Enforced Down Time

Well, after posting “all” of those posts there were even more life changes and a timeline that changed slightly so things have been really busy again away from the barn.

 Katai is still doing well but I’ve been maybe seeing her 1-2 times per week at this point. As July was coming to a close I decided that for a few reasons, during the month of August I was going to just coast and only go to the barn if I felt like it and/or to make sure she has everything she needs. Luckily with full care board at an amazing facility that’s ok and while I still feel guilty about it I don’t feel as guilty as I thought I might. I think I really needed this “vacation” from riding. It’s been something I’ve put my whole heart into for the past 5 years or so without really significant breaks so this has been nice and refreshing.

 Also, since Katai will be in quarantine for the second half of the month and I’ll be unable to ride or work her it seemed silly to try to get her back in shape for two weeks only to have her lose that conditioning while she’s standing around for two weeks. As of now Katai is at the new barn and in quarantine but that’s for a different post.

 The life changes are really exciting however :) As I mentioned previously other things were in the works to help with the overwhelmed feeling. One was moving Katai closer, another that happened to come up was the work change/promotion that significantly reduced my stress, the third is that my bf and I were starting to talk about moving in.

Tiny sleepy fox puppy

Initially it was going to occur next spring to coincide with the end of the lease I signed but the more we talked about it the more we felt that actually moving before winter was ideally the way to go. We moved up our plans to look at apartments while keeping in the back of our mind that we may still need to wait until next spring. We looked at a couple of meh places and then we saw two that we really liked that checked all of the boxes. After some debate we ended up with a favorite and went ahead and signed the lease to start moving in September!!

My bf will have until the end of October to move and I’m working to finalize a sub leaser who will likely want to move in mid-September. Talk about stressful with moving myself and pony twice this year! However, both moves are going to significantly reduce my bf and my stress and open up a bunch of time that we haven’t had which is much needed. I’m also just so thrilled and excited to move in with this amazing person I love.

Vegan tacos!!!!

At any rate moving for me will likely occur during the first week of September right as Katai gets out of quarantine. To help I did take the full week off instead of just Labor day so hopefully that allows me time for both getting Katai back into work and for moving. I will post a brief update of the move to the barn and I’m hoping to do a mini barn tour this week. Otherwise the blog will likely be pretty quiet until all of the moving is completed. Hopefully at that point I’ll be refreshed and rested from pony stuff and ready to start this blog back up in ernest!

Updates and Where I've Been

It's been a quiet week and a week of pre-written posts because, as I think I may have mentioned, I was out of town to see my sister in Rochester, NY during my week off. Of course while I was out there I needed to visit Bobby at Poor Woman Showing but we'll get back to that in a minute.

First, my week started out with a couple of short, easy rides for Katai. She had Sunday off after the show and I may have just lunged or given her an extra day off typically but since I was going to be gone for three full days I wanted to make sure she didn't sit for too long either. I rode on both Monday and Tuesday and for both rides she was sort of tired and stiff not so much from the act of riding the test but from dealing with all the muck and also just from being so tense while we were there. She has shown marked improvement with her stress but we've got a ways to go.

Flying in my riding boots since they wouldn't fit in my carry on

Tuesday evening I flew out and spent Wednesday and Thursday with my sister and brother in-law exploring Rochester. I really enjoyed looking around and getting to play tourist. My sister has an amazing loft apartment downtown that's really pretty and it was a nice place to get to crash for awhile. It's also funny how much more of an "adult" she is with real furniture and matching dishes and silverware.

I should have taken more photos but I'm always horrible at remembering to take pictures so I don't have any of our adventures.

Friday morning I went to meet Carly and Bobby!

I LOVED Carly's barn, it was cozy, airy, and bright. It was so much fun to meet Bobby and see how much he clearly loves Carly. I don't think he took his eyes off her the whole time I was there.

I didn't get pictures in the snaffle

Carly got him tacked up while I cuddled with him and then after Carly warmed him up a bit I got a chance to ride him.

Photos of me riding were taken from Carly's Facebook post

It was sooooo weird to ride a more normal sized horse! Everything just feels so different and so much longer. It's always weird to ride a different horse with slightly different buttons but then for that horse to be so much larger means making a big adjustment. Bobby was so patient with me figuring it out though as was Carly. I know how much it takes to let someone else ride your horse so I'm so thankful that she gave me the chance(s) to try him out! He really moves so well and it was so much fun to play around with stuff with him including his changes. I buffed them at least once but he just calmly let me go back and try again.

After I finished up with him Carly went and got the double to play with a bit. She started out riding him in it and then handed him back to me to try. I'm so horrible at remembering to take pictures and I was busy talking with Carly so I didn't get much. Sorry for being a bad photographer Carly!

Sorry I kept cutting off most of Carly! I kept forgetting to zoom out

Again, Bobby was fantastic!

I finished up and poor abused (filled with cookies and pets and not too much work) Bobby got to be done and get untacked :)

So jealous of Bobby's skills. He just stood without tack
 like this while he was groomed and doctored and didn't move a foot

After Bobby was put away we went out for lunch and then came back and I met more of the horses and got a barn tour. Unfortunately I spent so much time petting the resident ponies that Carly was still there when the grain showed up so she ended up sticking around to unload. Oops!

I had so much fun and hope to be invited out to give Bobby more pets next time I'm in Rochester to visit my sister :)

NDPC Recap Part: 1

I have so much to write about! For now I'll start with a recap of my NDPC Friday :)

I had an amazing weekend and this was easily the most fun I've had at Pony Cup so far. I also realized later that it was their 10 year anniversary and I've been there for three of those 10 years. Not bad! Now I just want to actually ride there at some point :)

This year my flight to Lexington was scheduled for early morning on Friday with a 1:30ish arrival. I was going to check into my AirBnB and then go straight to the KY Horse Park and planned to get there around 2:30ish. I knew I was going to miss Jen and Emilie's rides since they were earlier in the day but I had hoped to make it to H's ride since it was scheduled for 2:37. I was so close but ended up being just slightly too late. I wasn't worried though since I knew I'd be able to see everyone ride on Saturday.

Don't let Katai see this...

This pony cup was slightly different for me than the ones I've gone to previously. Since I had three people I knew I ended up spending more time with them and their ponies in the stable area and less time watching other people's rides. That's also part of what made this year so much fun!

This is the driveway to the garage at the AirBnB that I stayed at
Reaaaaally doesn't feel like it's going to fit in person either.

When I got to the horse park I had a brief fan girl moment when I looked up and saw a big name pony breeder/rider/trainer and said hi. I'm sure she wondered who this weird person was who recognized her when we've never met. After that I went and found H right away to see how her ride had gone. Turns out that the mare she was riding (a young GRP belonging to her trainer) had an issue with a bug. Overall H was happy with the test but disappointed about that part of it. The pony was also quite young and green and hasn't shown much so she really was fantastic for the most part.

I spent some time with H and the other two women from her barn chatting and figuring out their schedule and then decided to go meet some blogging friends! Emilie was closest so I went to say hi to her and Crumble first. OMG is Crumble ever adorable!! He was going to work on his hay and probably not impressed with another admirer but it was great to get to see him. Emilie was also trying to get her tack ready for the next day so I kept my visit pretty brief.

Getting Connor kisses :) So jealous of that forelock!

Then I headed over to meet Jen. I went straight to Connor's stall first. He was pretty sure I had food for him and spent some time licking my hand while I texted Jen to see where she wanted to meet up. We figured out a good spot and I headed over. It was SO GREAT to get to meet Jen! I've felt from reading her blog that I'd get along with her really well and I was so right. We sat and chatted for awhile and I got to meet her mom and Connor's breeder as well!

We spent most of the rest of the afternoon chatting, trying a bridle on Connor and doing some low key shopping (seriously tough to resist getting some things!) and then Jen headed out and I went to say goodnight to H.

Later that night I ended up going out for drinks with Jen, her mom, and Connor's breeder and I had so much fun!! It seriously felt like we'd known each other for a long time and it was great to try out some new craft beers and learn more about everyone. I really want to visit Jen and Connor and am definitely planning on Rolex next year!

Next up, a recap of my NDPC Saturday :)

So Thrilled!

That I’m going to the FEI World Cup in Omaha! This is quite last minute as it just became official yesterday but I’m so completely excited.

I’d made it my goal to go to Rolex this year but it just didn’t work out with my budget. However, with the ability to drive to Omaha (it’s under a 6 hour drive from where I live) and after finding a cheap AirBnB I decided to do this one. Ultimately, while Rolex would be AMAZING this is dressage specific which is pretty darn cool, as is the fact that it’s typically not in the US.

 I was able to con my mom into coming with me which means we'll be able to share driving duties and split some of the expenses. Right now we have tickets for the Grand Prix on Thursday and the Freestyle on Saturday. I’d like to attend showjumping on Friday as well but I may wait until we get there and see if we can pick up tickets rather than buying ahead.

 I’m going to take lots of pictures and do lots of shopping and the time off and with my mom will be so wonderful.

I’m also curious if any other bloggers will be there? If so, it would be fun to meet people. Let me know and I’ll send you my email address so that we can figure out a time and place to meet

National Dressage Pony Cup Trip Recap - Long

I'm so excited to be able to attend the NDPC again this year. I was here in 2014 as you may remember but that was with a friend (previous roommate) who was familiar with KY and is a huge race enthusiast. That trip was all about visiting and spending time in KY including going to a race, the Keenland auction etc. This year for me was all about the pony cup so I planned two days in Lexington (Friday and Saturday) with the goal of spending the full day both days at the KY Horse Park. I was so excited to fly out!

I luckily was able to get packing completed on Wednesday (despite my puppy not being very happy with me and hoping to invite himself with) which was good because I had to leave for the airport directly after work on Thursday.

He's pretty good at breaking my heart when he wants something he can't have like going along in my suitcase. Maybe next year :)

I made it to the airport plenty early thanks to my amazing roommate who got off work early to drive me in. I got some dinner at the airport and then was on my way, or at least I thought.

First my flight was delayed because of some small repair that needed to get done. Then they got us all on the plane and promptly told us that there was a ground stop in Chicago so it was going to be half an hour. That turned into an hour and a half. I knew that flights out of Chicago were going to be delayed as well but since I only had an hour to transfer to my next flight I wasn't sure if I was going to make it and was really hoping that I wouldn't need to spend the night at the airport.

Despite being stressful it was a beautiful flight to Chicago

I was actually able to make my transfer which was actually running quite late as well. It was a cute little baby plane with two seats on one side but only one along the other side. Smallest plane I've ever been in.

Chicago to Lexington in a baby plane

Unfortunately that meant that instead of getting to Lexington around 8:30pm I didn't get there until 12:30am. It also meant that the rental car I had booked through Hertz wasn't available since they must have closed at 9:00. I ended up getting a "second" rental car from Enterprise who was open which sucked but oh well, what can you do. It also meant that I got to my AirBnB pretty late and was lucky that the guy who owns the place is sort of a night owl and was able to answer my questions about how to find it, since it didn't show up on my GPS, and how to get in. It's a studio apartment which is really cool and in a beautiful historic building right near downtown.

One of my favorite ponies

I was eventually able to find it and get in. I pretty much collapsed right into bed around 1:20am and was happy to sleep in the next morning.

I did eventually get myself out of bed and decided to run a few errands before heading to the show. I had chosen this AirBnB because it had a mini kitchenette and I was hoping to save some money by buying groceries and preparing most of my own food. I found a Trader Joes and bought some groceries. After getting back, putting them away, and grabbing everything I'd need for the day I headed out and got the show right around 10:30am.

Seriously the cutest flying changes ever!

It was actually really nice and overcast, in fact I found out later that there had been rain delay's early on, and was nice to be there without the heat and the sun. I walked around to the various rings and watched for awhile and then went to find some food at the restaurant at the KY Horse Park. I found some french fries that were vegan enough ;) and found a table. At some point I looked outside and realized that it was pouring. Apparently I have really great timing!

This guy is the first dressage rider that I've ever seen with a full beard!

After I finished my lunch I stopped by the giftshop and got a really awesome plastic rain poncho and then headed back out to watch ponies again! Amazingly enough with how hard it had been pouring while I was eating, the rain stopped completely right after I headed back out to watch. Maybe the universe felt like I'd already put up with enough on this trip?

Adorable Buckskin in the warmup ring

At any rate I watched some more amazing and talented ponies and their owners. I really enjoyed watching the upper level riders and ponies but what was really fun was watching the people that are closer to my level. It was amazing to watch the 1st and 2nd level ponies and see that while the ponies that were winning were amazing and nearly perfect, there were plenty of people that were doing quiet well that have many of the same bobbles that we would have at this point. Not at 2nd level of course, I can't even imagine showing at that level yet but 1st level for sure. It was really good motivation to keep at it!

It was also fun (and sometimes funny) to hear Axel Steiner's commentary. He had a few sarcastic sounding comments but mostly was very complimentary of the ponies and their riders. If you're interested you'll be able to find the archived live stream on USEF Network this year!

Then I went shopping...

My "I probably shouldn't have bought this" face. Adorable AirBnB in the background

I did actually have a small budget for shopping and only went slightly over what I had planned. My souvenirs seem to always be riding clothes. There is the Asmar jacket that I got in OH when I was in Cleveland for my sister's college graduation, and the Kastel Denmark sun shirt that I got last time I was in KY. The purchases for this trip were a jacket from Horze and a pair of my favorite breeches from Horze that are sold out on the website. 

I've planned to get another "shell" jacket since I wear these all the time and lost my FAVORITE mountain horse jacket at some point last winter. I nearly cried over that one. I've been just wearing my Asmar jacket but it's nice to have two so that I can wash them more often. Plus it's MN, there are seriously 4-5 months of the year or more when a good light jacket makes sense. I LOVE Horze stuff as I've mentioned before but their sizing is weird. The only shirts I've ever got from them have either been too big or too small so I just don't get their tops anymore without trying them on first. In fact, this jacket was an XXS which I certainly am not but it fits great and is so adorable. The breeches are the same as the burgundy ones that I have and adore but are in a light grey with a navy blue seat.

Squeeeeeee

I REALLY wanted these when they came out for my "schooling show" breeches but I hesitated and they sold out online and aren't sold anywhere locally. I saw them on a mannequin at a vendor tent on Friday and asked if what size they were. I was really sad when the shop owner said that they were a 22 which would never fit me. I let her know that I would need a 26 and she went to check to see if they had a pair in the back. She came back out with a pair but it was a 24. Since I've been losing weight and my 26s are slowly getting a little looser I decided to just try them on and although they're just slightly snug they do fit!! I thought about it a bit but did go for it and I'm so exited about finally having them!

The Fell mare from H's barn

I also met up with the owner and rider of the ponies that are here from H's barn in MN! The owner has two adorable Fell ponies and I've met her trainer who rode at the NDPC. I've actually watched her ride the gelding at the recent Janet Foy clinic at H's barn that I went to. The rider and owner were really nice and we talked ponies for awhile while we hung out in the stable isle. I found out that both ponies were showing the next day, the mare that I'd seen on Friday was showing really early but the gelding, who is showing Prix St. George, was showing around 11:30 which was very doable so I let them know that I'd be there to see him go the next day.

I got back to the AirBnB around dinner and after making some food I went on a couple of errands to get some more drinking water and other odds and ends. The rest of the evening I caught up on blogs and watched Youtube.

These two were so adorable! She rode upper level and the pony couldn't have been over 13.2 hands.

I got up fairly early this morning and after making some coffee and getting breakfast I headed back out to the horse park. I wanted to be there early and leave right around noon so that I could make myself lunch and get out of the heat and sun before it got really hot.

Lauren Chumley riding Grand Prix on Avatar's Jazzman

I saw a bunch more talented ponies and got to see Lauren Chumley ride grand prix as well as some other extremely talented upper level ponies. I also watched some more lower level tests and got to pet more amazing ponies. I knew that the Fell I was there to watch wasn't going to be out very long before his test since he has a lower energy level and they didn't want to wear him out before his class. Right around 11:20 I found him and made my way back over to his owner. She was so nice and so excited to have a fan there to watch her pony :)

The Fell gelding from H's barn with his group of admirers after a great Prix St. George test!

He did an AMAZING job especially for a pony that's just not built for upper levels. It was so inspiring and amazing to watch him put in a great and clean test. I believe he scored in the 50s which is amazing for a little guy that was brought up through the levels by lots of hard work. It was especially amazing to see his rider/trainer pumping her arms in the air and giving him lots of hugs after the test and hearing how rewarding it was after all her hard work with him. She's an amazing rider that has her gold medal and has ridden many warmbloods and yet said that this was way more rewarding then those other tests that she's completed because of all the work she's put in with him to get him here.

We all gushed over him for awhile, he'd gathered a little crowd of admirers, and then when they headed back to bathe him and get the mare ready for a breed class I left and headed back to my AirBnB. It would have been fun to stay a bit longer but I'd seen so much pony dressage and it was getting really hot and sunny and I was ready to be in the air conditioning again.

The front of my AirBnB

Downtown Lexington

I LOVE all the amazing historical, brick houses

I did a bit more exploring and now I'm planning to spend the rest of the evening hanging out here and then I'm going to head to bed early since I have to leave around 4:00am for the airport to head home. I'm so happy to have been able to be here again and it just makes me even more excited to get here with Katai some day!

Much Needed Time Off

I haven’t had much time off over the past several years. I graduated from grad school in 2010 and had been working nearly full time through my time in school. I worked full time in retail for a few months after I graduated and then went right into my career. During the last 6 years I’ve only ever had one full week off. I’ve had some 3, 4, and 5 day weekends but other than that one time I haven’t had more than 5 days off in a row. Now I finally get a chunk of time off!!

I’m leaving for KY for the National Dressage Pony Cup on Thursday afternoon and will be off Friday through the following full week. That means that I’ll have 10 full days off in a row.

I’m so freaking excited!

With that being said, I absolutely adore my current job. I’ve had great jobs in the past but I’m extremely lucky that I adore my current job and all of the people I work with. I’ll actually miss them and I know that I’m putting more work on everyone else with taking this much time off. I don’t really feel guilty (I know I need this and my productivity really needs it) it’s just that I’ll miss everyone and the purpose that my job gives me every day.

Oh well, did I mention 10 DAYS OFF!!!!!!!

Will anyone else be at the NDPC at the Kentucky Horse Park later this week? Or, does anyone that lives close want to meet up? It would be so much fun to have a blogger meetup while I’m out there!

Vacation and Development

First, thank you all for your comments on my last post. It was very helpful and also made me feel better. I think my goal is to just take my worrying down a notch and push myself to ride her at least a little even when I think she might be sore since I honestly know that it will help and it isn't anything more than I'd expect for myself.

I've been really enjoying my vacation but it's been a busy few days. On Thursday I went to the barn and then threw a party for my roommate's birthday. Then Friday was MN Horse Expo day!! Honestly, it was fun but the vendors have been worse and worse for the past few years. The expo was always dominated by western tack vendors but this year it was particularly bad.

How Guy's horses started out. You can also tell that this wasn't very well attended although the bleachers I was sitting in were much more full

I did go for a few hours and saw Guy McClean and did a little shopping at the used tack sale but that's it. I didn't have any reason to stay after that so I didn't. The expo is always on the same weekend as Rolex and next year I'd really like to try to do Rolex instead.

Guy and two horses at liberty side passing over a horse that's laying down. The trust that the horses have in him is amazing.

After the expo I went to the barn with the goal of getting Katai in the outdoor arena again. She started off nice and calm but then something got to her and she went tearing around for awhile again. Finally she slowed herself down and we did a nice walk around the arena. I discovered when she slowed down that she'd put a massive hole in one the left rear leg wrap. One of those moments where I'm glad I put them on her because who knows what she might have done to her leg without it. Then, since she was calm, I climbed up and walked her around for a little while and finally did a short bit of trot and then canter. She remained calm but very up and forward.

Then Saturday, since she wore herself out Friday, I just wanted to take her out for a trail ride. I'll admit that I've become a bit of a DQ recently when it comes to riding out of the safe confines of the indoor arena but my goal for the next month is to get her outside at least a little every day. I know that she's going to melt down for the show next month but at least if she's really comfortable outside it will make things a little better. So, Saturday I braved up and rode her around the paddocks outside. I started at 12 riding at my parents by doing trail rides so I'm comfortable out there once I'm up and know how to safely diffuse situations, it's just that last time I rode her extensively outside was when she was a green baby and now, even though she's a trained horse, I have flash backs to that untrained baby horse. Plus, then she was unpredictable (my least favorite thing) but now she is far more athletic and able to do things that really could unseat me which she really wasn't up to before.

Random picture of the vegan sushi I made for dinner to break up the wall of text

At any rate she was pretty good on her baby trail ride. She started off not listening at all and thought a couple of times about doing something naughty. In the end though we had a very reasonable and calm walk around and then went out at a trot again. I just did a long trot along one side of the pens and then turned around and walked her back. She didn't want to go back and neither did I but the footing is still pretty iffy and she was still prepared to be naughty so before I pushed it that far today I wanted to just end on a good note.

Once I climbed off she didn't want to stand still so we schooled that a little and once I had a decent stand we went back, untacked, and then she got hand grazed for a little before I left for the Janet Foy clinic.

Janet was great to watch again and H rode really well. Last time her horse was being naughty (he's a pony and it's normal for him) but this time he was really chill and focused so they were able to accomplish a lot. Mainly she worked on getting him more even in the bend since, just like most horses, he's still pretty one sided. He is also strong on the same side that Katai is so it was really helpful to watch.

H and Janet talking about lengthening the upper part of her pony's neck

I saw part of the horse before H rode and he was an amazing Welsh/German Riding Pony that was probably right around 14 hands and extremely athletic. He was only 5 so they were just working on consistent rhythm and contact but oh my gosh was he ever amazing. I wish I had gotten there a little earlier so that I could have seen his whole ride! After H rode I watched part of a Friesian's ride but he and his rider were working on such different things than I am that I decided to talk to H instead while she untacked and cooled her horse out. Then I went back in to see this big grey Holsteiner that was training 3rd. He was a great horse, very balanced and extremely well trained. His trainer was up and seemed like a very accomplished rider. She and Janet were having fun with him and working on all of his buttons. It was fun to watch them improving his changes because even though it's way above my head, it's interesting to see how the same concepts are still used as at the lower levels.

Such a gorgeous horse even if he's about 3 hands too tall for me ;)

Working on Half Pass

We're making plans for the National Dressage Pony Cup this year and talking about our show seasons. H and her horse went to their first schooling show already and she said that he was a handful. She was also reassuring though that he was WAY better at the end of the show than the beginning and I'm hoping that Katai will be the same. He is 13 and she's 7 but still hopefully something from the show will stick and she'll retain it for the next one. H is also planning a whole bunch of shows this year so I think I'm going to try to add some to my schedule as well, I just have to figure out which ones!

The Dragon Awakes

The fire breathing pony dragon that is. Between being gone for vacation, pony not getting her supplements, and the suddenly cool weather Katai has been a bit hot to say the least :)

I got her back on her supplements right away and after a really rough ride on Thursday she was pretty good Monday (I just did ground work on Saturday) but pretty tough again today. She is figuring things out she's just so hot that all she wants to do is run and she doesn't think before she reacts. Hopefully more supplements and a few more rides and she'll be back to herself.

The rest of my vacation was great! I watched more of the Dressage Pony Cup on Sunday and then on Monday we went to a Keenland yearling sale! I got to see a yearling filly sell for 1.1 million and a colt go for 1.95 million although I later found out that that one didn't make his reserve.

Keenland bathrooms. Yes, I was impressed...

In other news the move is official! I'm moving Katai to a great facility that's only about 10 minutes further away. The instructor teaches more different things including useful stuff like trailer loading and it positive and happy. She approaches her lessons with a sense of fun which is exactly what I'm looking for. On top of that the arena is heated! The facility is very similar otherwise and I can't wait to move in and make it home :-) I move Katai on 10/8. 

I have a lesson tomorrow and hopefully she will be calm and happy so that we can have fun!

Vacation Friday

Friday started out with some boutique and antique shopping.

I found a couple of pretty horse head hooks and a riding shirt.

We got some Chinese food and then headed out to drive on some of the small historic roads.

In the evening we went to Churchill Downs to see some racing! I wasn't sure that we would be able to make it to Churchill for a race but our timing was perfect and last night was the first live racing of the season.

Today is the first day of Pony Dressage!!