Snappy Dressing

There's been so little riding over the past month, it's felt tricky to scrape together exciting things (and pictures!!) for sharing here. But finally, finally, we're settling back into the riding routine. #feelsgoodman

this painted horse head lives on the side of a barn at OF

Which is perfect timing bc, as usual, we've got plans coming up. And not just the typical fall competition season kick off, either.

oh yea. that's exactly what you think it is. 

Oh no no, there's more. Always more! Perhaps you recall that my friends and I occasionally like to participate in horsey adventures that call for dressing up (and tailgating). 'Tis the season again for more shenanigans, and we're going in a whole new direction this year lol.

haha and there are even more where that came from!

Because we're adults, dammit. If we want to play dress up with our ponies and braid feathery boas into their manes while wearing tutus, ain't nobody gonna stop us!! (But I promise: plenty of ppl will hopefully take pictures lol)

such a nice matching set!

Back on the side of more, uh, classic styling - we have this lovely new USG bonnet and pad set. Liz from Clover Ledge Farm hosted a great contest in anticipation of her and Snappy's championship event - an event in which they had an absolutely fantastic time (even if the cross country course design was a tad underwhelming for Snappy's prowess).

and socks, i <3 socks

I was thrilled to win the contest, and even happier follow along as they had a great event. Unfortunately while it was always planned to be Snappy's swan song before retirement, it proved to be more final than anyone expected, as Liz had to say goodbye to Snappy not long after.

works surprisingly well with charlie's berry+black DJD browband. too bad he wouldn't be still for a pic

So Charlie will wear this set with a little more gravity and respect - hoping to do justice to the memory of a versatile, talented and dignified Standardbred mare!

i swear he's a generally happy horse, but he's got that pitiful look down pat. as evidenced on that right side pic of him a week and a half ago sporting splint juice on the RF, an abscessing LF, a silver-sprayed infected shark bite front and center, plus a broken halter just for kicks. long suffering soul!

So far he's been coming back into "regular" work feeling quite good, actually. Each ride starts with at least one moment of his head up in the air, turning back to face me with bared teeth - asking if I'm serious about going. Maybe homeboy thought his time off meant that the whole "retired" part of retired racehorse was finally coming true. Sorry buddy, nope! Now get to work!

he's all better now tho!! cleared for takeoff!

And he's basically acquiesced more or less immediately. I've been trying to focus very hard on my own position - my seat, my torso and shoulders, my arms and hands, legs... yea, all of it. And focusing on riding the horse's body rather than getting baited into an argument about where he holds his nose (a trap I constantly fell into with Isabel too).

fun new thing from Mary's in San Diego!

And ya know what? He's doing pretty well! It turns out (and I'm sure this will shock you) that if I ignore where his head and neck are, and focus on riding his body where I need it to be - straight, balanced and riding forward, while also holding my own position - Charlie has this nice way of kinda just.... settling in to a reasonable frame and carriage.

Ya know. That whole "form follows function" thing. Groundbreaking news over here, I tell ya!

back on track crown pad

We've been schooling almost exclusively in our dressage tack too. In a weird way, it's almost like my default tack choices have changed right in line with the barn move.

At the last place, the black tack always felt a little.... out of place. And like bc we were the only people in dressage tack it would kinda be expected that we would "go" like a dressage pair. But Valegro Charlie is not. So idk, maybe it felt plain old presumptuous?

fits right over the crown piece but basically changed every single dimension of fit for this bridle lol

Now tho, we've got this lovely dressage court to ride in. Plus, basically everyone else habitually schools flat work in dressage tack too. Instead of sticking out, wearing dressage tack is just part of the accepted and commonplace rhythms of training the event horse.

It's weird bc if you had asked me directly whether I made my tack choices at the last place based on my thoughts re: external perception of us, I would have denied it. But considering I've ridden in my dressage saddle more in the last month than in the previous couple months combined... well. It's undeniable lol.

Hopefully tho this change is as beneficial for Charlie as it is for me. I am really getting comfortable in my dressage saddle again and am maybe making some (very incremental) progress on my seat - something that perhaps regressed after a year at the h/j barn. And Charlie feels like he's reflecting that progress in his own work.

Have you ever felt similarly - that your style of riding or choices in tack or equipment are influenced by riders around you? Or maybe it's less about tack and more about what you work on? Or do you pretty much just do your own thing no matter what?