2015: The Year That Was

'Tis the season for retrospectives, and I've really enjoyed reading everyone's recaps and summaries of what 2015 brought.

So I'm sharing my own version too, with all our many experiences synthesized into brief bullet points, with pictures summarizing each month. Enjoy!

January

• We got serious about saddle shopping, and Brita and Wick joined the party as our eventing partners in crime. 
• Meanwhile the sand ring at our home barn froze for the season so we hauled out to nearby indoor arenas for any and all schooling outside of lessons.

original wintec top left; various crushed hopes and dreams top right, and bottom row

February

• We continued schooling at indoors, making FV our weekly destination of choice. This coincided with me getting serious about challenging my jump height comfort zone.
• I bought a saddle!! And proceeded to jump 3' for the first time ever in it :)
• We started playing the game of ever-postponed dressage shows, and actually never made it to a single one...

not 3', but still pushing our comfort level

March

• Isabel and I went to our first clinic together, with Grant Schneidman! It was a great lesson, but really drove home the point that we needed regular dressage lessons.
• Finally made it to our first actual shows of the season, a fun schooling show at OF and then the equitation division at FV's schooling show.
• We embarked on a new dressage journey with Trainer C from TM, with hugely positive ramifications in our entire training program. 

do we look like hunters?!?

April

• The FV show had ramifications of its own, and we brought the equine flu home with us as a souvenir, leading to a small outbreak at our farm and subsequent quarantine. We missed our first two events of the season and had to change focus to carefully bringing Isabel back into work without compromising her lungs.
• I rode Peanut in lessons at OF while Izzy was out of commission. This included a fabulous xc outing and the discovery that my confidence is finally recovering.

left to right: quarantine....; practically the same thing as horse showing anyway; xc with Peanut!!

May

• Things really started cooking in May. We picked up some serious inspiration by jump judging at MCTA at Shawan Downs and then followed it up with a hugely confidence-inspiring xc schooling with friends at Tranquility. 
• Then it was show time! We kicked off the season in earnest by running BBN at MCTA's Jenny Camp at Shawan Downs. And a week later moved up to BN at MDHT's Spring Starter #3, where Isabel and I had our best ever dressage and a stop on cross country to finish 6th. 

clockwise from top left: jump judging prelim @ MCTA; xc schooling @ Tranquility; BN @ MDHT Spring Starter #3; and BBN @ MCTA Jenny camp

June

• The competition train kept rolling into June, our busiest month of the entire year. We started with arguably our worst showing ever at Waredaca, which included another stop on xc plus an uncharacteristically poor dressage test. 
• No rest for the weary tho - next came more xc schooling and some efforts to better fit the saddle (that I just bought mere months prior ugh fml). I also built a lattice fence in an attempt to avoid future stops at competitions.
• Then two more shows! Tranquility's dressage arena was soup after inches of rain overnight so I couldn't be too upset by a solidly mediocre test. But we achieved our first ever clear xc at BN! 
• The month ended with a bang: xc schooling with Dan, then finishing on our dressage score for 2nd place at a rainy and BIG Fair Hill (where I met Alli!).

clockwise from top left: Waredaca stadium; xc schooling @ tranquility; lattice gate!!; after dressage @ Tranquility; boooo Bates; dressage @ Fair Hill

July

• July brought a brief respite from competition for us to take a breather and regroup. This included time off for Izzy and some chiropractic adjustments. And LOTS of lessons, wherein schooling 3' became more normal.
• I also wrote about constructive criticism v public shaming, bought myself a helmet camera, and met Austen!!!

pictured: mare flies like nbd

August

• I had the pleasure of spending time with Austen and Alli at a David O'Connor clinic at Waredaca. 
• We put our xc pedal to the metal - first schooling at OF with trainer P, then with Dan at AOPF, all with novice twinkling on the horizon. I tested the move-up waters with a 3' jumper round at Tranquility. We had a rail, but our confidence and execution were exactly what I hoped. 
• Izzy saw her favorite chiro/acupuncturist again and we were poised for an incredibly fun return to eventing by romping around BN at our home-away-from-home turf OF's starter trials. This was easily our strongest xc outing yet, and we had zero jumping penalties to finish 2nd on our dressage score.
• Then Novice at Olde Hope! The jumping was actually not very strong, with the mare stuck behind my leg and tentative about the increased technicality on xc (up and down banks, ditch, big jump immediately preceding a drop into water...), but a solid dressage test helped us cling to victory. 

clockwise from top left: meeting Austen and Alli at the DOC clinic; dressage lesson w/C @ TM; 3' jumper class @ Tranquility; xc school w/Dan @ AOPF; OF Starter HT; winning Novice @ Olde Hope

September

• We continued to be plagued with saddle fit issues and back soreness (not to mention an embarrassingly atrophied topline despite the mare working better than ever). Saddle shopping commenced again, then was derailed by needing new tires. Blargh.
• My awesome event pony got to play at polo and go on a paper chase with friends. 
• Bali entered the picture, and I remembered what it's like riding a true green bean again (hint: inconsistent lol). Meanwhile Izzy continued schooling 3' like nbd, and we even jumped a stand-alone 3'6" fence in a lesson (a personal record for us, even if we didn't do it very well).

these two should need no introduction by now <3

October

• This month started off full speed ahead, tho with a tragic note of saying good bye to the most special of all lesson horses ever, Milagro. 
• Bali prepared for and performed beautifully in a BN combined test at home, then was rewarded with a pleasant trail ride. (And let's just forget about when I stupidly managed to fall off him....)
• Isabel got her saddles refitted (with wider trees) and worked hard on the flat, particularly the long and low trot and novice dressage tests. We also went for a last xc school with Dan at AOPF before what proved to be our final event of the season. 
• I bolstered my nerves at the Fair Hill 3* (with Alli! and we met Britt!!) and then ran novice again at the MDHT Fall Starter #2, with a disappointing dressage test and slooopppppppy stadium (my fault, not hers) but perfect cross country. 
• Isabel got a break in anticipation of another trip to Olde Hope and Bali came to our OF lesson in her place. He was a super star! And then my world crashed down around me (only kinda exaggerating) when I fell out of my trailer and broke my leg. 
• Closed the month on a happy note by watching Brita & Wick take their first BN course at Olde Hope by storm!

clockwise from top left: Milagro; Bali's blue ribbon; me and Alli and Max at Fair Hill; Isabel proving she can clear a novice stadium jump when I give her the chance at Loch Moy

November

• Ugh. November was hard for me as I struggled with crutches and bitter disappointment, and a cat whose medical emergency overshadowed my birthday completely. I took the opportunity to recap the show season, do a zillion blog hops (seriously guys) {and yes those are all links to different hops haha}, and create our Year End and Bloopers videos.
• I also had fun attending horse shows and dressage clinics with friends. And finally got back on my feet again to at least play around with Isabel in the round pen. 

if you're fancy and you know it, shake your head!

December

• Thus bringing us to December, where I soothed my tangled nerves with tack purchases, obsessing over pro pics from Loch Moy, and triumphantly returning to the saddle for a trail ride. Isabel also got to enjoy guest rides by Austen and Brita.  
• I audited another clinic, this time with Boyd Martin, and started riding for real again after graduating to an ankle brace, with Bali earning the majority of my attention due to his precarious job security. 

perhaps a favorite picture from the year (even if the reason behind it still makes me sad)

So. There ya have it: 2015 in all it's glory. As always, thank you so much for reading and taking time to comment! I'm looking forward to seeing what 2016 has in store for us :)