Thursday, January 1, 2015

december review + 2015 quarterly goals

Happy New Year!!! I'm really looking forward to what 2015 might have in store for us, tho I think it'll be a bit different from this past year, where everything we did was shiny big and new. Moving forward, our progress will likely feel slower and more incremental, but that's ok. Progress is progress, right? 

 In the meantime, here's a review of how December worked out for us. 

 December Goals:

 -Snow pads for isabel's shoes?  Punted until next shoeing cycle bc our world is mud right now. 
-Groundwork when riding is not possible. Specific goals: get Isabel to stand on a pedestal and practice long lining. We stood on a pedestal!! But haven't tried long lining yet. Our riding has been interrupted by rain more so than snow or ice. And who wants to long line in the rain? We will hold on to this goal for when the cold really sets in. 

 -3 lessons. Holidays and winter weather may take a toll on our typical riding schedule. This month went pretty well for lessons, all things considered. We missed one OF lesson bc of the holidays, but managed to sneak in another with Dan, so it all evened out. I do expect that weather will start interfering in the next couple months tho. 

 -Continue on concepts from bio-mechanics lesson (improve lateral balance!). Isabel is definitely getting steadier in the contact. I need to do more practice on smaller circles tho. 


 Looking forward to 2015, I'm thinking that monthly goals have been useful - but the time frame is a little too short. So I'm going to set quarterly goals instead. 

 2015 Q1 Goals:
  • Start working on preliminary show schedules for the year. Would like to do a few different types of shows - including dressage and jumpers shows (and games or trail challenges??).
  • Dressage lessons - where art thou?
  • Introduce more ground work (including long lining) when riding becomes impossible due to weather.
  • Explore alternative schooling arenas if Isabel's ring at home continues to deteriorate. 
  • New saddle options? I am constantly paranoid about the Wintec, and would like to maybe get some professional opinion on this... Plus, we saw from bareback pics that my position can be better than what I normally get with this saddle. 
  • Get Wick (friend B's leased OTTB) loading/unloading well enough to be deemed road-worthy. Then he and B can start accompanying us to weekly OF lessons!!!
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25 comments:

  1. AoifeJanuary 1, 2015 at 1:45 AM

    Fab goals to work towards in an achievable time frame. *thumbsup*
    I could deff learn something from that, I might however wait till Q2 to set myself some goals as the first few months of 2015 are going to be hell as i struggle to furnish my flat & balance work, ponies and payments. I'm going to be hemorrhaging money for a while so will cut myself some slack on the goals front *blush*

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    1. AoifeJanuary 1, 2015 at 1:47 AM

      Sorry, I'm a dolt and hit post too soon...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
      I cannot wait to keep stalking *ahem* following your progress in 2015 - your blog has rapidly become one of my favourite reads - i look forward to your posts every day.
      Thank you so much for sharing your adventures with us!!!
      ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

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    2. emmaJanuary 1, 2015 at 8:29 AM

      aw thank you Aoife - that's so sweet!! i'm really enjoying the blogging thing too, after having silently stalked (no shame) all of you for so long lol.

      and good luck getting situated and settled in to your new place and figuring all of that out!! 2015 sounds like it'll be an exciting one for you too - hope you have a wonderful new year! :)

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  2. The Aging PonyJanuary 1, 2015 at 4:59 AM

    Sounds like you've also been having some rough weather - definitely that time of year. Good goals, though! Happy New Year!

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    1. emmaJanuary 1, 2015 at 8:29 AM

      thanks, happy new year to you too!! the weather has been a touch milder than i expected, actually, but it won't last.... oh well

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  3. Alli + DinoJanuary 1, 2015 at 7:27 AM

    Good plan! If I weren't sold fresh out of saddles I'd send you a couple to try on Isabel, but alas, I finally got rid of them! Even though it's expensive, I'm glad you listed it as a goal, since the right saddle can make a WORLD of difference! Loved following your blog this past year - you are unendingly positive, sweet, earnest, and humble. A bright spot in the world!

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    1. emmaJanuary 1, 2015 at 8:31 AM

      thank you Alli!! i love following your blog too - always so many awesome riding recaps and general tips and tricks to be found :) and to be 100% honest - i almost emailed you on a number of occasions about your sales saddles (pretty sure there's still a draft email in my inbox...), but ultimately never pulled the trigger bc my knowledge is too limited to truly assess fit without professional guidance... ah well, we'll figure something out!!

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  4. CaraJanuary 1, 2015 at 7:37 AM

    Sounds like an awesome plan! That picture of her standing on the pedestal is so cool- I'd love to read a post with your groundwork exercises and such if you'd like to share :) Happy new year!

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    1. emmaJanuary 1, 2015 at 8:33 AM

      happy new year to you too! i actually know very little about ground work myself (and secretly hope other bloggers out there will write posts about it too haha), but am interested in learning more. i'll be sure to post about what i try!!

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  5. UnknownJanuary 1, 2015 at 7:48 AM

    If you get any opinions on the Wintec, I'm looking forward to hearing about it since that's what I jump in too! And I have mixed feelings about it as well. It's so handy for me cause Maggie likes to splash (read: LIE DOWN) in water on the trails. But someday I'd love to get a "real" saddle for jumping :P

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    1. emmaJanuary 1, 2015 at 8:34 AM

      definitely! wintecs are so great for a number of reasons (like that time my mare ALSO rolled in the snow... or cats sleeping on the saddle... or getting caught in a rainstorm... it goes on and on), and it's possible that my fit issues will be resolved by changing out the gullet. but whatever the case, i'll keep ya posted!!

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  6. redheadlinsJanuary 1, 2015 at 11:07 AM

    Great goals, and way to keep up on them even with holiday insanity!!

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    1. emmaJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:39 PM

      thanks!! i honestly kept the december goals well within the doable range for exactly that reason lol

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  7. Fran JurgaJanuary 1, 2015 at 1:37 PM

    I love your idea of quarterly goals...except I think I'd only have one goal for Q1: to survive winter!

    Thanks so much for including me in your blog list, which was the best (!!!!) place on the web for completely losing myself on the first day of the year. It makes me want to do a blog post on best horse blog titles for my Equus Mag blog. How can you not click on "Four Mares No Money" unless it is to visit "Grain Before Groceries" first?

    Happy new year and may none of us ever need snow shoes this year!

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    1. emmaJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:40 PM

      thanks!! and surviving winter is a biggie for me too...

      so glad you like the blog list too - i LOVE following your blog and have learned soooo much from it. so thanks for writing!! happy new year to you too!

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  8. CathrynJanuary 1, 2015 at 5:41 PM

    Happy New year!! And I too am very excited to hear about your progress as 2015 progresses!

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  9. KateRoseJanuary 1, 2015 at 7:08 PM

    You have done do great on your goals! Way to go :)

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  10. Karen MJanuary 2, 2015 at 10:07 AM

    Happy new year! Oooooh ... saddle shopping time, perhaps? Can't wait to follow y'all on your adventures!

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    1. emmaJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:41 PM

      thanks! and yea, *something* has to happen with our saddle situation... and hopefully that something doesn't break the bank lol

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  11. Achieve1dreamJanuary 2, 2015 at 11:00 AM

    Happy New Year! I like the idea of quarterly goals. That sounds like a lot less pressure than monthly goals. The monthly ones just made me feel like a failure because things always went off in a different direction or life got in the way. Good plan!

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    1. emmaJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:42 PM

      thanks and happy new year to you too! monthly goals were definitely a little tricky - and i felt at times like my goals were kinda cop outs. hopefully the quarterly schedule works better!

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  12. Boss Mare EventingJanuary 2, 2015 at 2:16 PM

    All very attainable! Best of luck next year

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