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Monday, August 13, 2018

he's ba-aack!!

I remember my sophomore year in high school being... kinda challenging. Like, on one hand I thought I knew everything. But.... on the other hand I was kinda a seriously major idiot. Ya know. It happens.

Seems like moving up with horses is kinda like that.... Our sophomore novice effort at Plantation was a shit show. But our junior "year" effort at Olney this weekend? Fucking priceless. Charlie's back, guys, and he means business.

"HAPPY HAPPY RUN RUN!!!" - charlie, probably
Obviously much much (much MUCH) more to come. But it was a very good day. Charlie put in his most obedient dressage test to date. Then, ya know, got to chill in his stall like any other Sunday this summer. Perfect.

Then back out again to jump. Homeboy had some emotions about this - mostly bc I was running a little late (you better believe I had to be out on course to see Brita tackle her second Training, and Rachael move up for her first! and yea the totally both killed it!) and ended up trotting Charlie most of the way up to the jump field, when he may have preferred a little more time to look around at all the different things. Oh well...

"but also i do dis thing too. just don't ask what mum is up to with those hands tho lol...." - also charlie
He was a good egg tho. Very business-like through the stadium round. And then fucking phenomenal across country. Such a good dog, I just fucking love him omg.

It wasn't without mistakes or whatever - and yea half the farm heard me growling and yelling at him out of the start gates (not edited out of the video bc reasons). But he went forth and did the thing. And this course was no slouch either. Lots of big fences, tricky combinations, and a massive fucking galloping fence shared with Training.

Charlie cruised through it all tho. Like it was easy. Good boy!

we won ribbons!! and  A CAT OMG!!! haha jk, but wouldn't that be some shit tho?!?
The scoring got a little screwy tho, and for that I have some regrets and moral dilemmas. Immediately upon taking care of Charlie after our rides, I went right out back to the xc fields to jump judge. Meanwhile, we saw on live scoring that they hadn't recorded my rail in stadium.

I texted a couple ppl letting them know (didn't know the ppl who were doing the actual scoring) but it still ended up that when I got back to the office at the end of the day to collect my dressage test, the error still had not been corrected and ribbons had already been distributed. So.... I went home with a 2nd place on the record, when it ought to have been a 4th.

I feel a little badly about that, but also feel like I took every step I could have to get the issue corrected. So idk. Update: the scoring was ultimately fully finalized and Charlie did in fact win 2nd place. Way to go, big guy ;)

It hardly matters for me and Charlie bc as far as I'm concerned we FUCKING WON THE WHOLE THING OMG lol..... But still tho, seriously, it really does feel good.

I'm really proud of the horse, and so happy with how he settled in on course. Nothing is too big for him (actually some were too small) and he definitely seems to enjoy the game when he feels like playing.

So. Another N in the books. Finally. Stay tuned for more details soon!


33 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great day all around!

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  2. YAY!!! Can't wait for the details!!!!

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    1. Details soon!!! Tho if you’re super impatient the videos per usual are already up on YouTube ;)

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  3. Yessssss!! Go Charles-saur! Go!

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    1. The Charles-saur was a-roarin, lemme tell ya lol

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  4. YAY!!!!!! so happy to read you guys are back on the right track. sophomore year does suck - a lot.

    also let me know when events start giving out kitties bc i will be there. with bells on.

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    1. thanks - i'm happy to write it lol. and yea omg if these events were giving out pets it would be a LOT harder to get any ribbons at all bc the divisions would be so much more crowded lol ;)

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  5. Fantastic and great job guys! It's wonderful when hard work pays off right?

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    1. so wonderful tho ;) it doesn't always work out this way i'm learning lol, so i'm trying to enjoy when i can!

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  6. This post made me very happy! Yay Charlie. Yay Emma. That first photo- both of you are 'YES, LET'S DO THIS!'

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    1. ha omg that's exactly what he was thinking!! he was ready to GO, but also still stayed very respectful and remained adjustable even through the finish!

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  7. YAY THE RETURN OF SUPER CHARLES!!! And dang do I need kitties to start being given out as prizes. Someone make that a thing.

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    1. i mean, if you ever make it back to area 2 i could maybe smuggle in two little tabbies and pretend like they're a prize lol

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  8. Whoo hoo! Bet that red feels like a blue!

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    1. 100% feels like a blue haha - as far as charlie knows, he's champion of the world ;)

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    1. definitely a great day! esp considering the weather has chilled out a bit lately haha

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  10. That's so exciting! Congrats on a good run- can't wait to watch the videos!

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    1. thanks!!! they're all up on youtube already, but i'll be posting them here too tomorrow and wednesday ;)

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  11. Nice!!!!!! Congrats on a successful day!!!! And I feel ya on the moral dilemma thing- this happened to me with Gus a long time ago and I did the same thing as you but by the time I had seen the placing the other ribbons had been distributed and it was just a schooling show so didn’t count towards year end points or anything so I didn’t feel toooooo bad afterwards and enjoyed my pretty blue ribbon :) So enjoy your pretty RED ribbon and the success it shows from this weekend!!!!!!!!!

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    1. that's honestly reassuring about others having been in the same place before. the organizers basically dismissed me when i brought it up to them, like "eh you got lucky, enjoy it!"

      i looked again tho and figured out i would have been third, not fourth, had the rail counted. and the rider i would be swapping with is actually a barn mate i ride with often. so i'll let him know what happened next time i see him and we'll probably swap ribbons lol. and these points actually *do* count toward year end awards for our local organization (we are both members) so we can get it straightened out with them too. which makes me feel a bit better haha.

      still tho, 3rd out of 9 is kinda a big deal for chuck, esp considering there were a number of TEs and xc refusals in our division. i'll take it!!!

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  12. Awesome, sounds like a great day out. Well done, can't wait to hear all about it!

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    1. Thanks it was a perfect day - just what we needed ;)

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  13. WhooooooHooooooo!!!! He certainly looks like "let me at em!" Good boy Charlie!

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    1. That was EXACTLY how he felt lol, but in a very good way too lol

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  14. Definitely don't feel bad about taking home that 2nd place ribbon. You tried to correct their error and they just didn't have their shit together. It's on them. And YAY go you guys <3

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    1. Lol yea this organization is not famous for being... uh, organized lol. I did figure it out tho that actually I would have been 3rd, just swapping one place with the rider who should have been second. He’s a barn mate too so I see him often so we will get it corrected (esp since these points will count double for year end awards through the MCTA)

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  15. Soooooo glad you had such a wonderful show! You've been working really hard and totally deserve it. YAY TEAM CHARLIE!

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