mid year evaluation

Hokay folks. It's July, it's hot, and we're now halfway through the year. Time flies, eh?

today's photo selection is a random review of moments from the past quarter. like the above, from when a train accident and subsequent cancellation left me wandering around DC for a little while to observe all the strange statues lol...

Per usual, things seem to be a little bit up and down around 'Fraidy Cat Eventing. With more down than up this past month. Naturally it's hard to look back in a more comprehensive way when current feelings are kinda.... not great.

On the other hand tho, it's totally worth doing bc this quarter taken as a whole was pretty positive. So. Let's review how things went vs the actual plan, and then take a look at what the next three months might bring, shall we?

that one time we packed up and went to a starter trial just for the dressage phase....

Quarter 2 Evaluation

• The schedule I sketched for the first half of the competition season is intense. And possibly over-ambitious. There are 7 potential events on my wish list, one of which is penciled in as our N move up. This is my biggest goal. We did it!!! We moved up in May!!!! And then went for our second attempt at N and.... catastrophe. Womp. Entered four total events this quarter, but withdrew from the first after Charlie popped a splint, then scratched from the fourth entirely (a planned BN run at Fair Hill this past weekend) bc Charlie isn't sound. So.... Yea. I'm calling the move up a win bc Loch Moy was freakin baller, and the disaster at Plantation had less to do with the jumps and more to do with... cantering away from everything else. But I'm reserving the right to be fluid between levels until Charlie's more confirmed in "Go Forward Now, Or The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves."
• Simultaneously, however, it's critical that I remain flexible in the plan and receptive to feedback from Charlie. He's my #1 in all this, so he gets a say in everything we do. Fitness and conditioning stay on the list as major priorities. The lion's share of our ridden work should be focused on getting the horse really fit and strong in his body. Yes. The horse was fit, strong, and happy. Uh, until he wasn't...

"can we just do this forever plz?"

• This includes spending a lot of time in our barn's cross country fields. There's a lot of good stuff out there that we haven't done yet - particularly the biggest ditch and banks, and some jumps near the water. Introducing Charlie to these elements will be part of prepping him for N. Not really..... Just as good ground conditions aligned with a sound and physically ready Charlie, the jumps all moved to Shawan Downs. And upon returning home, they mostly sat in a pile in the front field :( However!!! We did school at Shawan and it was fabulous!
• Also a part of prepping for N? Uh.... brakes haha. Obviously I'm working hard on developing a better half halt in the horse so I can slow him down while keeping him in front of my leg. We also need a bitting solution here too, tho. And soon. The curb chain seems to work, but honestly the schooling seems to be paying off more than just a big bit. Turned out we needed more Go than Whoa anyway, whoops!
• Meanwhile, stay vigilant about Charlie's overall well-being. Particularly, keep an eye on his hooves and body condition as the grass comes up and the horses transition back to pasture. Get him started back on electrolytes early. Went back to leather pads for his hooves and started elytes months ago. So far, so good on that note! Still some pesky persistent lamenesses tho...
• Keep him on a regular bodywork schedule too. Hasn't been as often as I wanted for budget reasons. 

still completely over the moon about the fact that this happened <3

• Evaluate lesson schedule in light of events schedule as well. I want to avoid over-jumping the horse, and focus on limiting the reps while making each school count. We're kinda week to week with this, but I think we're finding a good balance. Ahem, when he's sound.
• Likewise, I want to be more disciplined in working on our dressage. Consistency is key for Charlie to really understand my expectations. So....... We mostly hacked out the first two months of the quarter haha. And Charlie felt happy in the work, and fantastic in his body, so I didn't worry about it. But then he suddenly *didn't* feel happy in the work and our lack of consistency proved to be a huge issue at a very inconvenient moment. Lesson learned?????
• Overall, it'll be important that I keep the big picture in mind and don't get too caught up in my plans that I miss the forest for the trees. Horse showing is literally one of my favorite things, but it can be stressful too. Remember to always put horsemanship first, and always have fun! If you had asked me to respond to this a month ago, my thoughts would have been very different than they are today. Horses are hard, guys, and June really fucking sucked.

among this quarter's highlights: trail riding with awesome friends and bloggers!!

Phew. Ok. Nothing like waking up on a Monday morning to some depressing goal reviews!! So let's move right on along to seeing where we are against my 2018 overall hopes and dreams:

Mid Year overall check in:

• Move up to Novice by Q2-Q3. Done!!! But... uh, still a lot of work left to do.... 
• Do a recognized show, level not important - timing of this depends on schedule of friends who need recognized shows for qualifications purposes for their own goals. Not a priority.

going to Kentucky for the 4* was also so freakin awesome tho omg!

• School some of training by Q3, ideally full height elements but smaller sized technical questions are acceptable. Whelp. We've got our work cut out for us... This is happening in small doses in our normal lessons, in terms of just plain height independently, or complexity with bending lines, combinations, and skinnies. We're a long ways off tho. 
• Research options for an "adult event camp." So far no progress. This may end up being more informal with me and my friends.
• Schedule a clinic(s) with Dan at OF. I need to focus here.
• Keep the horse on a regular massage and/or chiro schedule as needed. So far, so good.

feelin like a million bucks and poppin' bottles after finally riding a novice course again!

• School the bejesus out of our cross country course at home. No excuses! Also make trips to other venues - Windurra, I'm looking at you! Down banks in particular need attention. My friends and I have been imagining up some fun ideas for July in particular. We'll see what actually happens tho.
• Continue developing flatwork. Would like to be passably schooling all of first level by Q3. Would like to finish at least one event on my dressage score, and would like the dressage scores to be competitive. First level still feels pretty far away, honestly. I'm hoping tho that if we can make some breakthroughs in Charlie's lateral and longitudinal suppleness, that suddenly some movements will feel much more attainable. But like, also sometimes we don't steer or brake. So. Ya know....

what else can i say but that i really like this horse??

• Trail ride at Fair Hill!! Ideally with other bloggers! Done!!!!!!
• Volunteer. A lot. Look for opportunities monthly, and aim for doing some type of event volunteering in 7 of 12 months. This continues to be ongoing. And I'm having so so so much fun doing it!! Thanks Sara again for the great contest!!
• Try to maintain at least some microscopic degree of poise if there are setbacks. No matter what, have fun! Also ongoing. Forever and ever, amen. It's a grind sometimes.
• Be the type of competitor my friends enjoy being around at shows. And be my friends' biggest cheerleader. Nothing has revolutionized my horse habit quite like having great friends to share it with - don't take this for granted! Trying!!

lots of favorite pictures of him from loch moy <3

• Keep the blog going: this space has been so meaningful to me, both as a means of documenting all of my horsey escapades but also as a way to participate in the wonderful equine bloglandia. Y'all are great! There were a few unexpected bumps along this road this past quarter. Some unexpected snide comments, some condescension about Charlie's wild and woolly season opener, and some folks who straight up accused me of bad horse care. All of which caught me off guard and really bugged me. I had always felt like our little equestrian blogging community was so encouraging and supportive; and maybe a little sheltered from the polarization, vitriol, and straight up cruelty found on other social forums. But seeing some of that same behavior show up here made me reevaluate how much I share, and how honest I want to be about the struggles or low moments, or about judgement calls where the choices aren't always easy. I legitimately considered changing how I write, becoming more guarded. Like what if after a horse show I just post 2-3 of the very best pictures and a few lines about my horse being perfect, and leave it at that? Instead of the intensely nitty-gritty play by play format I so enjoy creating (and reliving!!). But..... Ultimately I decided not to make any changes. To keep telling my horse story the way I want to, to keep sharing the moments that mean the most to me (both good and bad), and keep sharing the less than perfect or downright low moments bc realistically that's what it means for me to be an adult amateur doing my best with what I have. And to keep maintaining the same honesty I've made habit when it comes to details about lamenesses or decisions around care. Folks will always disagree with my methods - that's horses, right? Ask two horse people, get three answers?? But this is my blog, and honestly I really love it. Would probably keep writing even if nobody wanted to read or participate in the comments section. But the fact that people *do* read, and *do* comment truly makes it so much more special and I'm grateful for it every day. So. The blog goes on!! And if you don't like it? Or don't like me? Eh, fuck off, m'kay?

Ahem. Cough cough. Moving on.

we need more of this in our lives STAT

Lastly, let's take a look at where I'd like to be going in the next couple months. While fully recognizing that, ya know, things change quickly in Charlieland haha.

Quarter 3 Goals:

• School more xc at home, idk why this is so challenging haha! But we need more galloping in our life for sure.
• School off property too - Loch Moy & Windurra!
• GO FORTH, CHARLES! FORWARD TO GLORY!!!! Make novice great again!
• More dressage lessons with trainer C, possibly substituting for some jump lessons. Charlie's got it in him to score well in a test, we just need more work.
• Jump some T fences!!! And maybe some smaller sized but higher technicality combinations!

height ain't a problem for this giant horse, that's for sure

• Don't ignore hacking entirely even as I hold myself more accountable for our consistency in schooling.
• Sketch out idealistic/aspirational/omgyoucrazy/realistic/pessimistic/BN4lyfe fall season options. All roads lead to Rome, right?
• Use "summer recess" from shows to consider options for getting our butts back in gear and recovering some of the mojo we lost at Plantation: clinics, jumper shows, paper chases, group trail rides, etc.
• Mostly tho I really want the next few weeks through the heat of summer to be focused on enjoying the ride and remembering that Charlie has all the ingredients to be my eventing partner for a long time. I just need to keep us healthy and happy. 

just gotta make sure charlie always loves this view as much as i do!

• Stay on top of Charlie's hooves as weather and ground conditions require. Consider pros and cons for getting Charlie drilled and tapped for studs.
• Adjust Charlie's nutrition if needed - I don't want him getting too heavy for his body, but that might prove a non issue if the grass becomes less luscious in summer heat.

So... Uh, wish us luck?? Haha hope you all had a great weekend and for those of you in the States, hopefully you've got some time off this week for the 4th!!