frozen weather silver linings

So the weather around here is getting a little schizophrenic. I guess to be expected with what is *hopefully* the slow but steady changing of the seasons!!

Last weekend was FRIGID omg. So cold, especially overnight. The horses at our farm are typically out 24/7 except in instances of extreme weather. And how "extreme" is defined varies by horse - some horses stay out in worse conditions than others.

But last weekend? They were all in. Which means that my typical barn chores shift transforms from quickly picking out the stalls to full on mucking duty.

i never get tired of this face

Every single winter, tho, without fail - I have to relearn the same lesson over and over again. Namely: aside from being kinda cold out, cleaning stalls in 15* temperatures is AWESOME. So awesome haha.

bali says "helllloooo blog land, wanna play!"

Essentially, the stalls are so easy to clean bc they're all completely dry - whatever would be wet ends up in frozen little chunks that separate easily from the clean bedding. And those rock hard frozen manure nuggets make the most satisfying little *thunks* as they pile up in the wheelbarrow.

The only aspect that could even be considered mildly annoying or challenging is making sure you don't accidentally toss clean bedding that's frozen into manure-sized chunks. Call me weird if you want haha.

i love stopping to say hi to my formerly ear-befuzzed buddy while checking hay
(i say 'former' bc he was not spared when i pulled out the clippers a couple weeks ago, and lost his beard and excessive ear fuzz and whiskers, tho you can see they're already growing back...)

All that said, tho, I'm not sorry that we won't be having another similarly freezing day today. Nope, not sorry at all. Instead it's going to be high 50s and maybe sunny! Meaning I ought to be able to just plow through the chores, no actual mucking required, then off to our lesson - which might even be outdoors!!!!

Ooh, and if everything goes according to plan, Bali might be coming along for the ride too with his lease rider. Should be a fun day! Hope you all have equally nice weather today. Or, if not, maybe there are at least some silver linings?

wherein we do a scary thing + don't die!

Guys. Isabel and I did a thing. A thing that, while technically completely within our skill set, has always scared the ever loving shit out of me.

isabel doesn't get what all the fuss is about haha

Sure, 3' is a height we have previously navigated more or less competently... tho not since doing novice cross country at Loch Moy in October before I broke my leg. And my confidence has grown flimsier without the practice.

Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, this feat isn't particularly impressive to anyone beyond the principal players. Certainly there's no grand jury waiting to bestow blossoming laurel wreaths upon us. Any comparison between my riding and a world class professional is obviously laughable. Nor will we be featured in any prestigious publications.

Ultimately, tho, I'm only riding for myself. And for me, jumping these barrels felt THRILLING  : D

brita contemplates the realities of appearances from the ground vs from mighty Wick's back. looks like someone might be thinking about novice this year after all!

Anyways... So we snuck in an extra lesson midweek. Actually, maybe my favorite thing about dentist appts is that I can schedule them such that the rest of the afternoon is free for equine-related activities. And this week we opted to go see trainer P at OF again, since Brita missed last weekend and will miss this weekend as well.

#lovethishorse

And it was just three of us from our home barn GE in the lesson - Brita and Wick, lesson director R with her fresh off the track baby TB Birdie, and obvi me and Isabel. So we all had the whooooole arena to play around with warming up. I kinda expected Isabel to be fresh and ready since it had only been two days since her last ride, but she was actually a little slow to start.

"ATTTTTACK!!!!" - isabel

'Twas fine tho. We stretched. We leg yielded and serpentined. We circled big and small. A quick canter to open her back before moving on to strictly sitting the trot. Then practicing all our transitions with sitting - up, down, all around.

Ooh and trainer P taught me a neat cheat for getting a better feel for the sitting trot. She told me to count "1-2 1-2" while also simultaneously thinking "right left right left," with the idea being to develop a stronger feel for each individual hind leg.

I'm undoubtedly exaggerating the side-to-side swing in my hips while doing this, but I think that'll go away with practice. Bc this method really helped in two important ways. 1 - I felt my seat connect better with Isabel's rhythm; and 2 - 'counting' greatly reduced the noise in my brain and the sitting trot was suddenly WAY less distracting. Win!

turns out we can jump straight over the middle when i actually think about it

Then we jumped. Trainer P had whispered into Isabel's ears when we arrived, "Ok girl, I'm gonna finally give you something to JUMP today!," but I didn't think anything of it. Especially when the topic seemed to shift towards a heavier focus on flat work followed by more follow-the-leader through a grid.

It was a typical grid for us: vertical - one stride - vertical - one stride - oxer. But then P set up skinny barrels (pictured above) on the other long side and diagonal. FUN!! For someone notorious for drifting over fences, I LOVE skinnies :D   And Isabel was obviously eager for the challenge. Good mare.

seriously, could she be any cuter? 

And then.... P turned the barrel on the diagonal to its upright position, and added a second for a little extra width. And cue: absolute panic. I seriously thought I was gonna barf up everything I'd eaten in the past 5 years... Sure, P was very nonchalant about the height, saying they're really only just a hair under 3'.... But omg whaaaaaaaat noooooooo.

game mare is game

We did it tho! Started with the grid (which was also raised accordingly), then the other barrel, then up the diagonal over the barrels...

Isabel had a really lovely canter going. Really, through this whole ride she moved very nicely into the bridle and in front of my leg. Starting from walk, to trot, to canter, she stayed very soft to my hands - which then translates directly to getting that great jumping canter from which the distances are always just *right there.*

Tho on this first attempt, while I liked the distance and the canter, it was perhaps a smidgen tight and we knocked the barrels pretty hard.

"oh shit oh god oh shit i'm gonna barf" - emma
"geeez chill out crazy lady, we totes got this!" - best pony in the whole world evar

So we tried again. And I was terrified that I would give her a bad ride and she'd refuse after having already had the one good knock. Well, really I was just terrified. Haha. Ya know.

FLYING

But it was totally fine! Isabel was right up in the bridle and we saw a forward spot and took it. What a rush!!! Yay Isabel!!!!!

And honestly there's not really a whole lot I can realistically make better at this point. I'm pumping with my body on approach (but not as much with my hands - a definite improvement!) and am slightly defensive position-wise, but eh. Improvements are happening with time and practice. Meanwhile Isabel clearly does not feel impeded!

pony has always had a thing for barrels. she likes to bite them.

So... yea maybe it's kinda silly to get so excited about it. But yet, here I am, super excited. Brita and I got drinks after and much exchanging of high fives was had. Bc damn, we felt good.

dreaming for a day when that snow-covered arena visible beyond the fence line is rideable again!

There will undoubtedly be jump schools in the future where things won't go so well - we will struggle, I will ride poorly, Isabel won't always save my ass when I put her in a bad spot. That's just the nature of riding in partnership. Peaks and valleys, y'all.

So I choose to heartily enjoy and celebrate the peaks, in hopes that those feelings of joy and accomplishment bolster me through the rougher patches.

FCE Review: Dark Jewel Designs Snap-on Browband

Observant readers might have noticed a seemingly innocuous head shot I posted of Izzy on Tuesday, with a caption referencing our bright new sparkly plaything. And the most keen of you might have also noticed that our precious PS of Sweden bridle is suddenly looking like a much better fit for Ms Dainty Face Princess Isabel.

"that would be Her Royal Highness Dainty Face Princess Isabel to you, peasant"

So what's different? The browband, folks. We gots ourselves a new browband when Amelia from Dark Jewel Designs contacted me about beta testing a new product she's preparing to offer: a browband with snap-on functionality.

the browband in action

Perhaps you're already familiar with Dark Jewel Design from other reviews in blogland (such as when Aimee of the Sprinkler Bandits reviewed hers in 2013). Basically, Amelia sells fully customized beaded browbands through her company, and the browbands are incredibly beautiful.

Check out the shop or Facebook page for details - but the gist is that a standard browband ($50) or a snap-on browband ($55) (choose either black or brown) comes complete with two fully customized and interchangeable strands of beads. Additional strands are $15, and special order beads are priced on a case by case basis. (the beads pictured below are all regular-cost beads). All orders come with a customer satisfaction guarantee.

i've had my heart set on this pattern for, um, a while actually. and now i own it!!
PC Amelia Pitts

To be completely honest, over the past few months I've repeatedly found myself casually browsing through the Dark Jewel Designs Flikr albums, which are organized by color groupings. The pictures are all of browbands she's made previously, but each new order is totally custom.

However I already knew that I wanted an identical piece to one she already made - the pearl beauty pictured above. That will be our uber-flashy competition browband. And I LOVE it. It's hard to explain how good it looks in person, too. Somehow the beads seem nicer and even more refined than the photos show. They have a nice weight and are sturdy - leading me to believe they'll be safe in even my own clumsy hands.

schooling browband is more toned-down, but would also be totally appropriate for the show ring.
PC Amelia Pitts

I was less sure about choosing the second strand of beads, so Amelia and I had a little back and forth, where she provided additional reference photos (including pics taken in daylight vs indoor studio light) so I had a better idea of how the colors would actually read. Then she mocked up a couple example strands, from which I chose the above version. And I am just SO happy with it! I wanted blues with a hint of depth but that would also catch the light. It's perfect!

please forgive the blur... my phone camera doesn't do them justice

The strands are attached via Chicago screws on either end. All you need is a flat head screwdriver (stubby versions like this are recommended) to release one strand and loop the other in it's place. Seriously could not be easier! (unless it's 15* out and your fingers are frozen stiff, thus explaining the lack of photographic evidence here... sure I could have waited for it to thaw out, but I was just too excited to share! lol).

PS of Sweden bridle in its original condition, with swoopy browband

But see, we already knew that the beadwork from Dark Jewel Designs is on point. The real question was about the snap-on functionality. Would it work well with a PS style bridle? What about the detachable throatlatch - would it still fit?

other original PS browband (love the bling) and the detachable throatlatch

And I had my own agenda too: while I desperately love our PS bridle, the fit of the browband has always seemed slightly off to me. To the point that it's all I see whenever I look at the bridle... So we needed something different.

PS on top, Dark Jewel Designs on bottom

Plus there were a few other things bothering me about the PS browband - it occasionally comes unsnapped (usually at very inopportune times), and there's this extra leather tab on the snap that kinda... sticks out. Maybe it wouldn't be noticeable on a horse with a bigger head, but that extra bit of material really bothered me. In comparison, the Dark Jewel Designs browband looks much more streamlined, with nothing extra sticking out.

with throatlatch attached

Also worth noting: The model I'm testing in these photographs uses a gunmetal snap, so the colors don't match perfectly. Personally I like it exactly how it is. However I believe Amelia is working on sourcing black snaps instead, and the look is very sharp and crisp. (Brown browbands have brown snaps)

Anyways, as you can see from this pic, the PS of Sweden detachable throatlatch still fits over the snaps on the Dark Jewel Design browband. It took a little finagling on this side, kinda had to squeeze it through a bit. Tho I suspect it'll get easier with use and conditioning.

right side with throatlatch

The other side actually slid right on, go figure. So by all appearances, this browband can work with any similarly designed PS bridle. Not bad! Personally I don't care for the throatlatch at all, esp bc the leather strap seems kinda bulky to me... We'll honestly only ever use it for shows probably, and even then I'm considering asking our local saddle repair guru to work up something a little prettier for us...

looking good from all angles!

My favorite thing about this browband, aside from the gorgeous beads obvi, is how it fits Isabel. She's not always the easiest head to fit - tho cob sizing typically works well enough. And it's perfect in this instance - the browband fits perfectly and doesn't pinch or fall down into her eyes.

isabel is skeptical of my close up photography haha

Particularly - the end loops are actually wide enough to be pushed up over the intense padding on the PS crown. Their own browband won't fit over the padding, so I always felt like it sat too low, too close to Izzy's eyes. Not so with the Dark Jewels Browband - it sits right where I want it to and, imho, improves the entire picture.

pretty mare!

I'm totally sold on this browband - I love the colors and bead work and have been showing it off to anybody who makes the mistake of eye contact haha. "Did I show you my new PRETTY THINGS!?!? You must Come SEE!!" lol. Because I'm crazy. ;)

But seriously tho - just look at it! It checks off every box: It fits, it's easy to use, you can't beat the convenience of the snaps, and the interchangeable bead strands mean I can update our look without even changing tack. Oh, and the value proposition is huge, given Dark Jewel Design's affordable pricing. Win win win. Thanks again Amelia for letting us test this product!

follow the leader!!

You know what I hadn't done in forever? Follow the Leader type exercises. Like, forever ever. And I don't necessarily mean things like: Leader has outstretched hand so you must do the same. I mean ground pole / cavalleti / jumping exercises executed single file where you aren't allowed to leave the line and must maintain your spot.

post-ride, horses look like they got their running in haha. also note the jump in the pic, that was the top height for the exercises. so they stayed quite small.

The barn where I learned to ride would have us do that all the time - it was another small indoor and we would all circle around jumping fences on the rail simultaneously. I'd kinda forgotten all about it... or maybe really never thought of it? But when we did it again in this week's jump lesson at OF, I remembered how FUN it is!

awwww tired mare is tired!

It was another small group - just four of us again. So we had plenty of room to go about our flat work business in warming up. And actually, just like my recent dressage lesson, we planned to arrive good and early to let the horses walk out around the indoor on the buckle to start. Frankly it isn't always practical or realistic to have an extra 20min for just walking around... but for right now when we're not working much, it's definitely worth making that time.

OF doesn't have the same rules as TM about touching the mirrors. as evidenced by all the names scribbled into the dust

Our flat work felt pretty good too, not surprisingly, given our dressage lesson the day prior. We started with lots and LOTS of stretching at the trot, then reeled it in to work on leg yields, some counter canter loops, and a little stirrup-less sitting trot practice. I'm not totally convinced dropping my stirrups is helping tho, since I found myself gripping even more with my calves. We'll see.

loooooooooose hooooooooorse! lol

Anyway, then it was on to the Follow the Leader fun stuff. It started as trot poles up each long side, and we four lesson riders dutifully trit trotted around and around. And trainer P snuck in to slowly start setting the poles into 12" speed bumps. Which every single horse just HAD to jump. No trotting fences for these guys, nope, no way. Isabel pretty much insisted on jumping each one and cantering away (probably to our immediate doom by getting our poor faces kicked in by little mare pony Magic haha).

breathing fire? 

So there was a 30' line on each long side, and a 30' line down the MXK diagonal. We trotted through single file again and again for a little while, and then started cantering through. The jumps all eventually got bumped up slightly to the height you see above - nothing crazy by any measure, but absolutely perfect for getting to the whole point: pace and rhythm.

most stylish horse award winner? why stop at one ill-fitting cooler when you can layer a second ill-fitting cooler on top?!? bonus points for clashing color schemes!!

And your placement in the line depended on your specific needs. For instance, I got scolded for trying to sneak into line leader position - since Isabel and I need to work on maintaining a smaller balanced canter. Putting us behind potentially slower horses really forced the issue - I had to actually participate and ride lest we start running people over.

It actually made me to think back to lessons with Dan, where he insisted that the horse be soft to your hand such that you can "push" your hand forward and the horse doesn't get faster. I had kinda been faking it with Isabel - holding her to these teeny tiny strides while approaching the lines, but then she'd ZOOM forward over the first jump when I released and eat up the 30' distance much too quickly, such that we'd fit in two very uneven strides.

"i would take extreme offense to this outfit if it weren't for this double stuffed bag of alfalfa goodness" - isabel

Once I focused on getting her truly into the bridle and balancing a bit better, things improved such that we would land in the same canter we jumped from. Good stuff folks. Never mind that technically that's a lesson I've already learned (a few times ugh lol)... it's always good to get reminders!

So let's chalk that up to another benefit of group lessons haha: Getting to use your lesson mates as actual physical barriers that force you to actually ride the damn horse lol. Have you ever done a lesson like that? I've seen all kinds of youtube videos of riders moving single file through cavalleti exercises, but really had never thought much of it... But now I want to try again!

sitting trot is hard, yo

By the time our last-lesson-before-the-show-that-was-not rolled up, it was already pretty clear from the forecasts that the show would be cancelled. Womp womp. I carried on with the lesson anyway tho, bc obvi. I'm a lesson junkie, what else would you expect?

Isabel and I arrived at the farm about 30min early, and I was in the saddle 20min before start time. Why? So that we could just walk on the buckle for 20 minutes. Doing nothing but sniffing the corners and mirrors and allowing Isabel to just stride out on nice non-jagged-frozen-mud footing and loosen up in her own time.

I think it made a nice difference too. We're only really riding 2x weekly at this point, and the ground conditions are such that Isabel isn't moving around a whole lot outside of our rides. So. We walked. And walked. And walked. And then finally started the lesson with the horse already a bit softened.

wishing this arena was at our barn so we could ride there all the time!

Even so, tho, Isabel was mostly just kinda so-so. She thrives on a routine that includes working more often than twice weekly, meaning that the first ride after a couple days off is usually met with a some resistance. She takes a little more convincing. No big deal, just the realities of not working enough...

But we pressed on, focusing on riding the horse where I wanted her to be and allowing her to slowly move up into that space. Trotting circles of varying sizes, long and short diagonals, serpentines, riding slightly off the rail, leg yielding from the quarter line, cantering a brief circle and long side in each direction... That's more or less our standard warm up these days.

Then we opted to go through the second planned test for the show, even tho all pressure was off at this point. And lemme tell ya - after this lesson, I may or may not have been a little relieved that the show was cancelled haha. Damn sitting trot, y'all.

must inspect every mirror during our indoor 'trail ride' warm up haha

Sitting the trot is just plain distracting for me; it takes up an awful lot of brain space. Combine that with trying to maintain rein length, keeping Isabel going nicely, and, oh yea, geometry and pace... and, well, it's not easy right now. At all. lol. Oh and let's not forget that Isabel isn't the only sufferer of a limited riding schedule - I'm also losing that saddle time and am therefore not exactly at peak fitness either...

Anyways, tho, we rode the test: USEA 2014 Preliminary Eventing Test A. Well, we never actually ran through the whole thing start to finish. Instead, we worked on the first half - all the trot work before the free walk - a few times in a row, then moved on to the second half for a couple attempts. This is how I plan to practice on my own too - tho I'll probably break it down to even smaller sections.

New additions to this test from Training B include: sitting trot (obvi. fml); 10m trot circles; leg yields from center line; shallow counter canter loops; and change of lead through trot. Not included: stretchy trot.

My impression is that this test would still challenge us even if it were ridden in rising trot, but add that sitting component and it becomes really much trickier than I would have expected. I like it tho. I think we can figure it out.

gotta sniff all the corners too. every time. always. 

Takeaways of Note:

• Geometry. Omfg, Emma. Do not throw geometry out the window just bc you're sitting the trot! Seriously!?!
• Specifically: ride my corners as deeply and accurately as possible to set up for that first little trot tour of 10m circle, change of direction from E to B, then another 10m circle. Isabel is nimble and handy - we should be able to make this happen nicely. 
• The biggest trick to those movements is showing a distinct change from going straight to circling to going straight again. And NAILING the 90* turns onto and off of the E-B line. Trainer C noted that presenting a nice picture as we cross the arena is key.
• First leg yield is our easier direction. Be prepared for the turn down CL, achieve straightness first, and then GO. Ride those shoulders, and get into that corner for the love of god. 
• Trot lengthening should be fine, but transitioning back to working trot and reestablishing my sitting trot is REALLY hard. And that immediate turn back to CL for the leg yield in our harder direction comes up FAST. This is an area where I need to maintain composure, balance, and awareness. Plus maybe a half halt or two... ya know. lol
• Next is a walk transition then free walk across the long diagonal. Despite my unreasonable fear of long diagonals for free walk, I'm actually not too worried for this test. The movements up to this point are so rapid-fire for us that we must stay completely packaged up. So Isabel is definitely ready for the stretch here. 
• Then that series of movements that seems common in first level tests: free walk to medium walk to working trot to canter. boom boom boom. And naturally it's our harder right lead depart. 
• This is another challenge for us. I MUST have Isabel soft to my hands before we even trot, and then must be sitting as well as possible to help with that canter transition. Realistically, tho, we'll often be hollow and above the bit here. Le sigh. 
• Canter work in this test is pretty cool, and I think we should actually do well here when we're in regular work. On this particular day, tho, it was a little harder. 
• Right off the bat you canter down the long side to E, where you circle 20m in medium canter (call me ridiculous if you want, but I got excited that they use the big girl word 'medium' instead of 'lengthened' haha). We can absolutely make that happen. 
• What didn't really happen in the lesson was a distinct transition down to working canter. What can I say, mare has some energy right now. 
• This translated to rougher counter canter loops than I know we can do. Again tho, I'm not worried here. This wrinkle should be smoothed with more frequent work.
• Even more rough tho was the change of lead through trot at X. We were consistently late here and Isabel was a little too fussy. Again, when we're working more and can manage a slower and more balanced working canter I think this should (fingers crossed) be fine for us. 
• Then another counter canter loop, and another transition to trot at X - this time staying in trot (SITTING trot, Emma!!!!). Finding my sitting trot after that downward is... ugh. So hard. My torso needs to be literally 6+ inches farther back than I want. 
• Another lengthening across the long diagonal, then another shitty transition to sitting the working trot again, and immediately turn down CL to halt at X. And commence sobbing. lol just kidding

pictured: a new sparkly bright plaything about which i am SUPER excited and cannot wait to share more!!!

So ok, it's a challenging test for us given where we are in our training. Really tho, if it were ridden in rising trot I honestly think it wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps it's not totally fair to blame the complications on sitting trot... but that's just kinda how I feel. If we can ride more often I will gain more strength as a rider and Isabel will be her normal adjustable self and everything will be better.

Hopefully we'll get that practice in before the next show date!

don't drink the kool-aid

Readers who have been following along for a while might be surprised at my recent (and slightly rabid) excitement for dressage.

Considering just last January, I bemoaned how dressage was our #1 weakness at intro level events. And later in March, I wrote about what a struggle it was to find regular dressage instruction (clearly needed).

So actually, maybe it isn't surprising to see my excitement grow. We *did* find regular instruction with trainer C, and her program has been the single biggest change in our riding in the past year. Jumping bigger (for us) fences was just a matter of rehabilitating my confidence, but this flat work is an entirely new skill set for me.

But how is it that such fundamentals can remain so vague after 20+ years of riding?!? Well, honestly, I avoided anything approaching the idea of "dressage" - it seemed like an enigma, some unattainable mystical mysterious unicorn that was somehow perpetually beyond my reach.

And perhaps the one thing that had me the most backed off from the discipline was the perceived attitude that the work must always be totally correct or else there is no value in doing it.

Does anyone else ever get that vibe from the discipline? Because I do, all the time. And up until very recently, I took it extremely literally.

I mean, I understand the idea that correct muscles are only built through correct work. And that some bad habits are harder to fix down the road than others... But I wonder how one goes about being correct all the time without having ever been incorrect? Because personally, I make a LOT of mistakes, repeatedly, for a long time, while learning and developing new skills.

And presumably horses also make mistakes? Or struggle to understand garbled aids from a learning rider?

But for a long time, I was honest to god too scared to try new exercises lest I do them wrong (and ruin the horse, the horror!). What would happen if I tried to take a contact incorrectly? Let my horse run around on the forehand or go hollow/inverted through a transition?? Or, god forbid, miscued for the leg yield?!? Best not to try, the risks are too great!

does it still count as hollow/inverted if it's simultaneously fierce AF?

Seriously, guys. I felt this way for a lonnnng time. Actually maybe until only just this summer, when Austen rode Isabel and said "Fuck that, just go try stuff. You won't ruin the horse."

This may sound stupid, but that was honestly a watershed moment for me. I realized that I was somehow mentally coddling the idea of dressage, that I was treating it like this sacred cow - rather than treating it with my typical "what the hell, why not" attitude.

Do I believe that there is no value in doing a flat work exercise if it's not done correctly? No. I do not believe that.

If I practice a leg yield and we lead with the shoulders, that's ok. Maybe the next one we will better understand how to get straighter. If we try for stretchy trot and Izzy dives and runs fast on her forehand, that's ok too. That's probably the natural step between high-headed arab mode and actually stretching to the contact.

Should we not do a thing unless we know we can do it correctly? Nah, no way. Try to do the thing. Maybe fail. Keep trying. Fail harder. Ya know. The usual.

we fail a lot. but not always :)

Because, at least with my horse (who is as green to dressage as I am), we're working on training the brain as well as the body (for both horse and rider). And typically that doesn't happen simultaneously (your mileage may vary), and sometimes the body and/or mechanics can get lost while the brain figures shit out.

So I'm making a definitive change to my attitude: I'm ok with mistakes in dressage. They are fine. Really. They are how I (and my horse!) learn. The pursuit of perfection is admirable, and so much of dressage is the never ending goal of improving quality quality quality. But first, we kinda just have to get it done.

And the next time I read about an exercise that includes an imperative disclaimer on how it must be ridden (straight! slow! not over bent! off forehand! whatever), I'm going to approach that disclaimer as what you'd call "guidelines" rather than an actual rule. Because probably it'll be ok if we don't get it right the first (or fiftieth!) try.

Have you felt similarly stymied by feeling a need for perfection above all else? Or perhaps you've never gotten that impression from the general discipline of dressage at all? Has your attitude about how you approach learning new skills with your horse changed over time?

history repeats itself

So. Last year we entered to compete in a dressage show at OF on Sunday, February 15, 2015. The highs for that day were 15*, however, meaning the outdoor warm up ring was frozen solid. Therefore the show was postponed.

Today, we are entered to compete in a dressage show at OF. Today's forecast high temp is 19*. Easily the coldest day so far of the year. Wtf.

fml

Last year, the show was postponed until the following weekend. When temperatures were a balmy 45* with strong sunshine. But heavy snowfall during the week meant everything was still a mess, so the show was postponed again, for the first week of March. When it was then postponed. Again. Until April (when I believe we were shut down with the flu...).

And that's the story of how we never actually made it to a single show in this series last year, despite entering them all.

This year they plan to bump all the entries to the next show date in the event of a cancellation. Which I'm totally fine with - provided it actually happens...

For now, tho, I'm disappointed. Last year we desperately needed feedback on our dressage work (since we weren't in a lesson program). And this year, I'm surprisingly eager to try out our first level moves in anticipation of making dressage an actual priority this year.

But today will not be that day. Le sigh. This is what I get for tempting fate by making plans, right?

There are other bloggers showing today tho - like Jen from Cob Jockey and JenJ from Wyvern Oaks! - so we'll instead be cheering them on virtually and eagerly awaiting recaps through which I might live vicariously....

#goawaywinter