beaver moon

Whelp it finally happened. The clocks finally changed, and we’re officially into post-season territory. 

it’s so pretty at dusk — almost makes up for the early nightfall!

As much as I’d like to complain tho… Well, eh, it’s actually been a pretty mild and pleasant week, all things considered. Still practically t-shirt weather (maybe with a light layer), and obvi a pretty relaxed vibe this week given our last big outing of the season is over.

pic from our last lesson before the show, but also representative of what we’ll be doing today too

Or at least, last big ‘competitive’ outing. Realistically speaking, I’ll probably stay on the books with Woodge until she heads south for the winter. And I’m also looking to more proactively front load the winter season calendar with educational activities like clinics and things.

last lesson before the show focused on the small footwork grid in top left corner

Last winter I put together a calendar of epic proportions, with all manner of dressage and gymnastic sessions with some very exciting clinicians (like an old favorite, Martin Douzant!). 

But we only made it to the first big to-do  — an xc clinic on the Loch Moy derby course with Sharon White. The rest of our plans fell apart when winter hit us with two big back to back storms, and then Doozy got that suspected hoof bruise and spent the next four months NQR….

set myself a grid at home with more, er, *height* to finish show prep. naturally it poured buckets the day before so we had to be inside, but made it work anyway

Naturally that could happen again this year. Somehow, despite being such a manic control freak, I still haven’t figured out how to bend mother nature to my will, le sigh. 

pretty mare + pretty moon

But ya know. Hope springs eternal. Or something like that. November is my birthday month, and I always like to treat myself to something horsey. There are two clinic opportunities this month on my radar that look super exciting, too. And I also have a Loch Moy schooling pass set to expire by the end of the year burning a hole in my pocket. Hopefully will find a use for that too!

she’s trying to figure out why i’m so late in arriving

But ya know. Scheming aside, we’re mostly kinda just easing into the season. Our outdoor ring at home isn’t lighted, so we’ve been mostly relegated to the indoors since the time change. It’s not my favorite for a few reasons — 1) it can be pretty spooky to Doozy when we’re alone; but then 2) it’s hard to do much more than loose figures and circles when sharing with lessons. 

“where have you been????” — doozy, eager for her #afterdinnersnacks

So the nature of our rides naturally has to shift a little bit. Less of a focus on immersing completely into one of our Brit-bot ride guides, bc realistically it’s just not practical to go deep on specific exercises, gaits or figures when you’re sharing a 30x40m space with lesson ponies who may or may not cut every corner. 

who could resist that sweet face???

Instead, it’s a much more relaxed vibe. Riding Doozy as long and low as she’s willing to go, loose floaty forward gaits, sweeping figures, changes of directions, transitions, riding our footsteps intentionally and smoothly off minimalistic seat and leg aids, as we thread the needle amidst the lesson kiddos. 

For now, that’s good enough to still be a lovely way to unwind and unplug after yet another day spent working in spreadsheets or on zoom calls lol. Tho maybe as the season wears on I’ll get more ambitious and try to spice it up with grid nights or something. 

Who knows, we’ll see! And in the meantime, we’ll enjoy our lowkey casual rides <3