keepin up with the joneses

It is somehow turning into the most glorious fall already. We’ve still had some warm days — but that cool crisp kinda warm that makes you want to bring layers just in case.

everybody is snuggly and sweet when it gets cold out!

It’s also been properly chilly on a couple days, and naturally a little rainy at times too. So all the nice cozy categories of weather. Only real bummer is the increasingly early sunset, I guess!

even doozy! in her new rain sheet!

Doozy, for her part, has been great. We had some really nice schooling rides in the last couple weeks, including a good dressage lesson, good schools at home, and that properly pleasant jump school I wrote about — plus one more after that wherein we basically just repeated exactly the same set of exercises with exactly the same properly pleasant results. Who doesn’t love that?

the sheet came in handy, bc it’s been rainy!
(also, yes, that is a whole ass flake of hay just sittin loose on the trailer floor LOL)

It was a good feeling too, bc we actually already had an entry in for Loch Moy’s final recognized HT of the year. Tho… Truth be told, legit one of my first thoughts after falling off at the starter trial was to check to see if it was too late to withdraw. Alas, it was.

It was a good aspirational bold plan when I sent all those entries in all at once — instead of my usual conservative / pessimistic approach of waiting to enter each thing until after the last thing, just in case.

“you can’t be serious” — doozy, so sweet she melts down in the rain

But, eh, that’s how it goes, right? I decided I’d still go to the recognized show since it was paid for and all, and we’d give it a good shot. Mostly I was curious to see if we could replicate some of those really good moments from the starter trial — esp in the dressage warm up.

proof we sorta kinda tried to do a thing! got some pro pics too bc #whynot, but you’ll have to wait for them to come in the mail

Idk, tho. The vibe was kinda off the whole day — and not just bc of the persistently damp chilly rain. We parked way down in timbuktu bc the place was a ZOO for area champs. They rearranged a lot of stuff from how they’d done it last year, including adding a second show jump competition ring and moving sj warm up to a whole new location (conveniently right above where we parked so we got to walk through all that** on our way to dressage).

(**All that being inclusive of the frequent victory gallops as each champs division concluded)

“i’ll take my snacks to go, pls!” — doozy, ready to be done

That’s all a long way to say: No, our dressage was not representative of any good work or improvements or whatever. It was, as they say, quite bad. Siiiiiigh.

I’d originally determined to stick around at least for show jumping, bad vibes be damned, but… eh. XC seemed out of the question with increasingly slippy torn up tracks (something like 40 BN horses had already jumped our track over the course of the weekend) and especially the warm up zone, and I don’t think I’d have forgiven myself if we had a repeat (or worse) of our last outing.

anyway. cats!! cats in paper bags!!! <3 <3

Ultimately tho, I opted to just pack up after dressage. Some other time it’ll feel appropriate and necessary to push through the cold wet chaos to go jump our jumps. It just didn’t have to be this particular day LOL.

speaking of creature comforts… my farrier started bringing his puppy on the road omg

And obvi Doozy certainly didn’t mind!! She doesn’t know she didn’t jump lol. Honestly, aside from being absolutely unable to cope the second she enters at A…. honestly aside from all that, she’s been an extremely happy camper lately!

doozy was obsessed, to say the least!

Nice rides, relaxed, pleasant and happy in the barn. Low key creepy in love with my farrier’s puppy. Ya know. Normal happy horse stuff! 

ooooh and more horse shows — this time on the administrative side of things: drafting maps!

So we’ll see what the season brings. Perhaps going back to the drawing board entirely re: test riding + ring craft. Or perhaps shifting focus to other activities that don’t involve dressage courts at all. Or ya know. Maybe just continuing to work as we have been, trusting that the progress is happening even if it’s hard to tell? Idk! We’ll see!

making plans for all these pretties!!!!

In the meantime, tho, we’re kicking back into high gear with all things Shawan Downs, as the local riding club’s fall starter event is rapidly approaching! 

get on the bus, lil’ table!!

There’s something so satisfying about being a part of that process, watching all the plans and pieces come together as the event takes shape.

so exciting to see things start taking shape! and look at those hints of crimson in the foliage!!!!

Fingers crossed the weather cooperates too bc while I’m undecided about entering the show, I’m very hopeful to at least make it to the xc schooling days. A girl can dream, right?

doozy, don’t you wanna go play too???

Right. It’s a tricky time of year to get too attached to any one specific plan or activity, with the weather being what it is. But honestly after having been on the sidelines for so much of the summer, it’s nice to even just have the choice!

perhaps haha. i think perhaps she does!

If the weather *DOES* play nice, we might have a few other upcoming activities planned too that require zero dressage (or even flatwork). More galloping hill and dale, less messy stressy contact on 20m circles. Doesn’t sound half bad, right? 

Cross your fingers the weather agrees LOL. And in the meantime, hope y’all have a nice weekend too!

friday foto finish: seasonality

Happy Friday, and Happy Fall to those who celebrate! It feels like September is always one of the craziest months of the year, not least because it is a month of transitions. 

August is peak summer in Maryland, with the heat and humidity seamlessly carrying on into September.

We were fortunate to have enough late season rain to keep things luscious and green — even after the last cuttings from the hay field!

Still tho, eventually everything goes to seed for the year — our fields get this gorgeous heather-y purple hue that really brings out the contours and steepness of the hillsides!

We’ve been lucky to get out a lot lately too, and occasionally in larger groups! And Doozy loves the groups. I used to worry that she’d be too chaotic and triggering for other horses but she’s proven me wrong (yet again haha). The vibes are good <3

September also always brings a new tenor of urgency to the show season calendar too. Suddenly stuff needs to happen! Preparations need to be made!

Including the MDCTA’s fall starter, which we’re super excited to be holding at Shawan Downs again!! In just a few short weeks all these jumps are gonna be back out and ready for action!

Doozy, for her part, seems to be happy for the routine. Well. Except occasionally — our early morning dressage lessons sometimes interfere with her nap schedule!

“I need a coffee. And maybe a hug too.” — sleepy Doozy <3

It’s not exactly coffee, but she likes sniffing the lavender potpourri satchel I keep in my helmet bag haha.

And hacking, haha. She likes hacking. We hacked a lot this month, apparently!

The low trail down by the creek finally got cleared of trees again too! I just love the woods this time of year.

Doozy’s been so pleasant and happy out there this month that we’ve actually done some hillside trotting and cantering too!

It’s super important to me that hacking remain a relaxing and fun activity, a nice escape. Obvi being free to run can be its own variation of fun liberating escape — but only if Doozy’s on board with that vibe lol. And lately? She has been !! <3 <3

Tho obvi we probably spend equal time stopping and snacking and chatting LOL.

It’s also been a season for starting to get back out to all the major FEI events — starting with the Plantation Field International!! 

I got to steward the 4* and 1* dressage warm up the day before our own show at Loch Moy and it was super inspiring lol.

I also stuck around long enough to help transition the big hilltop ring from dressage to show jumping — picking up all the boards and blocks etc above and putting down the standards and poles and cups and numbers.

I’m always so amazed by the level of organization and professionalism at these big venues. If you ever have a chance to help with set up for one of these events, you totally should. There’s a lot to it!

As it is, I’m super grateful that the gorgeous Indian Summer weather held fast through that event and our own showing at Loch Moy, bc it’s been rainy and cool ever since. 

Soggy Biscuit actually wore a blankie (and fly boots, go figure) a couple nights this week, esp the night before our last dressage lesson. God forbid she be cold and muddy AND have to go to work lol.

The rain brought in a distinct new crisp coolness to the air. A change in the light and color.

And the sun is setting earlier and earlier, as it always inevitably does.

Fall is my favorite season for riding, tho. I’m honestly kinda glad it’s here, excited to see what it brings! Hope you all have a happy start to the season, and a fantastic fall weekend!

playing in the grass ring

It’s been just rainy enough, often enough, to keep our outdoor arena closed while the footing dries (or, doesn’t, as the case may be).

setting my pivo up on the fenceline, willfully ignoring the storm clouds behind me lol

Obvi with two indoor rings there’s still plenty of options for riding … But idk, I kinda hate riding inside if we don’t have to, ya know? 

walking with doggo lol

Like… We’re basically confined entirely to the indoors during the winter since the outdoor ring doesn’t have lights (and again, the footing is bad in wet weather and slow to dry). So for the rest of the year, unless there’s a specific reason to do so (like when I wanted to jump before Thornridge last week), I’d really rather not go inside.

just trit-trottin around the field!

Especially on the weekends — this time of year the horses are inside during the day, meaning the paddocks are all empty. And there’s a very nice and decently flat paddock right next to one of the indoors. This paddock has the extra advantage of being essentially the closest thing the farm has to a dry lot — the grass is extremely short and picked pretty bare by the sweet pudgy ponies that use it for turn out.

something so refreshing about the grass!

Obvi I do my best not to leave marks or tracks or ride out there when it’s muddy anyway, but since it’s the one paddock that never gets ‘rested’ to grow grass, I really don’t worry too much about that.

jussssssst enough terrain to keep it interesting

And there’s something so nice about riding out on the grass! It’s up on top of a hill so there’s a nice breeze, and there’s options for working on slight variations of slopes and undulations in various corners of the paddock.

lateral suppleness remains an area of opportunity lol

I feel like it’s an entirely different type of workout for the horse to school on uneven ground too, compared to well groomed flat surfaces and footing. Like Doozy has to work harder to contain herself, keep her feet underneath herself.

feels like canter is coming along tho!

A friend I boarded with years ago moved to a farm that didn’t have any ring at all, and I remember seeing them at shows and her horse looked amazing. Like, obvi she was a lovely rider and he was a very nice horse anyway, but something about working full time on the grass had really done wonders for him.

obvi not perfect, never perfect, but it’s feeling a lot more pleasant to ride!

Plus, we have a lot of events around here that run dressage or show jumping, or sometimes both, on grass — in addition to cross country. That can be a slightly different experience if you’re not used to it, too.

Ms Thing felt very balanced on the grass!

Like I’ve honestly kinda avoided some events historically bc of the grass rings or especially the warm up situation. Which… ya know, is fine. But it’s also something we can practice, right?

wouldn’t mind having this down transition at a show!

It’s also “just different enough” that it can kinda influence how I ride in the same way being at a show can — in the sense that maybe I get more tentative or passive, or lower my expectations etc, bc we’re doing something “different” and “hard.” 

we squeezed in some quasi-test-practice before the rain got too heavy

So with all that in mind, it was nice taking advantage this weekend of the nice weather but unrideable outdoor to get out into the paddock.

**singing free-walkin in the rain!**

Doozy is still going strong on her Princess Streak too. Idk what’s in her Wheaties these days but she’s been literally the most pleasant creature for actual weeks at this point. The last time we had what I felt was a ‘bad’ or ‘frustrating’ ride was back in July, actually.

actually kinda nice to school in the rain — a rarity for us these days

And that was its own interesting experience too bc it was when I first got the pivo, and upon watching the video from the ‘bad’ ride… I actually felt better about it, like maybe it wasn’t that bad after all. And in fact, that was the ride / video situation which kinda helped me figure out that I was trying to solve rideability issues by getting too backwards. 

our “test practice” was more like just trot a circle, canter a circle, change directions, rinse repeat

Since that ride, I’ve been a lot more intentional about keeping my leg *on* and riding forward. And gooooooo figure, lol, Doozy looks like an entirely different animal now to how she felt then.

doozy loves her halts now

Actually, if anything, I probably need to add even more leg now bc she’s suddenly so ho-hum about life. It’s honestly been so pleasant!

fairly quick ride bc of the weather…

It’s like I almost don’t know what to do with ourselves when she’s this pleasant haha. Like, we walk, trot, canter, she’s a perfect princess, and it’s like…. okie dokey so…. now what?? LOL…

collecting the expensive electronics before they get too too damp!

Obvi it’s easy enough to see from these pictures and the video that perhaps I could push for a little more, be a bit more exacting about frame and posture and all that… And sure, we’ll keep working on that. But I’m not gonna lie, it’s nice to just enjoy Doozy’s relaxation for a bit too haha.

lol @ her face…

My hope is to keep sorta reaffirming this relaxation in new and slightly different ways — like riding out in the grass! or riding in the rain! — while also continuing to nibble around the edges of improving our flatwork, so that ideally the relaxation will remain accessible to us when we get back to events. 

A girl can dream, right?