It’s Show Time! Beginner Horse Hunter Division at Greenstone

One braid on her body! Looooooved having the roached mane at this show.

I went into this show thinking three things:

1. I was excited to try out the lessons I had learned at the Hunter Pace the week before.
2. The 2’3″ jumps in my home arena were looking big, and I was scared of the fence height.
3. It was really hot and really muggy and I was afraid of having enough horse.

The show was only about a ten minute drive from our barn, and we were entered in the first afternoon class of the day, so it was a very late morning, as shows go! Getting up at 9 is way better than getting up at 4:30 – no complaints there.

Robbye got on the trailer on her first try – using her big girl brain right away! – and when we got to the venue I put her chain over her nose before we got out of the trailer. This strategy worked really well – though she was much less dramatic than she has been before, I still was able to feel well in control when she started screaming and her brain shut off.

We took a long walk around the venue, and received lots of compliments on my crazy horse. I have to admit, Robbye’s certainly nice to look at when she’s all puffed up.

Puffed up Robbye at the hunter pace. There was a professional photographer at the show, which I was super pumped about – I love buying photos! – but she seems to have disappeared and I can’t get in touch with anyone to find her name 😦

By the time we returned to our trailer, Rob was much calmer (!!!) and our warm-up round was being called to prepare. Perfect timing; I wanted to do most of my warm-up in the ring to preserve her energy…and mine.

Our warm-up in the warm-up ring was completely undramatic. No bucking, no bolting, no screaming. Nice transitions, nicely forward, just a couple small fences then it was time for our warm-up round in the ring!

…And it was great. Robbye enjoyed the hell out of the round. She galloped out, locked onto every fence, and completed very cute little simple changes. She didn’t even consider running out of anything, until we approached a slightly weird-looking fence and I chickened out. I saw it and just knew she was going to run out, and I’m sure that’s the only reason she did! But she took it on our second try, and I was very pleased.

Best of all, the jumps didn’t look large to me at all. The fill didn’t frighten me, and I was much more nervous about the show environment than I was about the fence height. Confidence wise, I hope I’m finally getting back to where I was before my fall.

At this point the heat was just unbearable, and you could practically swim in the air it was so humid. I knew I wasn’t going to have any chance of qualifying for the division high points, and I really was just there for the jumping experience, so I scratched from the flat class. I’m very happy with that decision, since Robbye got to get entirely untacked while we waited for jumping to resume.

For our first judged round, Rob was just as awesome as in her warm-up round. Very forward, nice little simple changes when she didn’t land on her leads, and having a lot of fun. Sadly, there was a weird, scary sound on our approach to the same fence she had run out on the warm-up round, and I really just let her run out on it again. GAH!

For our second judged course, I was determined to earn a clear round. Didn’t have to be pretty – damn it I’m never going to be a hunter and neither is she! – but I wanted it to be a zero-fault round.

The “Annye-thinks-it’s-scary” fence was the second to last jump. We had jumped clear up to there.

As I landed from the fence before it, I immediately began talking to myself. “We’re going to get this jump, Annye. First try, Rob. It’s not scary. It’s like 2′ tall. We want a clean round!”

And…over we went.

Why yes, this is the best photo I got of Robbye. >.<

As we landed, I yelled, “Good GIRL, Rob!”. Maybe we would have placed better without it, but I was just so happy. We haven’t had a jumping round without any runouts, stops, or rails in…two years, probably. We’re finally getting to the point where I’m brave enough and she’s submissive enough to complete courses without making those kinds of silly mistakes.

That feels SO. GOOD.

And we ended up placing fifth out of nine, which I’m quite pleased with. Simple changes, yelling, and all.

I still feel silly celebrating such a little fence when last year I was doing 3′ courses. But I’m trying to get over it. Truly, we’re at a better place now than we were last summer, even after our crash.

And it really does feel good to get “not-last-place”, too.

Honeymoon #1

This is a good time for wedding photos, right? (The Carrs are amazing!)

In less than a month, Zeke and I will be off on our first of two honeymoons – this one to Chicago!

(Side note – planning our honeymoons almost a year after our wedding has been awesome. Gives us something to look forward to instead of being sad about the wedding being over, allows us to spend a lot more money on the trips, and is less stressful since we’re only planning one event at a time!)

Here’s our schedule so far:

	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Monday 6/22	Museum of Science and Industry	Museum of Science and Industry
Tuesday 6/23	Field Museum	Field Museum
Wednesday 6/24	Peggy Notebart Nature Museum	Lincoln Park Zoo	Twilight Safari
Thursday 6/25	Shedd Aquarium	Adler Planetarium
Friday 6/26			Ponycon dinner
Saturday 6/27	Ponycon	Ponycon	Ponycon
Sunday 6/28	traveling	traveling	home

Anyone who has visited or lived in Chicago have any recommendations or critiques? I’d love to hear any opinions, especially if you’d like to fill in the holes in our schedule!

Journal: Keeping At It

There a lot of things I want to change about myself in these photos… But the progress that Robbye has made is just STAGGERING to me.

Early this winter, when the weather was horrible, I was still trying to get over a horrible fall, Robbye seemed to be stagnating once again, and riding just plain wasn’t any fun, I made an ultimatum: if we weren’t making any progress by spring, I’d put Robbye up for sale.

The thought of doing that now makes me want to cry. The fact of that matter is – six months ago I didn’t like Rob very much. She’s obstinate, dominant, and not very affectionate. She didn’t seem to have any desire at all to work.

Kim, Newton, and Julie

And then we found Kim. Kim had new words and new ideas for us. She made me throw away the equitation I’d worked so hard for, and forced me to maintain dominance over Robbye.

And it’s funny – now that the mare and I have a more “horsey” relationship, I like her a lot more. I know that I have to kick her ass once a day or so. But that’s okay. The same thing would happen if she and I were both mares in the pasture. I can love her and be her boss. In fact – I’m realizing I need both in order to attain either.

I won’t be selling Robbye this spring. We’re finally making progress, I like her a lot more, and I think she’s starting to enjoy work, too.

---

After my learning to longe lesson, Robbye was instantly more compliant. That’s one of the great things about longeing – I think – it’s work that directly translates to under-saddle work, but it’s also an inherently dominating exercise, where I can really make Rob work the way I want.

I had one ride where I longed – and made her work – then immediately got on and made her work under saddle. This was a great ride because I made her work past her mental checkout point! She’s not a baby anymore – working for 40 minutes is NOT going to hurt her, as much as she thinks it will. I’d been treating her like a three year old even as she approached six.

We had a lesson on April 28, and Kim could not stop gushing about how well we had done our homework (YAY!). Robbye was much more forward (!!), and we spent the lesson learning how to add some nuance her new frame – mainly, by re-installing bend. It was tough for both of us to think past the frame, since that’s all we’ve been working on for so long, but it felt SO good.

I also need to work on a few equitation pieces, now. I need to re-install the toes forward/heels out position that’s so hard for me – I think this is probably something I’ll struggle with my whole life. I need to ride with my thumbs on top – a habit I’m working on establishing now. It’s easier now that I see why we ride with our thumbs on top.

Not sure what her expression is here, but I like mine!

Saturday, Zeke came to the barn with me and took some great videos. I saw some things I need to change in my position, and am excited to practice them. Robbye was in a great mood, and gave me two canter transitions without inverting herself – something she’s never offered under saddle before. Longeing for the win!

We’ve been working on my new jumping position a bit too. I’ve been jumping a lot – and even jumped a log that was laying outside of the arena, which I was proud of. Then, I did as many laps around the arena as I could in 2-point. (This was an activity Robbye really enjoyed – all I asked of her was that she continue trotting at a nice forward pace.) A few rides after, we ventured out to our largest grass field, where we did trot and canter sets. Robbye loved this activity too – it was a nice change of scenery for her, I think! That ride informed almost all of May; I’ve been doing very little dressage-in-the-sandbox.

This is the life.

The next week, I move some (very small!) jumps into the same field. Robbye thought it was fairly boring, but it was scary for me, and that’s what I’m trying to get past. By the end we were both bored, so that was a win!

I’ve been riding less than normal – about four days a week instead of six – but I’ve been proud of the progress I’ve made. I think I’m gaining a bit of my cajones back – I rode down the road one day, the jumps are getting back up to my “normal” height, we dragged Newton across the creek one day (which, by the way, Robbye was great at. She really showed her draft disposition that day – not something I see often). Yesterday, I rode bareback and we “hacked” around the farm – every time she let her attention leave me, I’d ask her to round and work. I’m determined to teach her how to work even when she wants to be distracted.

Kim says it’s time to get back to showing. I’m scared, but I also think she’s right. We’ve worked too hard not to show it off 🙂

Nerdy Goings On: Board Games

Zeke and I have been super into board and card games since we attended Tabletop Day a few weeks ago.

There, one of the games we played was Sheriff of Nottingham. Has anyone played it? It’s a super fun social deduction game with really neat pieces and artwork. I’d love to own a copy and think it would be more fun with a group of friends than it was with the random people at Epic Loot, but it was a Kickstarter game and is now hard to find for sale.

We’ve been attending the weekly board game night at our Friendly Local Game Store and really enjoying it. A few weeks ago we played Euphoria – a great newish game which was also Kickstarted. I started out the game being super air-headed – I kept forgetting rules and making silly mistakes – so I was very happy when I won the game at the end. It’s a really neat game that I like a lot. The artwork and theme are very cool, and Zeke’s special Kickstarted components are really special.

This week we learned how to play Shadowrift, which is a co-op deck builder. Very, very cool game with some neat, unique mechanics. It allows you to trade some of the resources, which made it much more interactive with your teammates. It also had an option where you could persist your cards through hands, which was fun. We’ll be buying that one!

Zeke commanding his troops in Card Wars.

Zeke has been into the Adventure Time card game, Card Wars, lately, to the extent of reading strategies online. I love the artwork and card design, but don’t find the game as fun as the MLP card game (or, of course, MtG).

Zeke commanding his friends in MLP CCG.

I’ve been obsessing about the MLP card game. I think it’s a great game with some interesting new mechanics. For example, instead of fighting each other, opponents compete to solve problems – problems like a runaway cart, a missing bunny, or a sudden surprise party. Unlike Card Wars, where a player earns two actions each turn, MLP’s actions both increase as the game goes on and can be stockpiled between turns. I think this fact gives it a much more interesting pace, since the game really escalates as players gain points.

The newest expansion of MLP cards were released recently and Zeke and I attended a pre-release party. Though we had each only played five or so times, and only with each other, we were wildly successful! We each went 3 wins 1 loss, and Zeke earned enough points for a second place out of twenty! It was quite a nice self-esteem boost, to be honest.

Anyone else playing or reading anything cool or interesting?

Journal: Life Update

I’m currently sitting in the kitchen watching (husband) Zeke make salsa and enjoying my kitties – I think five of the seven have visited so far. Right now, Tabbye is pulling magnets off of the fridge and Charllye is making sure she does it correctly.

Pulling magnets off the fridge? NAW. We’re just sitting here, Mom!

This feels like the first breath I’ve been able to take in a month. A very sudden project at work, which includes an extremely dramatic team of people and a ridiculously constrained timeline, plus a wedding in Florida for which I was the maid of honor, plus all of my normal stressors, have left me exhausted at the end of every day. It’s been a struggle even to maintain my current relationships.

Me and the bride.

Through it all, thankfully, Robbye continued to impress and improve. I still plan on writing a more detailed journal about her – but really it’s been more of the same. Focus, roundness, and obedience. Every day!

The candy cane is almost gone!

I finished book one of Wheel of Time. It’s so cute reading about baby Rand, knowing what he’ll become by the end. I’m definitely enjoying the series more this go around – I gave up at book 10 or so seven years ago. But that was also before the series was over – and before Jordan passed away.

I’ve been using a few minutes a day every day to obsess about pet collecting and leveling in WoW. Which is funny, since I have a collection of pets at home, too. But I don’t battle the cats. Or level them up. Unfortunately.

Mom I’m going to need you to pet me, or I’ll use my Scratch attack.

I suppose I could use my Headbutt attack instead.

Tomorrow Zeke and I are going to our favorite Friendly Local Game Store, Epic Loot, to celebrate International Table Top Day. As introverted and exhausted as I am, I’m actually really excited to do some gaming and shopping. The only issue is – what to wear? I want to be cute and stylish for the party, but too cute and I’m not respected as a fellow nerd. It’s a delicate balance, as a female gamer.

(Has anyone else been following the drama around the Hugo Awards this year? Man, is there controversy. I really enjoyed reading GRRM’s blog series about it, though. And, to be honest, reading about the drama has been a fun way to get my mind off of work – though how some people can be so racist, homophobic, and misogynistic I just cannot understand.)

Equine Affaire in Columbus is this weekend but the club decided not to go. We’re definitely going to Breyerfest, and that’s more fun for us. I’m relieved to have a day off on Sunday!

What’s everyone else been up to outside of horses? Anyone else reading or playing anything cool?

Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday: Engagement Photos

Robbye got to be one of our “props” for our engagement photos last summer. I was so pleased with the outcome that I wanted to share them here! The Carrs did both our engagement and wedding photography, and did an incredible job.

edit: I probably should have explained the robes/hoods. We bought Jedi and Sith robes off of Etsy and used them in our shoot. We may or may not be the dorkiest people alive.

 

Journal: Surprise. It’s Still Cold.

This feels like one of the most inconsistent phases of riding I’ve been through in the three years I’ve had Robbye. For someone who relies, both physically and psychologically, on riding six days a week…I’m struggling.

That said, I have a rule not to ride if it’s 20 degrees or below. It’s only been above 10 degrees approximately four days in the past two and half weeks, and on one of those days we got 6″ of snow. AUGH.

So here’s my very sparse journal which should have nine days of recap and instead has three.

When I last journaled, I had just had two dressage lessons in the same week. I ended that week inspired and ready to buckle down.

Saturday I combined what I learned from my two lessons for a great ride. We did about a million transitions and yielded across the diagonal and down the wall. I was very please with Robbye’s work effort, and I felt like we successfully replicated some of the work we had in our lessons.

(That Sunday, Zeke (husband) and I “celebrated” Valentine’s Day by buying beer, chips, and pizza and then not leaving the house or even getting out of our pajamas. We played a ton of World of Warcraft – I’m leveling my druid through the new expansion’s content with Zeke’s warlock. Until this expansion she’s been exclusively a healer, but I switched her to balance – a caster damage type – just to level. I am really enjoying the new way of playing! Her AoE damage is ridiculous and awesome. And even though they’re both casters, she’s way different stylistically than my main character, who is a mage.)

We also had an Epic Snow Battle. It’s pretty obvious from the state of the snow in our front yard.

Two days off, then we had another ride combining the forward and sideways. Finally, after another million transitions, we got some really nice, round, active trot. After one 20 meter circle maintaining that trot, I called it a day. Progress!

Four days and six inches of snow later, and I decided I really wanted to ride in the outdoor. Robbye was a bit annoyed by the change in routine – “what do you mean, I have to pick my feet up to trot through snow?!” – and she gave me a pretty significant bucking and bolting temper tantrum and the beginning of the ride. But I focused on staying relaxed, sitting deep, and letting her move out instead of holding her back.

We ended with some great work, and I was pleased that we did something different. Since my silly fall, even something as simple as riding in the snow provokes a lot of fear. With rides like these, I’m working on slowly getting my mojo back!

TOA Blog Hop: Costly

It’s that time of the week again! Love it.

What has been your horse’s most expensive injury to date? Let’s exclude maintenance things, like hock injections and the magical monthly package of MSM. What single episode blew your savings or left you boiling ramen? If you want to get technical about it, time is money, too. 

I have to say, Robbye really does not fit this question well. She does have chronic lymphangitis in one of her legs. However, it’s immediately obvious when she has an infection, the treatment (steroids, painkillers, and lots of hand-walking and cold-hosing) isn’t too bad, and her pain and other symptoms only last for a week or two.

(It is weird that the Wikipedia page says that lymphangitis symptoms include “moderate” pain and swelling. For Robbye, the pain is much more than moderate – she is dead lame when she gets an infection. It’s sad to watch. And the swelling is extreme, and includes the entire quarter of her body from her pastern up to her hindquarters and teats.)

So though it’s scary when it happens, and it’s a pain to go out to the barn twice a day to the mind-numbing boredom that is hosing, it’s not that expensive in either time or money.

Lots of this. Lots and lots.

One of my kitties, Calvyn, sucks up so much more of my time and worry. A year and a half ago, Calvyn began having difficulty peeing. He’d sit in the litter box for long times, then cry and lick himself, then go back to the litter box.

This was the first time I ever saw Calvyn. I had been feeding and trying to tame his mother, Tabytha, for a few months as she got more and more pregnant. After disappearing for a few weeks, she finally returned with just one kitten. As soon as he stopped nursing we trapped her and had her spayed, and she ended up never leaving the house again (she immediately took to living inside, once we got her there). He did not handle the weaning well and soon he also became an indoor-only cat. They’re now both extremely tame, if choosy about who they love 🙂

When we took him to the vet, he was diagnosed with urinary crystals, which were blocking his urinary tract. These can be really dangerous – if you can’t pee, your bladder will rupture and kill you. But Calvyn was put on a prescription diet for two weeks and the crystals disappeared, luckily.

Calvyn and Tabbye on the day Calvyn decided he wanted to live inside. You can see from their expressions that neither of them are entirely comfortable with me at this point.

Well his crystals came back last fall, and they proved much scarier and more resilient. Our vet decided that the food we’re feeding is causing them, and decided to switch Cal to a prescription diet full time. So our four year old cat will now be on $60 food for the rest of his life. There’s a lot of worry involved with Cal, too. Since cats have very high pain tolerance, I’m always stressing about whether he’s hurting or not. I try not to monitor his box habits, but at the same time it’s always relieving (lol) when I see him pee. I spend a lot of energy being afraid for him, and a lot of time and money getting him special food and making sure he doesn’t get the regular food everyone else eats.

Now, Cal is the most affectionate of our little clowder.

So worth it, though.

TOABH: Worth 1k Words

Let’s share our favorite photos of our stud muffins.  No limit.

This will be fun; since for 99% of this blog’s life it was private, I haven’t gotten to really share any of my favorite photos! Let’s see if I can do this in moderation…

Possibly my all-time favorite photo of us. For some reason she saluted the judge with me all year that year.

Looking through my photos and seeing the fences in the “look what we jumped!” photos get bigger and bigger is very satisfying.

Harnessed and hitched!

This was pre-reformed seat, I think. My leg would be so much more forward now.

Always wear a helmet! And boots. Especially when you’re on the road.

We look so sporty!

Jumping bareback like a boss.

Our o/f debut – hunter classes at 18″.

I was crying at this moment because I was so proud of her.

It’s not a photo of Robbye, except for that great butt, but it’s too great of a photo to leave out 🙂

One of my best friends, Paul, Robbye, and my husband, Zeke

My husband Zeke, looking majestic. Robbye is bored.

2014 Photo Dump

(Sorry for some of the spacing and formatting issues. Photos and captions didn’t import over from Blogger very well!)

Clip from early 2014

Little brother riding!

 

Bareback and bridleless 2’6″!

Zeke and Paul grooming 🙂

When Robbye was recovering from her bout of lymphangitis this year I went on a couple of trail rides bareback.

Spent a week cold hosing and hand-walking…

The best selfie one can accomplish with such a big head!