doing all the things!!!

Ok bear with me folks. As previously mentioned, I'm on the road this entire week so things are slightly dicey with interacting real-time with this blog. EXCEPT. I gots some stuffff to share. Including a slight backlog right now, and some rich promises of things to come (*cough* ROLEX *cough*).

and mare ears. always mare ears (also spot the Tillie and the Krimpet photobombs!)

I've lately been sacrificing my sleep in exchange for lots of fun activities. Like, for instance, totally crashing Austen's visit with L Williams last week. Totally worth it tho - L is freakin hilarious and it was so great spending time with these ladies in our nation's capital eating excellent food and drinking excellent beer on not one, but TWO evenings.

Never mind that I passed out so hard on the train home that some good samaritan had to shake me awake at the final stop in Baltimore... Oops haha.

pictured: blogger meet ups FTW!

I've also managed to actually ride my horse as expected as well. You already read about our relaxing and idyllic hack out from last Friday. And Saturday was lesson day at OF as expected. What was unexpected was learning that the next couple weeks of lessons are cancelled or otherwise not in line with my schedule. Boo :(

triple bar! 

It doesn't exactly give me warm fuzzies knowing we'll be walking into our next event (at Fair Hill for those particularly curious readers) without another lesson with trainer P... But I just have to trust our training and trust the horse.

Plus we're sticking with BN for at least this next go round. Bc why not. I'm busy and traveling and the horse is verging on not fitting into her girth any more (#springgrassproblems). We're also going to this show alone. Except my parents will be there (show is on Mother's Day and they live close to Fair Hill) and I would rather really savor the whole day with them instead of worrying about Fair Hill's novice xc oxer.

fence so skinny you can't even see it!

While our most recent lesson at OF with trainer P wasn't without issue (both comedic and intensely annoying) - it was still plenty good enough to reaffirm that N is well within our stadium wheelhouse. The mare is just good, guys. I can ride her to shitty distances. I can ride her to a stop. Sure. But I can also lay down some really nice fences with her. We just have to get back to a better ratio of good to meh.

astro-coop!

Right now we're at a place where the forward stride is getting easier and easier. But it MUST be ridden with commitment. However, that does not mean "chase the mare past her distance" - my current foible du jour.

Isabel will jump from a gappy distance sometimes. There is actually some solid video evidence of her doing so from some of our first jump lessons after I returned from the broken leg. But right now? If I ride her to the gap, she will stop. I don't like it. But that's just where things are right now, and I need to focus on our canter to avoid that altogether.

mare can't believe we're still going in the #longestcourseever

I'm optimistic about getting some lessons with our favorite technician Dan in the next couple weeks tho, so that ought to help us feel as prepared as possible for our next event. And maybe if the stars align we'll fit in a dressage lesson with trainer C too...

Ooh but we did manage to go cross country schooling this weekend tho. With some of the freaking cutest blaze-faced chestnut geldings I've ever met. OMG. Oh, and their riders were prettttttty cool too!

warning: equine internet celebrity sighting!!!! 

Details to come!!!!!!! :D