getting excited about other things

I like to think of myself as mistress of my own destiny, for better or worse. It's easy to become flustered or paralyzed by choice, sure, but I try really hard to resist that. When things aren't going well, or when I find myself not quite satisfied with outcomes, I start thinking about what I, personally, can do to change the situation.

I wrote a little bit already about some of those options for Charlie's current undying abscess. Namely: Option 1: Go full helicopter mom and throw every manner of ridiculously expensive diagnostics at the horse. Which, you better believe I've been talking with vets and trusted advisers during this process.

The reality, tho, is that.... sure, we could take rads. But.... I mean, we already know the hoof is real sore. We could try to block it to make sure nothing else is also sore but... it's also pretty hard to block an extremely ouchie foot. I may pursue further evaluative measures when the hoof gets better just to be sure, but really the most realistic course of action is just letting the abscess do what it's going to do. And try to keep Charlie as comfortable as possible in the meantime.

my volunteer prize for winning Sara's february drawing!! very pretty packaging from Grey Horse Candle Company

Option #2?? Lol... that would be the whole "fly completely off the handle and buy a second horse" idea. Which, wow. So tempting. There are so many pretty horses out there, guys. So so so many. And I did really love the restarting journey with Charlie.... wouldn't it be fun to do that again??

But. Ya know. Resources like time, money and energy are precious commodities. So for now all my eggs stay in one basket. Tho I won't rule out being impulsively foolish at some later date lol.

So where does that leave me? Sitting around feeling sorry for myself isn't really my favorite activity. I need stuff to look forward to on the calendar. And sure, I still have all sorts of fun shows and outings planned, but Charlie's proving that I can't just rely on our own outings for positive excitement.

and it smells delightful - sweet but soft. can't tell you what, exactly, it smells like bc i'm shit at identifying scents.... but i like it a lot! i've actually purchased these candles as gifts before but this is my first one to keep, and i love it!! thanks Sara!

So. Enter Sara's year-long Volunteer Contest. It's no secret that I love horse shows. LOVE. Whether that's just hangin out as a spectator, or helping out my friends at their competitions, or actually participating as a volunteer. I love it all. Plus, my local combined training association has volunteer requirements to be eligible for year end prizes. So volunteering is a no brainer.

Usually I can hit my requirements just by doing the fun local schooling stuff at my own barn or hosted by my local association. But I was surprised by how much I enjoyed stewarding the xc warm up ring at a USEA show last year. Really surprised, actually, it was a blast!

Given that volunteerism is one of my goals this year (I'm aiming for an event in 7 of 12 months this year), and the fact that Sara's doing monthly drawings, I decided to be a little more proactive about seeking out volunteer opportunities. So I hit up the USEA volunteer portal* to search for upcoming events in my area.

(*You need to create an account if you don't already have one, but it only takes a second and is then super easy to use. and no, you don't have to be a USEA member - I am not, for instance)

 

I decided to sign up for a bunch of small schooling events at Loch Moy, bc they have awesome volunteer swag bags with t-shirts, stickers, food, and xc schooling passes. Bingo!

There were also a couple upcoming FEH/YEH qualifier events that looked awesome, but all the volunteer positions were already filled. Which made me realize, if I wanted to do cool stuff at the bigger events, I *had* to be planning in advance.

Luckily, my calendar-obsessed self already tracks dates of all the events that look like something Charlie and I might want to do, so it was just a matter of cross referencing that against the upcoming events listed on the USEA's website and picking what looked interesting.

Scribing for the YEH jump phase? And the FEH conformation phase??? Uh, yea. That sounds fascinating. Especially as someone who fully acknowledges that developing my eye for quality, skill, and style in a horse has not always been a priority.

So yea. Putting stuff on the calendar gets me real excited haha. Ideally, Charlie and I will have our own competitions too, obvi, but I'm also really excited about the idea of getting some new experiences (and hopefully new knowledge!) at some of these events later in the year. It's stuff to look forward to, ya know?

Do you also like volunteering? And did you sign up for Sara's contest? Have you used the USEA's volunteer portal? Or do you mostly just sign up to volunteer at your own barn's events? Or through your local association?

Volunteering, for me, has been a great way to get familiar with a new sport and learn more about levels beyond my experience. Plus, ya know, watching pretty ponies do amazing things is pretty inspiring. Esp if the ponies and/or rider don't look much different from me and my pony haha. What are you favorite things about volunteering?