Wednesday, April 8, 2015

salvaging the best laid plans: catch riding?

Before our world got turned upside down by the influenza that spread like wildfire through our barn and had everybody panicked about worst case scenarios.... before all that, Isabel and I were systematically and methodically preparing for our season opener at Loch Moy on April 12.


this threw a major wrench in the works

We'd be running Elementary (Intro Test C dressage, max 2'3" stadium and xc) - and felt like the very definition of READY. 

Our first lesson with a new dressage trainer was glorious, and another was scheduled for one week prior to the event. 



My bio-mechanics trainer came back for her first clinic of the year (after apparently having spent the winter riding with Jean Luc Cornille) and had planned to ride Isabel to bring out her inner Diva - making her the very epitome of balance and power.

An appointment with the saddle fitter was on the books too, as our newly converted wool panels needed adjusting. Oh, and I also bought a dressage saddle... surprise! 


well hullo there, shiny!

Plus cross country schooling was in the works with Dan. 

This was all in addition to our regular OF lessons - and probably with a few conditioning trail rides thrown in for good measure. 

Also, you may remember that we had already dipped our toes into the show waters a couple weeks back. Isabel found 2'3" to be a walk in the park, even despite plenty of pilot error. 



So. We were ready. Haha... the best laid plans... Horses sure keep us humble, don't they?

ANYWAY... What's done is done and we're going to give Isabel all the time she needs to recover completely. In the meantime, I have this non-refundable, non-transferable show entry. What to do, what to do? 

I know what I *want* to do: find a catch ride. Our quarantine makes it impossible to use any of our own lesson horses, even tho their herd managed to avoid illness. And the horses at OF haven't gotten their coggins tests in yet for the year...(yes, I asked haha). 


i may or may not have had fantasies about taking Crocket the Pocket Rocket, seen chillin here like the pro that he is

I've sent out a couple feelers, including reaching out to the trainers at Isabel's farm who are well connected in the horse world. So far nothing has stuck, tho they've had a few ideas...

So this might be a lost cause too... Sigh. But wouldn't it be fun?

36 comments:

  1. Dressage saddle whaaat! You'll love it. I would post on your local eventing association's Facebook page about the catch ride. That's how I'd do it here.

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  2. Dressage saddle?! Fabulous! Fingers crossed you get a catch ride :)

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    1. indeeeeeed - apparently i liked saddle shopping more than i realized and dug straight back into it lol

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  3. I have this great big bay Thoroughbred that can walk over 2'3" that's just raring to get around a XC course. All you have to do is come and get him!

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    1. lol if it's bobby you're referring to, i can even imagine the exhilaration of galloping around xc on him! but of course... that would depend on surviving stadium first lol and i'm not quite certain i've got the piloting skills for that

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  4. Hope you find a catch ride in time- it would be SUCH a good learning experience with a different horse too, definitely make use of that social network!

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    1. thanks! it's been ages since i've jumped anything but isabel, and i REALLY miss it - esp since i used to ride a different horse every week for lessons.... would be cool to switch it up :)

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  5. I feel terrible for you! You've been riding your ass off and looking fab. Good luck finding a catch ride!

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    1. thanks! it's pretty disappointing to make it through winter so well, only to be shut down by the flu... but c'est la vie, right?

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  6. Yay for dressage saddle, but boooo for not showing :( My Trainer and a girl from our barn will be at Loch Moy this weekend. I had told them to keep an eye out for you and Isabel too :(

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    1. boooo indeed! hope your trainer and barn mate have a great show tho - looks like it's going to be a lovely weekend!

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  7. Step 1: Show up with one of these: http://bit.ly/1NTu86m

    Step 2: See what happens.

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    1. This is perfect. LOL

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    2. If this doesn't work, may I suggest donning the horse head mask and jumping all the obstacles yourself?

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    3. LOL.

      Seriously though, I feel so terrible for and your plans... But that saddle is indeed stunning!

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    4. hahahaha yessssssss!! this give me ....ideas lol

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  8. Ahhh dressage saddle!!! And I love Austen's backup plan if you can't find a catch ride! Good luck :)

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    1. thanks! pretty excited about the saddle too - tho obvi i haven't been able to ride much in it yet, but it's not nearly as alien a feeling as i expected!

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  9. Gah, that sucks! I hope you can find a catch ride.

    Also - wahoo for the dressage saddle.

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    1. wahoo and boohoo simultaneously, right?? lol. we'll see if the ride happens... there are options but logistics are apparently real things too and they suck haha

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  10. Good luck! hope izzy is back at it soon and you find a catch ride!

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    1. thank you! with the proper precautions Ms Iz will be back in action and raring to go soon!

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  11. It's worth a try and I hope that you can find a ride.Oh, and yay on the dressage saddle!!!!

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    1. i think it's worth a try too - and actually thought it would be a smidge easier than it is.... the OF horses not having their coggins really blew the plan up tho haha

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  12. It's worth a try and I hope that you can find a ride.Oh, and yay on the dressage saddle!!!!

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  13. Lovely dressage saddle! Fingers crossed you find a ride :) It's so hard to have plans when horses are involved

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    1. that is the TRUTH haha... sometimes i feel foolish for even trying, but i am a planner by nature so there ya go... more details on the saddle will be forthcoming eventually ;)

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  14. Yay for a new saddle! Fingers crossed for a catch ride.

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    1. thanks!! why sit around and be bummed about sick horses when you can SHOP haha

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  15. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! And also, that dressage saddle is BEAUTIFUL!

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    1. thank you! and i really can't help myself... show me something shiny and i'm sold :)

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  16. Darn right after a new saddle! Hoping you snag a good catch ride!

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  17. I've come to learn that long term plans don't work very well with horses! I'm in the same boat where I had planned for a while to participate in a jumping clinic with Max..but Lyme came up and it would be too much heavy work for him at this point. I hope you get to catch a ride with another horse for the show! LOVE the shiny dressage saddle!!!

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    1. yea planning with horses is HARD! i'm not superstitious about it or anything like some folks, but sometimes i do wonder if it's even worth it planning months ahead with them... but planning makes me happy so i do it anyway!! in any case, hope Max responds well to treatment! Doxy really did wonders for Izzy a few years back

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