Thursday, March 7, 2019

time fillers: (not my) nostalgia edition

Alright so I'm pretty bored, yes? Here I was patting myself on the back for scheduling a week vacation for my horse... Only to sit idly by watching the calendar turn day to day, after said horse earned an indefinite continuance to said vacay by stepping on a nail....

"I AM TALLER THAN THIS BUILDING." - charlie, probably
The horse is still pretty sore too. And actually he returned to stall rest to wait out the mud, since the hole in his foot is still open. But he's also bored too, ya know?

"I AM TALLER THAN THIS TREE!" - charlie, definitely
Part of me wishes I could just ask the BM to check in on him and take a night off of the ~50mi round trip. But.... Idk. As much of a pain as it is to get out there for a bandage change and treats and grooming and not much else... Well, tbh I <3 my Charlie time.

feeling antagonized by my laughter lol....
Plus, I feel like homeboy needs some enrichment after being in his stall all day. Like, yes he's still sore on the hoof. But not like, abscess lame. Probably the soreness will recede once that friggin hole closes up.

can't tell if rolling or digging holes literally everywhere
And while yes, he's a good boy, I feel kinda guilty subjecting anybody else to deal with his.... special blends of Charlesass. Case in point: the freezing dramatically every three steps up to the indoor to tower majestically as fuck.

Or. Ahem. Whatever shenanigans he pulled with the farrier to end up with that class-ass broken halter (repaired with a hay string braid by yours truly - it's spring's hottest fashion statement!).

haha too slow with the camera. roll over!! (puns)
But ya know. Maybe at this rate he'll be just coming sound in time for the time change?!? Silver linings, maybe??? We'll see lol.

In the meantime, I'm finding other channels for entertainment. Like, ya know, my fave Youtube channels.

Youtube has a funny way of recommending like 8,000 videos that I have exactly zero interest in watching, ever, but then all of the sudden there's this one like, "ooh but what is that?"


Like this random nearly-decade old video of Joe Fargis just teaching another run of the mill lesson. Ya know. Reminding his students to fix their leads, and to sit up straight. Etc. EXCEPT. Uh, the students are Boyd Martin, Lillian Heard, Ryan Wood, and Caitlin Silliman, among others.

I can't really say what it is about this video that speaks to me. Probably just how like.... normal it is??? My inner lesson junkie just really appreciates that this video exists haha. Tho obvi it's still pretty clear that even at that time, each and every one of these riders are absolute pros...

sometimes i dig watching old helmet cam vids, know what i mean?
And anyway, since I was already falling down the Youtube video rabbit hole, what best channel to tune into other than Doug Payne's? He's been wearing a helmet cam forever, and actually back in the day used to do way more voice over analyses than he does now (tho he's got a new vlog series following his young horse Hannah that's pretty fun).


And they're all just such fun videos to watch. Actually one of his earliest videos was part of what made me really hungry to try eventing as an adult, but I haven't been able to find the video since. I feel like he was somewhere abroad, but it was his second time at that track and he has a moment where he describes "coming to grief" at one combination the year prior..... So uh. If that rings any bells lmk haha.

In the meantime, tho, this Fair Hill 3* video is prettty fun, esp considering he basically was catch riding the horse for his girlfriend at the time, now wife, Jessica. And while watching it, I noticed something kinda familiar.

ah yes. said aqueduct. suuuuuure. looks great haha
Like, ok realistically it's all familiar since I go to the 3* at Fair Hill every year. But this particular jump hasn't been on course since I've been going, and the only time I ever remember seeing it was during that legendary trail ride with my friend's old campaigner Freebee right after Charlie had surgery.

Oh memories... I gotta say tho. It looks WAY DIFFERENT in real life, esp all overgrown and weedy, than it does all nicely manicured and flagged in that helmet cam. It looked.... straight up unreal haha.

Anyway. Yea. That's what I'm up to right now. Watching old videos, reliving old memories, and watching my horse act like a sassy spooky youngster bronto on his short little daily excursions from stall rest. Good times!

27 comments:

  1. Doug has two vlog series going with young horses - Hannah and Harry (Quberon). They're the monthly update vlogs required for the US Event Horse Futurity participants, so all of the Futurity horses have them. Pretty fun to watch all the different babies get their start! Everybody has a slightly different approach and different challenges, so I've been completely captivated by the videos. The vlogs will keep going all the way through YEH Champs. They're all posted on the Futurity's facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/The-US-Event-Horse-Futurity-1140458726156333/

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    1. i really love doug's videos, i'm glad he's doing more!

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  2. But we love Charlie sass ;) <3

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  3. Love sassy bronto Charlie. Fingers crossed he's feeling better soon.
    I'm going to check out those videos!

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    1. thanks! i'm hoping he's better soon too, i guess whenever that hole in his hoof closes up???

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  4. I've been watching videos from Amelia Newcomb Dressage lately. And also the CDS Symposium judge's takes on the new dressage tests.

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    1. oooh nice!! i kinda love hearing judges talk about the tests - there's always good insight to glean, since they generally think about the tests so differently from me haha

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  5. I am also bored but because the weather sucks. Not finding much on youtube to motivate me for the warm weather whenever it shows up. Hope pony heals up for every equestrian fav holiday!

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    1. i'm so ready for good weather too! we have an indoor plus a couple rings, so i shouldn't complain too much, but i'm sooooo eager for good ground!

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  6. Charlie has being majestic down pat.

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  7. I always feel like I could utilise youtube better as a resource. Hasn't happened yet tho!

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    1. ha i mean, probably literally any video you could ever imagine already exists in some form on youtube.... which is both a blessing and a curse, tbh. i like it tho, esp for finding fun horse videos, and since i don't have an actual tv for random mindless surfing.

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  8. I looked at the thermometer this morning and it was -19. I had ZERO motivation to go outside. But no one else was feeding the horses. I just want tor ride. But things are going in the right direction and we will both be sitting on a horse soon.

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    1. oh man, it's crazy to me how much longer winter is farther north -- i hope spring comes for you soon!

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  9. Charlie and Pilgrim could be twins: farrier antics + hoof wounds. If I haven't said it before a zillion times...horses suck.

    That video of Boyd Martin & Ryan Wood is awesome! I can seriously get lost in YouTube for those exact reasons. Hope C's hole closes up fast so you can get on track for the HT!

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    1. oh man, maybe *almost* twins tho... i call charlie the "king of the dings" bc he only ever really just dings or dents himself. despite the frequency and dramatics, so far (obvi knocking furiously on wood), nothing ever really is that serious. compared to what you've been through these last through months with P, it almost seems like nothing! thanks and hopefully P is back on the mend asap too!

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  10. YouTube is a winter blues life saver!

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    1. i gotta admit i'm kinda low key obsessed with youtube haha... it has EVERYTHING!

      true story: i bought my grandfather a google chrome cast for casting his computer screen onto his TV a couple years ago. it's just like a $30 dongle, but it completely revolutionized how he chooses what to watch lol!

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  11. Rabbit holes can be dangerous - of course what else is there to do when your horse is in time out, or it won't.stop.raining. Charlie's majestic poses are impressive :D

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    1. omgosh he is just the absolute most majestic tho, right?!? lol... ;)

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  12. Catching up on my blog reading, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that Charlie is out again. Hopefully the healing continues!

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    1. thank you <3 the healing is continuing, fortunately. just very slowly. we have no idea how long the nail was in there, but i'm gonna guess he was walking on it for at least a little while based on how sore he still is.

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  13. Get better soon CHarlie! The time change hit me like WHOA

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    1. i so desperately needed this extra daylight!! it makes everything better ;)

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  14. It makes me happy that even Boyd Martin doesn't ride perfectly every time and has to go back and do a line again.
    Also, Charlie's clip job is really quite something when he looks so majestic and tall!

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