rinse repeat

I listened in on a webinar last week with a Q&A session hosted by an FEI dressage judge who had some, hm, strong perspectives on the future of the sport. Granted, a lot of horse people have strong opinions, and judges are quite literally tasked with, ya know, judgement. 

welcome to another episode of two dozen pivo screenshots!

So it’s not surprising when they take advantage of a presentation platform to get up on their soapbox and expound upon the issues they see as most critical. All that to say — as with anything, we listen with open ears and open minds and also a grain of salt at the ready.

here’s the video if you’d rather see it in motion. 

only about ~8min this time

It was timely for me, tho, bc I’d actually just recently scribed the dressage at a USEA event for a judge whom I’ve known for years. Lovely lady — witty, clever, and realistic about horses and riders presenting at all the various levels of skills and experience. 

not sure what it’s going to take to make me shorten my reins LOL

Naturally she and I chatted throughout the day about all sorts of topics. Our impressions of the 2026 tests, the various local pros and their up and coming horses. Her past experiences, my experiences with Doozy and our dressage struggles etc. All the things. And the change in scoring formats for the test collectives came up too. 

happier about my posture in a lot of these moments tho

I may or may not have even whined about how Doozy and I consistently get nailed in the “Harmony” collective. That instead of the score reflecting more or less our test average, judges often use it to make a point about their overall impression of how we go. Which this particular judge (having, ya know, not seen us go but just chatting with me) agreed seemed harsh and maybe unfair. 

lots of halt transitions throughout the video

So fast forward a couple days to this webinar with the FEI dressage judge who… Honestly kinda blasted my whinge right out of the water. She got up on her soapbox and practically shouted at us that “the harmony collective isn’t going anywhere!” And that even in the FEI classes (she was particularly preoccupied with pure dressage in the Olympics) the general impression scores are shifting to prioritizing harmony.

then right back into forward again, really pleased with basically all of our canter transitions

She predicted that judges at all levels and in all aspects of dressage will be increasingly using that collective score to “make a point,” and that the “wow factor would not win over harmony in the future.” Short necks, open mouths, BTV frames, a lot of tension… The more prevalent any of that is in a test, the lower the score will go. 

we’re still mostly bracing and above the bit, but she was decently relaxed anyway

Which. Ya know. It’s so funny how the world works sometimes, right? To go literally from one day complaining about how the scoring seems unfair or impossible for our sensitive reactive hot house flowers… To just days later sitting in on a webinar where the message is a loud and clear, “Buck up, buttercup, and do better!” 

emma. shorter reins WILL help you communicate better, i swear!

And so. As one does, I updated our “vocabulary word of the day month year lifetime” exercise with Doozy. Now we have two vocabulary words: Composure. Forever, obvi. And the newest addition: Harmony.

trying to ride forward into organization, not backward!

And a new measurable goal to go with that: I’d like to ride our dressage tests such that the Harmony collective actually DOES represent a more positive reflection of our scores. So like, if we ride a wild ‘n woolly test that nets us a 45% penalty score (55% in pure dressage), then yea a Harmony collective of 5.5 is expected. 

i’m actually happy with some of our canter moments for once!

But historically, a lot of judges have rounded that down to a 5.0 for us, based on their general impression of how we go. Looking forward, I’d like to prioritize a style of riding that makes it more likely for a judge to round up to a 6.0, with some sort of sympathetic comment like, “Unfortunate tension today!” lol. A girl can dream, right?

doozy thinks the halt transitions are stupid, but she squared up anyway!

Right lol. To go hand in hand with my new goal, I’m bringing a fresh newfound zeal to my persistently terrible upper body posture. Bc damn, it just seems CRAZY to me that despite literally a decade of bitching about it here on ye olde blogge, zillions of lessons, and now doing yoga basically every damn day… I STILL sit like a friggin potato on the horse.  

and forward again, good girl

And it turns out… Most dressage judges are all too eager to blame the rider’s poor position and use of aids for a messy test or horse who isn’t going well.

don’t look now, but somebody is developing a little elasticity! 

Now it IS true that part of the problem is just my own personal conformation. I have a short torso, short arms, and the sort of bust line that, when taken all together, really amplifies any impression of slouching. But… It’s also true that even when I really am trying so god damn hard to sit up straight with shoulders back… I’m just like, not. My body is lying to me, I swear!

lol @ her face….
“halt is my least favorite speed” — doozy, 1,000%

Recently, tho, one of the yoga teachers at my studio did a multi-week class focused on “grounding,” emphasizing a strong energetic connection and downward flow through whatever body part was in contact with the ground in each pose — feet, hands, spine, sit bones, etc. 

we hit the block, whoops

And it brought a different awareness and feeling for me. Most often, I’ve thought of stretching ‘up,’ sitting ‘up,’ feeling lifted and tall. But this yoga flow was all about the energetic push down to find the full expression of the posture. Ymmv, but for me, this is a really helpful new way to think about finding that strong open and tall core — pushing down into the sit bones to find the strength and stability to lengthen into a taller frame.

“false alarm, everything is fine!” — doozy, composed just one step later <3 <3

It’s not a silver bullet, obvi. At this rate, so many of my muscular postural habits are very very deeply ingrained. But maybe it’s helping? 

proud of the pivo for coping despite not being alone in the ring!

Idk. All that to say, this most recent Pivo-recorded ride had a few fundamental areas of focus: 

- Riding forward, in front of the leg — not trying to fix rideability problems by slowing down

- Lateral suppleness with lots of inside leg even when Doozy tries to convince me I should take my leg off lol… 

- HARMONY

- And, lastly, sitting tall (but-i-fucking-mean-it-this-time) for the camera

determined to work on my canter lol

Oh. And not shying away from working on the canter haha. And transitions too. Bc apparently none of it gets better if we don’t practice. Go figure!

pretty much satisfied with our how we finished the ride

And guys, Doozy is loving my newfound embrace of riding forward. There’s a lot more smoothness in all of our transitions — particularly trot to canter, but also the downwards too. Especially if I remember to keep my leg on, she really seems better able to get her legs up under her and hold a more comfortable balance — vs spurting off onto the forehand or snowballing into an avalanche of a pulling match.

one last halt with lots of pets, obvi

We still see a fair amount of bracing especially through the underneck, but I’m inclined to think that’s mostly a strength thing in the downward transitions, and maybe a lack of good preparation + reins too long for the upwards. 

still lookin pretty relaxed after all that! <3 <3

Again, tho, that’s also kinda the beauty of the Pivo LOL. Like, to spend as much time studying / editing / screen shooting that video as I do, and be thinking ‘ugh Emma shorten your reins!’ the whole time? Perhaps that’ll be the lesson that sticks lol. 

We’ll see, I guess! Anybody else working on any positional breakthroughs, or general feelings on the future of judging in the sport? 

on taking the plunge

I participated in my 75th yoga class this week, which feels like a good milestone moment to check in on what I’ve learned and what it means for me, particularly through the lens of my horsey endeavors and goals for the year. 

Not so much from a physical tactical exposition of how the poses align with good equitation (answer: they do!) or whether that means I’ve seen massive improvements in my own position as a result (answer: not really!). But rather, there are other observations I’ve made from the practice that resonate possibly on a deeper level.

“oh boy, here she goes again….” — doozy, probably

In particular, a teacher offhandedly mentioned the book Eastern Body, Western Mind in class one day, so naturally I downloaded it. While driving to our first event last month, I listened to the chapter on a parable of describing a stream — first from the perspective of an observer on the banks, and then again from the perspective of being fully immersed in the stream.

Perhaps, while observing from the banks, you might note the stream’s size, width, color, the surrounding foliage, how it looks and sounds. But upon taking that step down from edge and into the stream, your perception might change entirely. Now you might describe the stream from a more sensory perspective — the temperature of the water, the texture of the riverbed beneath your feet, the push and pull of currents.

everything looks (and feels!) a little different from that first person perspective!

The gist is that there are two modes of “knowing” a thing: observing from the outside, vs experiencing from within. Description vs participation. And that there’s this threshold moment, transition, inflection point when you take that step into.

Obviously readers who have been around for a while (or perhaps even just those observant enough to note the title of this website) will know I’ve spent a lot of time grappling with the subjects of fear, anxiety and confidence. And this little parable about observing the stream from outside vs inside is, I think, an illuminating way to consider the idea of anxiety. 

Anxiety is inherent to the transition, the decision to act, to step in. It’s a visceral response to this idea of crossing into uncertainty. We can spend a lot of time thinking about why that is — perhaps it’s fear of failure, performance anxiety, fear of the unknown… Maybe it’s all of those things. 

casually observing professionals doing professional things from the sidelines is… not quite the same

To observe from the sidelines maybe feels safer, there’s more control, more predictability, less exposure. There are different levels of proximity, too — for example, if we’re thinking about horse shows, observing from the distance of a volunteer at a show, or going to cheer on a friend, is ‘closer’ than watching a video on social media. And maybe this sorta incremental inching closer to the edge is a way to create familiarity or “dip your toes in.” 

But I think the point of the story that sticks with me is that it is the act of immersion itself that changes perception and perspective. 

I’ve often said that I love volunteering bc it normalizes the whole horse show experience — including witnessing countless little (or big) mistakes throughout the day that generally are just nbd, just part of the process, and not worth letting yourself get paralyzed from action bc of them.

pictured: not quite the same LOL, but still fun ;)

That’s not really what this story is saying, tho. Rather, it’s saying that the act itself is experienced so differently from however you may have described it as an observer, that it bears almost no resemblance. In other words, ‘how it looks’ never truly encompasses how it feels. Which means it’s possible to miss key details, perhaps the most important.

And this can cut both ways, right? Like at one of my worst ever horse shows with Charlie, at Plantation Field, where we retired after multiple refusals… We have literally ALL seen horses have refusals. It happens. It’s not the end of the world. But in that moment? To me? Well. The fact that I’m still talking about it all these years later is clear enough indication that the experience left a heavy mark.

Meanwhile, last month when Doozy and I had a refusal on course… the experience itself was completely different, and in fact I still walked away feeling like we’d had a great day — even tho literally anybody could have looked at the scoresheet after the fact and pegged our performance as ‘poor.’

fun fact — i was SUPER ANNOYED at Area II Champs last year bc i forgot to pack a saddle pad for show jumping and had to settle for a janky trailer spare… but tell me (and be honest) — who noticed the mouse pee before i pointed it out??

For me, that’s kinda the big lesson here. That what we might have thought from the outside often shifts when we’re actually in the moment, doing the thing. Perceptions of what might constitute failure — or success! — can shift from hypothetical to contextual, becoming less about judgment and more about adjustment.

For me, recognizing this is actually helping me grow my confidence. It’s not just a matter of feeling more prepared or more ‘ready,’ but actually that repeatedly immersing myself in the experience proves that, ‘Yes, I can handle this!’ and that the existential feelings of doom and dread of possible failure are… maybe actually a bit overblown. Actually, the water’s fine!

constantly working hard to reframe my goal… it’s not about eliminating anxiety or perfect performance… but just simply getting in and trusting it 

And back to the 75 yoga classes, obviously it’s not a perfectly analogous activity to leaving the start box on cross country… the scope and scale is obviously entirely different. But it’s still a matter of showing up. Getting into the moment. Practicing doing the thing, getting into the flow. Repeatedly proving to myself that, “Yep I can!”

I think, for me at least and ymmv, integrating this sort of practice and intentionality has been a big longterm goal for me. Horses are hard, the sport is hard, it can be a rollercoaster. But actually, at the end of the day, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of actually splashing around in the stream, experiencing it first hand!

installing buttons

Bad news in Baltimore… We’re already 3 weeks into the new year, and… Yep — *looks outside window* — it’s still winter. Womp.

There’s not really a whole heckuva lot going on right now in our world. And obvi all the warm fuzzy feelings of *inspiration* and *motivation* and *energetic excitement* associated with “New Year, New Me OMG!” can’t last forever, amirite? 

So… eh, let’s dial it back a little. Not ALL the way, tho, bc today’s topic is still entirely inspired by (and based in part on) my experiences of digging into those new year intentions. Specifically related to my foray into a new physical activity. 

Namely, I want to share a couple observations from attending yoga classes… Which, naturally, I’ll attempt to tie back into some sort of equestrian relevance.

sweet mare is so patient with all my shenanigans LOL

Bc it turns out, learning new things as an adult… kinda sucks lol. I’ve never been a fantastic multi-tasker anyway, but seriously guys. Trying to listen to, understand, and act upon a whole new set of vocabulary words in real time and real heat (did I mention the studio is heated??) while **simultaneously** not falling on my actual literal face during said actions, which themselves seem to defy physical laws of gravity and flexibility… Yeeeahhhhh, it’s been. Hm. Wobbly. 

The first few classes were a constant struggle. I burned so much energy just concentrating on following the prompts and remembering to breathe, that I often couldn’t make it through the full sequences. 

Soon enough, tho, things started clicking! Suddenly the words, poses and sequences became more familiar. My experience in class shifted from an overwhelming bombardment of sensory stimuli to organized flow. My stamina increased, my pants magically lost their post-holiday snugness… I felt good!

And what a trajectory, right? Exponential achievements unlocked! At this rate, I’ll be well on my way to nirvana in no time flat, right?? Right?!?

“nirvana?? yea right, get real, lady!” — doozy, 100%

Ahem. Cough cough. Yeeeahhh. About that. 

Anybody familiar with the phrase “regression to the mean” (or, I guess, familiar with the basic regression curve itself) recognizes this pattern. Starting from zero, followed by a period of rapid growth / improvement, before tapering onto a near-flat trajectory toward infinity. 

In other words, results tend to plateau over time. Not bc we suck or whatever, but bc it’s legitimately a long, slow, incremental process of building skill and proficiency in just about any and every endeavor. Like it or not, I’m probably stuck with the wobbles for the foreseeable future.

Relatable, right? Sliiiiightly discouraging, sure lol. And probably a big reason why a lot of new habits or intentions often don’t stick. Bc unless you legitimately enjoy the activity itself, that long slow grind isn’t super fulfilling lol.

Obviously there are plenty of parallels to riding just in that concept alone, too. Like how with Doozy, all those exciting new milestones from the early days — our first sit! our first jompies!! our first jompy lesson!!! — eventually gave way to the slow steady grind of incremental progress 2.5 years (really) later.

Have no fear, tho, this whole blog is basically a shrine to the grind LOL. So I promise not to dedicate this entire post to that subject. It’s been interesting and enlightening, however, to experience it more directly and personally, that’s for sure!

pictured: the face of a horse who is *astonished* at the suggestion that our progress has been slow
“don’t look at me, it ain’t my fault!” — doozy, without a doubt

So let’s move onto my other big main observation from these yoga classes: what that regressive concept means for understanding reproducibility in general, and the conditions for success in particular.

Sure, it’d be easy to believe that having finally accomplished a tricky twisty balancing pose for the first time, that now it’s part of my ‘repertoire,’ it’s something I can do. Or, in a more horsey jargon that I personally find mildly obnoxious, it’s a “button” that’s now been “installed.”

We’ve all heard it before, right? Maybe about some sort of flat work exercises — lateral movements, flying changes, fancy dressage stuff — that a horse has a ‘lot of buttons.’ 

And sure, there are some very nicely schooled horses out there who are capable and confident at executing upper level maneuvers with relatively minimal input.

But real talk…. there are some things I can do at the *end* of a yoga class that… I can not do at the beginning. And don’t even TRY to ask me for that same degree of flexibility or muscle tone when I’m standing at the bathroom sink, brushing my teeth after waking up in the morning. Bc it ain’t gonna happen like that. 

maybe i just have ‘warming up’ on my mind bc i’m trying to manifest to the universe??

Obviously this is NOT rocket science and I’m not telling you anything you don’t know by saying it’s actually the progressive warming up, stretching and activation of different muscle groups throughout class that suddenly makes those trickier poses more “available” to me. It’s not that we install a headstand “button,” but rather that the conditions for achieving a headstand* — aligning the spine, stacking hips and shoulders, etc etc — are met such that the headstand is possible. 

((**Obviously NOT referring to myself here, ain’t no way, no how, I’m stacked in ALL The Wrong Ways LOL))

Academically, again, this is not new information. For me, for you, for any of us. But going through the experiences personally, recognizing the differences in my own body between when I’m not ready for a particular movement vs when I am, has been enlightening.

And it’s made me think in new ways about how we go about “warming up” in a typical schooling ride. Bc again, let’s be real, it’s super easy to fall into a pattern of treating the warm up like a check list. Like, ok, let’s walk for 5minutes, trot for a bit, change directions, work both sides, introduce some figures, maybe a little canter, then voila! we’re ready to jump a couple jumps.

That might not necessarily be wrong either — perhaps it’s a normal pattern bc it basically normally gets the job done. But now it’s got me thinking more deeply about exactly which muscle groups I’m asking the horse to activate, when, and to what degree of intensity, and how that sequence can progress through a ride. 

looking forward to a day when we’ve got better things to do than navel gaze!!

And more specifically to that whole idea of “buttons” in the horse, it’s so easy to think that once we’ve schooled a horse to a specific movement or maneuver, then the horse should always be able to do that thing. When, in reality, it’s all the underlying conditions, circumstances, situations that have progressed to make that “button” available.

A horse that’s on the aids, in front of the leg, and relaxed but attentive will have an easier time stepping immediately into a new gait transition or lateral movement or whatever, compared to a horse for which some or all of those criteria are not met. 

More thoroughly trained or well schooled horses might get there faster with less fuss or rider input, might also have the conditioning necessary to do more “advanced movements” with less preparation (for example: plenty of folks can wake up and whip out some fancy poses while brushing their teeth cold at the sink,** right?)… sure. 

(**Tho there probably aren’t too many PRs recorded cold at the bathroom sink!)

But for the most part, I’m guessing a lot of us probably need to spend less time thinking about achieving specific movements or transitions or whatever, and more time focused on those basic fundamentals: on the aids, in front of the leg, relaxed but attentive.

The basic ingredients that make an activity possible and reproducible in the horse. For me and Doozy, for example, that could mean reframing how I think about practicing for dressage tests. Shifting focus from just rehearsing the test pattern itself to instead really working on practicing that ‘readiness’ to perform a test.

Not really an earth shattering concept or observation, obviously. But maybe interesting. At least to me LOL, on this cold wintry day, staring down yet another snowstorm! What do you think?

the dude abides

TGIF, friends! Hope everyone is looking forward to a nice weekend!! We’re getting a little break in the weather, with relatively mild temps — tho still some rain, so we persist indoors. Fortunately with Doozy’s new fancy shoes to improve the experience!! 

literally no clue what i’m talking about here — but hey, it’s a picture!!

And even better, not only was Doozy sound for our first trial ride, but a friend was able to snag a couple video clips too!! Yay media!!

It feels like a perfect moment in time to capture, too. Obvi for evaluating how Doozy responds to the changes in shoeing, but also for stepping back and grounding myself in the new year intentions we talked about last week. Particularly that whole “physical capacity” bit lol.

not-so-random flashback to the Charles Himself
it’s a rare shot where you can see BOTH sides of the rider at the same exact moment, so this is an interesting insight into my long-held postural asymmetries

As a step in that direction, I attended a yoga class on new year’s day, during which the instructor handed out notecards inscribed with various ‘sutras’ to all the participants. Mine said, 

“Then the seer abides in its own true nature (1.3).”

Which, it turns out, is not a Big Lebowski reference LOL, but maybe isn’t far off, either.

anyway. trotting around in our new dancing shoes!

A little light googling uncovered all manner of various translations and explanations of the verse, and its insights into the journey toward discovering one’s true nature. 

In particular, one article said this sutra was about recognizing that “our current state is just as it should be.” And that it intends to inspire us to begin—right now—to practice. That the realization of self is not to be viewed as a far-away, barely obtainable goal — but rather it is within us right now, waiting only to be uncovered.

trotting the other way too! #needsmoreforward

Which… Ya know, might be a **little** woo-woo, but also ain’t a bad message for those of us looking to use the new year as a launching pad, amirite? Here we are, right where we should be, ready to practice becoming what we want to be!

quick video clip of our post-canter trot

Ancient philosophical texts aside, tho, it’s a good message for me on many levels. My struggles with bad postural habits and asymmetrical strengths are, erm, well documented here on ye olde blogge. I’ve long since accepted the reality that I’ll never be able to just ‘flip a switch’ and suddenly sit tall like a dressage queen.

post canter trot has a better overall forward balance, tho perhaps feels less organized + ‘together’

Or at least, not while actively riding my horse… Since all my strengths and ability as a rider are rooted in those same muscular patterns that hold all my other habits. 

But! I can practice. And this year* I’m hoping to create space for that practice separate from saddle time. So that I can (hopefully) make the most of Doozy’s and my time together, showing up well-ish for her while also maybe observing how things do, or don’t, change in my way of riding with the added external practice.

(*Ahem, at least as of the time of this writing LOL, another one of my new year intentions was also to give space for fatigue, burnout, other external realities… so we’ll see which intention lasts longer!!)

needs more inside bend too lol
we went thru a phase where the answer was almost always ‘more right rein connection.’ doozy has moved on, but apparently i have not!

In our schooling sessions in between lessons right now, my aim is to stay as present as possible to our quality of going. Are my legs long, pushing down evenly into the stirrups on both sides? Is my rib cage level and upright, collar bone open with shoulders down and soft? Are my elbows bent, hands holding themselves up, with reins an appropriate length? Is my chin up? 

easy enough to pick ourselves apart, but i’m overall happy with our current state

And for Doozy: Is she in front of the leg? Can I move her off each leg, bend and counter bend? 

My biggest bugaboo right now (especially after riding inside for so long) is riding the horse a bit under powered. It’s tempting, ya know? It feels more organized, quieter, ‘steady.’ But with most horses, and definitely with Doozy, that’s also where the mischief lurks LOL. Like, for instance, bucking or kicking out into canter is a direct result of transitioning from a behind-the-leg trot.

the goodest girl <3 i love that she wears her forelock in the same dweeby center part as charlie <3 <3

So our current state isn’t ya know… perfect. But it’s where we are, right where we should be. Emma — focusing on postural alignment; Doozy — gettin’ in front of the leg!

All of which is aided hopefully in no small part by growing confidence that Doozy’s new shoeing arrangement will keep her comfortable. Since ya know. Our season of practicing dusty laps in the indoor is apparently far from over… I’m looking forward to worrying less about that particular component!

Anybody else getting started on any new practices for the year? Or doing any sort of personal rundown or assessment of the current status quo? 

2026: What we pay attention to, grows

I’ve been reflecting recently on Doozy’s and my year together in 2025. It was, on the balance, pretty excellent — even with lots of lessons and learnings to carry forward into the new year.

And for whatever reason, that’s where my thoughts keep landing: the time ahead of us. Perhaps I’ll still get around to reviewing the past year in formal posts (it is winter, after all, with every reason to predict more snowbound doldrums lol), but for today I wanna talk about what’s on my mind and set my intentions: I want 2026 to be about showing up well — mentally, physically, and structurally — and creating conditions where positive experiences can happen often, with clarity, sustainability, and repeatability.

To dig into the details a bit, I’m breaking out three key elements to that intention: my mental space, physical capacity, and structural design + approach.

it ain’t always the easiest partnership, but i’m excited to see what comes of it in the year ahead!

Mental Space

I want to continue being intentional about mindset, emotional approach, and overall framing of how I participate in this sport. Realistically, anybody who’s been reading knows this has already been a major focus in recent years.

It’s been a real journey realigning my mindset to a process-oriented vs outcomes-focused approach. To release myself from the idea of “failure” and instead embrace that every experience is just more data. And that nobody will care more than I do.

And all that work paid off in tangible ways in 2025 — especially when it came to just getting out the door, doing the things, and actually enjoying myself in the process.

pictured: enjoying myself <3

That doesn’t mean it’s easy, or that the hard days disappeared. It’s honestly a constant effort — especially with a horse as uniquely challenging for me as Doozy. Sometimes it looks like pushing myself past my existential dread, but sometimes it’s also about adjusting expectations or even scratching when that’s the right call (Plantation being a recent example).

In 2026, I want to keep paying attention to how I show up: staying focused on process over outcome, and feeling present rather than pressured. I also want to leave myself some space — for fatigue, burnout, or the realities of life outside the barn. What we pay attention to grows, and this is something I want to keep growing.

Physical Capacity

On the flip side of the same coin, I want to bring more attention to my physical wellbeing and health in 2026. It feels like one of those universal jokes that as decades of horse experiences really start translating into a deeper knowledge (dare I say, wisdom?), the body…. Miiiiiight be heading in the opposite direction.

just trying to keep up with this spitfire mare!

Between age, accumulated wear and tear, old injuries, and the double-edged sword of a fulfilling career that keeps me hunched over a computer for long hours each day, it isn’t getting any easier to stay physically well, strong, whole, and present in the saddle. My strength, flexibility, and stamina aren’t what they used to be — but they also don’t feel gone entirely. Let’s say atrophied dormant rather than lost.

It’s been easy to rationalize that I’ve historically been sufficiently strong and fit just as a byproduct of my normal horsey habit. And ok, things slipped a bit in recent years as Charlie eased into retirement… but surely I would snap back as Doozy really got going, right? Ahem, cough cough. Perhaps I didn’t give enough credit to the fact that my horsey habit was “enough” when I was 10 years younger, taking 2+ lessons a week, AND doing barn work LOL.

literally the prettiest mare <3

So. In 2026, I want to be more proactive in building my strength and stamina outside of saddle time or lessons. Not in pursuit of some ideal version of fitness, but to be as strong and effective a partner for Doozy as I can be, and to make sure I’m getting the most out of our lessons. What we pay attention to, grows — and at least in this moment, my willful blindness to this reality is over.

Continuing Education and Lessons

I say this every year, and I always mean it: I want to keep learning, developing, and pushing my skill set. A big part of that continues to be lessons with qualified professionals.

perhaps we’ll go back to Area II champs again next year??

I still catch myself pining for the setup we had in 2015 — weekly lessons with a 5* rider at home, plus regular ship-outs for jumping and dressage within <30min drive. That was a halcyon age I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. These days, especially this winter, getting to a proper jumping lesson generally means shipping 1-1.5hrs each way.

In 2026, instead of dismissing that reality as “unsustainable” and rationalizing that “I can get by well enough on my own!” I want to make it work. That means more planning ahead, and obvi all the associated time / energy / resources of travel, but it’ll be worth it. At the same time, I’ll keep looking for creative ways to bring good education a little closer to home.

Competitions

I want to keep competing in 2026, without attaching that to specific goals around levels, qualifications, or results. The focus instead is on staying present and producing predictable, repeatable experiences — especially in the dressage, but also in the show jumping.

ideally we’ll have more to show than just being super shiny in our dressage tests LOL

Some of that should come naturally from continued education and better preparation, but it’s important enough to name explicitly. Last season reinforced the value of early, low-pressure, bite-sized outings as a way for both of us to dip our toes in, build comfort, and set ourselves up for success. That’s definitely a lesson I want to carry forward.

Equine Management

This also ties into Doozy’s overall management, obvi a fairly critical element of overall program design. I’m really happy with how she responded to the care and management choices we made over the past year and hope to carry on as we have been.

That said, nothing here is static or fixed or set in stone. She’s an animal, and her needs shift — with the seasons, with workload, and especially with changes in grass and pasture. In 2026, the goal is to keep paying attention, stay flexible, and continue adjusting her wellness routines in ways that support her soundness, comfort, and mental freshness.

literally the sweetest mare, just gotta keep the hamsters all running in the same direction!

Setting Doozy up for success starts long before we ever get on the trailer, and this is an area I want to keep approaching thoughtfully and proactively.

Seems straight forward enough, right?? Or maybe that’s all a little vague and woo-woo and lacking the specificity necessary to be accountable, as far as you’re concerned. And maybe you’re right LOL. But eh, it’s horses. Anything can happen. For now, tho, this feels like the right course to chart. Anyone else starting to think about goals for the upcoming year?  

Keen Charles

This has probably been the strangest springtime for me as a rider since I started documenting our various escapades here on ye olde blog. 

 

literally the saddest most tortuous photograph known to horse-kind

Typically, in years past, we've been bitten by the "Gung Ho!" bug sometime around January-February-ish. By which I mean, we get serious about fitness and preparing for the season ahead: clinics, schooling, and even our first few outings are frequently logged well before April.

desperate for the merest pitiful green shoots amid the dirt

This year has been completely different, tho, for fairly mundane reasons. Our lesson routine fizzled out completely by the end of last summer / fall, and has been sporadic at best ever since.... I injured my ankle in October.... Charlie came due for his hocks but we decided to hold off til spring.... Then I injured my ankle again in February*....

(*Fun fact: you can actually see the lone singular pole on the ground in a photo posted at that link, hidden behind Charlie's ear. The ONLY pole on the floor, and *that's* where I decided to dismount. Stupid stupid stupid lol....)

don't worry, sir, your time with the grass will come!

So it's been a slower start. Tho.... that's honestly been not altogether a bad thing. Like basically everyone else in the world right now, it's kinda been a process unpacking all the emotional turmoil that's apparently a natural byproduct of a global friggin pandemic. 

Simultaneously, feeling unfit after months of injury could be seen as a disadvantage or possible contributing factor to any confidence issues... But, eh, I'm choosing to see it differently. Instead: Mentally, I don't really feel prepared to push or challenge myself. But!, physically, we're not exactly ready for it anyway -- so it's a built-in excuse for taking our time!

legit thought Mikey was comin with us

And we're taking that time by having lots of fun, and logging lots of miles. Poor Charlie, LOL! I watched some random video Boyd Martin posted about one of his horses, in which he mentioned the horse is 'galloping every four days' in preparation for Kentucky. 

Obvi Charlie isn't going to Kentucky. And, let's be real, 'gallop sets' aren't a necessary component of Charlie's fitness routine either. But I've always loved easily digestible metrics like "Every 4 Days!" and have since adapted that idea into our combined fitness schedule. 

cruisin!!

I also revisited older posts on wellness plans for Charlie, like this one informed by a vet who reminded me that Charlie needs to be conditioned to high impact in the same exact way he needs to be conditioned to long slow miles. It's not just one or the other -- it's both, judiciously. 

trying to enjoy the last few weeks of 'open gate season' before the horses switch to summer pasture

Now that the weather and ground has been consistently improved by spring growth, it's easier than ever to get out and about in all the woods and fields. Which is great bc... Damn, 4min of trotting on rolling uneven terrain is apparently a LOT different than 4min of trotting circles on groomed arena surfaces haha....

ooooh playing with lesson kiddos at the schoolin show!

Lessons have been cancelled more often than not in the last couple weeks, but I'm also trying to be better at fitting in undirected jump schools. Bc realistically.... The only way to improve my fitness AND confidence is to just.... do more. 

We need to jump more -- like, MORE more. And right now I'm aiming at ~2x weekly. Nothing crazy, nothing big scary or complicated. Not even really caring about height or whatever. Just... going through the motions, especially when it comes to stringing multiple things together. 

artsy? LOL

Luckily the course is still set up from the little schooling show a couple weeks ago, and actually there was another little in-house lesson show this past weekend too. Charlie and I weren't participants in the lesson classes, but we did ride around with a couple groups during their hack classes, with the ring surrounded by parents and siblings and camp chairs etc. 

Which... Was fascinating bc Charlie actually clicked into that spooky reactive *amped* gear of his that is so elusive in our normal schooling but often crops up at horse shows. Basically, the side of him I have to compete but never get to practice on. So.... This was PERFECT lol. 

aaaaand tick season, boo :( at least this one seemed more normal...

Homeboy was LIT, but we got to just work through it and go through the motions. And then repeat again when one lesson group finished and the next started haha. Muahaha. Poor Charles. 

Finally after flatting around with the show groups for the better part of 2hrs, the classes finished up (with jumps set around 2'3) and Charlie and I got our own turn at the fences. Sure the jumps were small, but again, that didn't really matter, right?

always gotta say hi to the little bebes! 

What *did* matter was the feeling. Which... Again, Charlie was clicked into that same gear that normally crops up only at shows, so it was great practice. But we still kinda started off a little sluggish with me wanting to add extra strides to every fence. But the longer we went, the more strung out we got. Hence... the need for practice. 

Actually, hilariously, there was a 36' two-stride line set up that I was pretty uncertain about, bc we almost always school shorter distances at home and it's been FOREVER since we've done a proper 36' in-and-out. Somewhat absurdly, I worried we wouldn't get down the line in 2. Haha. Hahaha...

Yea... Charles did one. Ahem. Whoops?

charlie loves the magnolias (even if he hates that friggin rock)

Basically that whole little process repeated itself again later in the week, when I was back up in the same ring with the same jumps (mostly, some had been taken down, including the in-and-out) with another friend. And this time the jumps were a little bigger - around 2'6.

Same exact process: Lengthy lengthy warm up (turns out, maybe Charlie really does need to trot 15min straight before I even consider trying anything else?), then cruising around and around and around, catching all the jumps. 

Naturally starting by being a little chippy and wanting to add strides everywhere... Then somehow letting the pendulum swing entirely the other way by getting strung out gappy and sliiiightly frantic. But then, finishing by smoothing things out, more or less.

seriously the actual prettiest <3

THIS is the practice we need. Lots of repetition while the stakes are laughably low. Lots of opportunities for us to both get our strength and feel back. And, along the way, get a better idea for the preparation Charlie needs to click into gear faster and more reliably.

Which.... Is all useful bc I'm kinda starting to feel our late start to the 'season' now, as so many fun and exciting outings are rapidly approaching on a jam-packed events calendar. It's good to get that feeling again of "wanting" to get out and do things. But first we need to do our homework and put in the prep so I don't arrive at an event and "nope out" like we did at Loch Moy LOL.

Hopefully tho, we're getting closer haha.