In the last few days, I have had the best rides on Duke in months. We had gotten to a point where we were stuck, unmotivated and I was honestly confused about how to move forward. Then I went to audit an Allison Springer clinic and it was awesome. It totally transformed our success in … More Dressage is Actually Fun
Omg this week has both flown by (how is it already Thursday?!) and dragged (how is it only Thursday?!). Regardless, I’m a bit late on getting the show recap up. Hey, I’ve been a bit preoccupied with things like finding dishes and silverware and clothes among all the boxes in our new house, plus the … More Sundance HT: Dressage & Show Jumping
Here we are again, folks! Yes, I did two horse trials in two weekends, and yes, they were both more than 4-and-a-half hours away, and yes, I am exhausted. No, I don’t regret a moment of it! This horse trials was great because it was set over three days instead of two (or one, like … More Otter Creek Summer HT: Dressage
We had a really fun weekend at Catalpa Corner Horse Trials – a new venue for our crew! This was my move-up to Novice, and I was kind of worried about forgetting the Dressage test. We did Novice Test B. I went over it and over it in my mind, and finally decided the worst … More Catalpa Corner HT: Dressage
My first show of the season is in the books! The days leading up to the show were…not promising, weather-wise. We really did need the rain but, like, maybe not on the day of the show? Thankfully, it turned out just fine. We did get rained on a bit on Friday, and there was plenty … More Silverwood Summer HT: Dressage
Duke is officially done with bitless riding! We had a dressage lesson last night and it was fantastic. I felt really great about how I rode – not perfect but pretty solid – and I was able to make some small changes that really improved the connection. Duke feels super. He recently had a massage, … More And We’re Back
As per usual, riding horses is really good at making me think I figured something out and then laughing in my face about it. As I explained in my last post, Duke likes to get hollow in his back and go around in a pretend long and low frame. This becomes extra apparent in downward … More Reverse Idiot Epiphanies
You guys ever have the experience while riding, where you suddenly have this epiphany about something that feels totally earth-shattering and then you say it out loud and you’re like. Oh. Duh. That happened to me recently. Some background. Duke had kissing spine surgery a little over a year ago. We like to baby his … More Idiot Epiphanies
Whoo-ee, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. My black eye has faded, and I have since been on a heckuva fun trip that’ll get its own post later this week. Nothing like returning home from vacation with one week to spare before your first recognized horse trials. I had a dressage lesson … More Back to Dressage-ing
Remember that time I told you guys that this summer I would be riding a horse named Artie who was a jumper but we’d be trying out eventing together? Scratch that. In the past few weeks, I learned that I will instead be competing with a horse named Duke. We’re sticking with the paint horse theme … More Meet Duke
