Cosmo was the first jumper I owned. We spent a year in the high adults before moving up to the low A/O's.

Cosmo with a 20 year old me in the low A/O jumpers

Cosmo was the toughest horse to ride that I've ever had. He was very honest and would jump fire, but he might jump it with his legs hanging down. We didn't have a lot of clean rounds, but I learned a lot from him. After college, he was having some soundness trouble. We tried and tried to troubleshoot it, but at the end of the day, he needed to step down. So that's when Ontario (Rio) came into my life. 

Ontario with a 20 something year old me in the low A/O's. 
(I'm not sure what year this was.)

Rio and I were successful in the jumper ring, winning some decent classes at the 1.30 height eventually. We also dabbled in some hunter and equitation classes. He was a winner in every one of those rings. Even finishing in second place at our local medal final one year! 

After Rio, I continued riding and showing with Jampy. We did the high adults for a year, but needed a reset and started showing in the hunters and equitation instead. Jamp excelled in the equitation ring, and so that's where we stayed. And then he got older and eventually my riding time was less and less as I cared for my older horses. I've been trying for six years now to get back to the show ring. Along the way, I've gotten pretty rusty, and am not really the rider I was back then. I hope to be again, but it's hard to get an older body and mind to do the things they did when they were young. The more practice I get though, the more it's coming back! And just because I'm not in the same place physically, I still have all the knowledge that came with me on this journey. 

Aside from my time in the saddle, I have plenty of equine experience on the ground too. I worked in the equine industry as a groom and braider in college. After college I was a barn manager at a stable that housed 64 horses. 44 of them were donated school horse, so there was a lot to manage health and soundness wise. When I left that job, I decided being an equine professional was not something I wanted to pursue. I certainly could have been at that point in my life. I was riding the best I ever had and as many as 10 horses a day (but usually 4-6). Instead, I opted to join the family business and keep myself in the amateur rings. 

And so here I am. I bring with me all these years of experiences. The successes and failures. I know what works for me and what doesn't. I know when I need help. I know I can't do everything myself, and that I'm not a horse trainer by trade. But I'm not one to blindly do what I'm told if I don't think it's right or it's not working for my horse and I in the moment. That doesn't mean I think what I'm told is wrong. It's just not the right thing in that moment in time. And that's perfectly okay.