Maryland Saddlery's local Butler location had a barn-burner sale this past weekend, with bins and boxes and mystery bags jam packed with all manner of merch that needed gone. Some of it was used consignment stuff, but actually a LOT of it was overstock from various sources and channels.
i spy with my little eye.... a much more conservative jacket than one normally sees around 'Fraidy Cat Eventing
The sale was a lot of fun -- I spent an inordinate amount of time poking around all the nooks and crannies, chatting with the friends you inevitably run into at massive tack shop sales.... Egging each other on to try things on or look at whatever fun and fancy boots or straps or odds and ends lol, like the "Man From Snowy River" style oilskin long coat my friend found, omg haha....
But this coat --- I actually spied somebody else trying one of them on from across the shop floor, and was immediately smitten.
french blue with Izzy! pc Austen Gage
That might surprise those of you who have been around these parts for a while. Since.... Well. Nobody has ever accused me of being a "style icon" (snort), but ya know. I like what I like. And I've always liked colorful jackets.
berry with Charlie!
Which, naturally, have garishly adorned our competition recap posts all the way back to 2015 haha. Well, except, that's not exactly entirely true. In recent years I've kinda trended toward not wearing a jacket at shows. Like, we mostly do unrecognized stuff (with few, tho notable, exceptions), so jackets aren't really required anyway.
lavender-gray with Charlie!! natch with my beloved brown boots <3
Plus.... Honestly, bc I can't really lie to y'all.... Well, you already know. We aren't exactly super impressive, esp in the dressage ring (since for jumping phases at horse trials we are generally wearing a safety vest + pinny vs the show coat).
Often we're distinctly... not impressive. Which kinda has given me pause about really dressing up only to stand out for maybe not the right reasons, ya know?
ain't nobody ever gonna argue with that price tag tho
Plus I've recently found myself kinda drawn toward the clean classic conservative (emphasis on "clean" bc y'all know I suck at laundry....) look of a good black jacket with piping. Call me basic if ya want haha.
esp when it fits like this
And this O'Shaugnessy by Sara Griot show coat ticks all the right boxes. Plus, it has the benefit of being a bit more flattering than some of the jackets I've chosen over the years for their color, occasionally at the expense of fit.... Tell me I'm not alone there LOL --- or maybe you've always preferred a more traditional look? Or maybe you avoid jackets like the plague, no matter what???
Anyway, welcome to the family, new coat! Now I need to find an excuse to wear you!! Do show jumpers wear black coats these days? I'm out of the loop lol....
Oh hey there, happy Monday!! It was a WARM weekend around these parts, holy moly -- I lost count of all the flocks of geese and spring blossoms, but it was a LOT!
behold! the dressage thoroughbred!
Saturday in particular was pretty much perfect. It dawned chilly with below-freezing temperatures that promised not to flirt too heavily with 45*F until about 11am-ish... But... The air still had that balmy sort of feel where you just KNEW it was gonna be nice.
I had planned to turn Charlie out in a sheet since we'd be bringing him in around 11 anyway... but damn, the 30*F at 7am was just so nice that we stripped all dem horses (Charles included) and sent them on their merry ways to bask in the sunshine as they saw fit.
ooooooh and if it ain't the peanut gallery come to tailgate!! <3
Lucky for me, Charlie didn't actually roll much -- or if he did, he did it in the grass not the dust. I say "lucky" bc literally the only thing we did in preparation for this weekend's Fix-a-Test Clinic at Thornridge was, um, ahem, groom the horse. I tidied his mane, glossed his tail, trimmed his "feathers," and.... eh, called it good!
on our way to warm up
It's funny looking back on my post a couple weeks ago when I was like, "Ohmygod let's ride 2nd!!1!" I was so young then. So idealistic, optimistic, ambitious..ic. More realistically, tho, riding a big (for us) test means big preparation. And in winter, that's hella hit-or-miss. And esp when maybe we are excited to start jumping again too... Well. The sitting trot took back seat. I'd apologize except... nah, lol.
looking down to the warm up from inside this absolutely stunning barn
So. We decided to just carry on with riding the new Novice A test. It's a good test, and clearly our first foray in riding it showed some key areas for improvement. Plus, not gonna lie, the easy option felt like the right choice here. Almost without me knowing, Charlie has ended up on the trailer just about every single week for the last few weeks -- and has started showing signs he's ready for his spring wellness appointments.
ha, sorry guys, my folks aren't horsey and this is legit the only action shot i have. bask in its glory!
And AND -- my aunt was in town from the West Coast, and we all had dinner plans that night --- meaning my parents were driving in from the Eastern Shore -- and, obviously, why wouldn't we all just meet at Thornridge for a little tailgate pregame, amirite??
Plus, as if we needed additional reasons, a new barn mate was coming along too, for her first official off farm fandango with her amazing horse George. I love George, he's a seasoned chestnut TB gelding who has done all things hunter, plus some. And now he has his very own person who wants to spoil him rotten and learn everything he has to teach. It's basically perfect -- so we were all aboard the "positive experience" train, ya know?
"come at me" -- charlie, 100%
Which... Was useful. Bc guys. Omg. Charlie was a BAD DOG for our own rides, oh my fucking god.
Like. I don't say that lightly, but.... I also say it while my heart brims with love for this ridiculous emotional off-track brontosaurus that I'm lucky enough to call my own.
But wowza. He was not good haha, and we learned nothing.
very pretty at standing tho <3
AND!! We have like zero media to share with you so hahahaha you're just gonna have to take my word for it ;)
For real tho, for those who have been following along for a while -- y'all already know that basically every horse, but especially Charlie, has a go-to tell when something is bugging them. Charlie's is all about refusing to go forward. His "dinosaur-stuck-in-a-tarpit" moments, as I've fondly referred to them over the years.
click to embiggen if you want to see comments
Mostly we've moved beyond that via a mosaic of various approaches --- wellness, obvi, but also training. Wellness is probably the root cause of this ride's evil, since I already knew he was ready for his spring juice (and had already actually made the appt) but just sorta figured a lowkey dressage ride would be fine.
Training is the other bugaboo tho bc... Guys, the lowkey dressage ride *should* have been fine. Woof, Charles, once he realized he wasn't in Kansas any more when he got away with his first little indiscretion (bc I was inadequately armed and not altogether emotionally prepared to use, ahem, all my aids in front of my non horsey family), he just went to fucking town haha.
ermagerd they had the CT series ribbons for us -- we were novice champions, woot woot!
Like, at the end of the ring where the judge and scribe (AND MY FAMILY) sit, which also happens to be exactly where Charlie would like to halt and grow roots and not ever move ever again, thank you very much.... Well, if I so much as *touched* him with a spur in that general area, homeboy started letting fly with his hind legs jazz hands.
for real, tho, bad dressage aside --- the tailgate with friends (esp new friends!) is where it's at!
Not even joking when I'm saying I was sitting up there on him, begging him to just go forward and "PLEASE DONT KICK THE PEOPLE, SIR!! :( "
It was, ahem, not our finest.
everything is better with a little brewskis anyway <3
Scores were pretty banging tho, so uh, if you ever need a self confidence boost --- haul your ass over to Thornridge when Phoebe is judging!! And I say that as like, Person #1 in Phoebe's fan club lol. But.... The scores *are* a bit inflated. Tho, it's interesting to me to study the chart below and see what was the same with the last judge too, or esp what got worse.
and obvi so nice to share my special (in every sense of the word) creature with family! also please let the record state that charlie is obsessed with my mother
Honestly, I think this particular test, *for us,* lives and dies with that second 2-loop serpentine after the free walk. For whatever reason, Charlie is CONVINCED I'm going to ask him to canter in those corners, and since he's especially touchy about left lead departs, he gets a little riled by anticipation. So we end up losing basically that entire serpentine.
Or, at least we have so far to date. I'm hoping it's something that can mostly be fixed by integrating new and different patterns into our schooling routine. Plus, ya know, the whole "wellness" thing.
warning: positive trend lines may be misleading and can instill a false sense of security!
Anyway, tho, while the day wasn't really worth much in terms of experience or education or whatever, it was honestly a great day. Our new barn mate and George had an incredible experience --- including all the ups and downs of mistakes and whoopsies and total and complete validation. Such a good feeling!
Plus --- possibly most importantly, it was so cool to have my parents and aunt there! My mom brought sandwiches and beers and chairs and the sun was shining and Amy came to hang out even tho Punky is still :( out of commission and we all hung out and and riffed and it was wonderful <3
Not gonna lie. At some point it's entirely possible that my horse habit is going to evolve to where we basically just ignore the horses entirely and enjoy the tailgate. But, eh, not quite yet ;) Hope y'all had a great weekend too!
Is it just me, or does it feel like suddenly we're doing a lot of jumping again lately?? I know it partly just feels that way bc I've been lucky to snag recent media... and we all know that pictures are the engine that drives blogging, amirite? Lol...
rollin back on my giant bronto
But also.... Damn, it does feel like we've been ratcheting it back up again. And I like it! Weather has been mild, horses have been hale, and calendars are sparking back to life. Including lesson schedules with new trainer-on-trial, KGK!
remember back in the day when izzy and i had all those problems with lattice fences?
For those not keeping track at home, this is our third lesson with a new trainer who is not originally from around here but has an impressive resume in upper level eventing and grand prix show jumping. I learned about her program after seeing a lesson package offered in a recent silent auction, and while I didn't win the bidding, a quick cursory creep around the google made me think she could be a good fit.
On one hand.... It's not ideal to ship out for regular jumping lessons again. I know I shouldn't complain bc I'm lucky to even have a trailer, let alone so many close-to-home venue options. But it takes a toll, ya know? Shipping out generally means a minimum of 3 extra hours devoted to the lesson; plus obviously fuel and wear+tear on my towing rig; and, possibly most important -- the impact on my horse.
dialing it in
So I'm trying to temper my excitement about impending spring by striving to strike a balance for Charlie. Luckily, ensuring he always has company on the trailer is working out so far too, as Megan and Royal joined us again for this lesson -- and had a really great time! So I'm hopeful we'll be able to more or less keep that rolling.
riding with a lot more leg than we've been doing lately
And guys -- it was a good lesson! KGK had us riding with a different group this time -- including someone else I've known for a while who is extremely active and well respected within the community. Obvi I'll ultimately make my own choices about training relationships, but it was kinda this cool feeling seeing that friend pull in for the lesson like, oh if SHE is riding with this coach, this coach is probably the real deal!
love the light filtering through his tail <3
I also suspect KGK figured the new grouping might be a better fit in terms of experience and goals. Not that there was anything wrong with the ladies we rode with last time, but their horses were just in different places. So for this group, while the warm up fences were still pretty tiny, we actually got to bump up in height fairly quickly and finished over some fences that felt properly "large" to me lol.
fire breathing silhouette <3
The courses were pretty fun too -- lots of twisty turns and sneaky bends. So far, we've mostly done just single fences, and the occasional outside line. But actually, that outside line is in the exact same place it was last time we were here --- so I'm starting to suspect jump placement and configuration might not really be up to KGK, since we're essentially all just renting the ring out for these lessons.
oooooh it's slightly bigger this time yay!
She also kinda made it sound like maybe she doesn't make many assumptions about "low level" horses doing combinations, either. Tho of course, y'all already know our horses that have been raised up in Trainer P's program are basically grid savants, so we love combinations. Hopefully some of those will appear in courses eventually.
and i'm still drifting left lol, obvi
Last little course observation -- she doesn't utilize many oxers. Maybe to ensure as many options for bi-directional fences as possible....? And maybe again bc they aren't her courses. I tend to like oxers for Charlie, but these jumps do have a lot of solid fill which at least helps inspire better form even for verticals.
omg are we actually jumping 3' in a lesson again?? omg!
For Charlie, I kinda started experimenting with how much leg I kept on around the course. Our early warm up round over the 2' jumps was... inconsistent -- little long here, little short there. Partly bc it's hard to see a distance to a tiny jump with this horse, and partly bc I try to keep him more packaged up on the add stride when they're low --- but then we kinda end up crawling over some, or leaping over others.
honestly probably don't deserve this horse
After goosing him pretty good to a long spot over the low course, I decided to try to keep more leg on, more consistently, the whole way around. I'm not entirely sure Charlie loved it -- possibly bc he felt a little hassled by it. But.... It also made a really big difference in getting a good shot into the jumps.
and another silhouette bc you're not the boss of me
The landings tho... Lol, well. Yea I goosed him a couple times so we had some fairly strong landings lol. It was an interesting feeling, tho, esp given all the work I've done in lessons with Molly about taking my leg off. There's definitely got to be a balance where my leg can be ON for jumping, but in a supportive way that gets us to the jumps without harassing the horse.
low plank + high(ish) bar ain't nbd for charlie!
The horse might just have also been feeling generally vaguely harassed anyway tho, tbh. Idk if he's just feeling the physical effects of ramping back up again. Or from finally being able to get back out into the xc fields for hill work again (omg so fun!). Or ya know, maybe it's just time for his annual hock maintenance. Probably that last bit, lol, so we'll get that scheduled in the next 2-6 weeks probably.
finished over a little trick fence -- just a piece of fill, but narrow with no standards whee!!
He was a very good horse and was jumping in great form. But.... Just wasn't very keen on his flying changes. Obvi I suck at changes, so I rely pretty heavily on Charles to whip out his auto changes. And usually when he's feeling gung ho and strong -- like he was in this ride -- the auto changes are right there.
But.... They just weren't quite where I expected them to be, probably bc he was just a little too far out behind to make it happen. Thus my hypothesis that he's ready for a little juice. We'll see what the vet says tho!
Mostly tho it just felt so so SO GOOD to get back into the groove. These were definitely some of the biggest jumps we've seen in a lesson in.... Ages. And some of them were definitely a little bigger than Charlie and I have seen in any of our little schooling shows this past year.
But they felt good. Easy, even tho obvi we made plenty of mistakes. And suddenly, once the jumps were up -- Charlie was right there ready to do the horse stride down the lines that we added in last time.
So idk. I feel good. I'm excited for where we are right now. Excited to ease into a new season with fresh eyes and a different perspective from last year, where we still felt weighed down after the shit-show that was 2020. It's early days still tho, lol, so we'll see what happens haha.
There are many reasons to like jumping as a chosen pursuit in horse sports. Fences come in so many variations of styles and combinations. There are basically infinite track configurations, based in no small part on arena size, shape or landscape. Every course is new and different, with countless permutations to challenge the individual horse and rider in unique ways.
Meanwhile, tho, 2'6 is 2'6 is 2'6. So if you like jumping 2'6, you can keep jumping that height forever and ever without condemning yourself to endless monotony.
I spent the first three years of owning Charlie constantly planning our next "move up." Obviously this was easier earlier on -- it didn't take a whole lotta training to progress from the 18" classes to 2'3 to 2'6 on behemoth Charlie, ya know?
And to be perfectly honest, I was in a pretty big hurry to get back to Novice, which we did in the spring of 2018, about a year and a half into owning Charlie (not that anybody's counting lol).
From there, tho, the urge to keep pushing continued. My riding friends were at that time starting to get pretty confirmed at Training level, and we were jumping some pretty big fences together in lessons. So it felt natural that Charlie and I would try to keep up.
of particular note, all the two stride lines in this course were measured at 30'
Turns out, tho, it got progressively more difficult. And I ended up switching trainers in mid 2019 in an attempt to get more personalized and intensive coaching. I was (and still am) seeking "mentorship" -- an investment in my training and journey, beyond the sort of transactional relationships that can come with intermittent lessons or clinic-hopping.
In retrospect, tho, bc hindsight is 2020, it's easy to see where I made a few key mistakes along the way lol. Like -- one of my cardinal rules for riding with multiple trainers had always been that their philosophies had to more or less mesh. That it was fine to ride with different people so long as they didn't want me to ride Charlie in meaningfully different ways. Bc, obvi, that would be confusing to the horse, right?
But upper level trainer K *did* want to see me schooling Charlie over fences differently from trainer P. And, in fact, she advised me that some of the practice I did with P was actually counterproductive to my goals. Specifically, she wanted to see me consistently schooling Charlie over jump courses set for a 12' stride, whereas with P we often coursed over much shorter distances (think: 18' for a one stride; 30' for a two stride, etc).
K's arguments here made sense. We needed to be able to get down the lines in a 12' stride at horse shows, and meanwhile Charlie was just learning to be sluggish and behind my leg by always working over shorter distances.
quick reminder what charlie's feet looked like in the summer of 2019. this should have, um, been a hint
So I stopped riding with trainer P, and got all aboard the bus of always riding Charlie on a longer stride. Never mind that Charlie had progressed in his training very successfully over the years. And never mind that we'd literally never had any trouble making the distances at horse shows.**
The argument that Charlie was a slug and was behind my leg was compelling enough for me, esp when facing increasingly large jumps. Tho. Again, hindsight helps. I can now look back and recognize that Charlie was such a slug in our schooling because his feet hurt. I did not really have a firm grasp of how he needed to be managed, and the hoof soreness hens came home to roost by mid summer in 2019. I eventually ended up injecting his coffins and have since overhauled Charlie's hoof care.
That's now, tho, and this was then. Then, we continued down the path of always trying to school Charlie on a more open stride. Which was all well and fine, tho it became pretty clear that Charlie could open up well past a 12' stride length too. Like in the example videos below - from 11/2019 and 7/2020, each of which contain a 60' four stride line that rode quite short for us.
And of course, anybody who has been around for a while knows what happened in the summer of 2020. We finally made our second attempt at moving up to Training, and I got absolutely run the fuck away with in show jumping. Wherein my incredible little beastie accomplished a 72' line in four strides, among other things.
Obviously a lot went wrong there, almost all of which originated with me as rider. But.... Again in retrospect, it's easy to see a pattern, right?
this combination measured 36' to 72' (standard two and five stride distances, for the uninitiated) not my proudest moment, not gonna lie.....
For all of Charlie's training with me, all throughout his learning to jump, we schooled him on compressed distances and asked him to shorten his body. Then at shows, amid the energy and atmosphere, he'd open up and carry us down the lines, even as he was able to be catty and adjustable where needed.
When we stopped practicing that ability to shorten and compress, tho, we ended up losing a pretty important tool when Charlie predictably puffed up to his full event horse stature lol.
So.... Long story short, we abandoned that training pathway. Not because it wasn't good or correct or whatever, but bc it clearly did not work for me as a rider of this particular horse lol. And so much has changed around Charlie's barn in recent years (for normal life-related reasons for various people etc) that going back to the way it was before isn't an option either.
Thus, we've sorta arrived at this place where Charlie and I have been jumping around Novice courses for 4 years, with more or less no end in sight haha. And ya know, all things considered, it's pretty fine. I like jumping this height, Charlie likes jumping this height. We can still be plenty challenged, even while feeling reasonably confident.
If we never end up moving up... Well. That'll be fine too. I honestly don't really know how much or even *if* I want it anyway. One thing seems certain, tho --- we aren't likely to make it happen without coaching. I'm feeling guardedly hopeful about the possibilities with this new trainer-on-trial, but only time will tell.
In the meantime, I'm just gonna keep riding Charlie the way I know works for us at our level. And I'm *definitely* working to remind myself to stay realistic as an advocate for myself and my horse. Bc let's be real, any trainer who tries to tell you that everything you thought you knew about how your horse goes is wrong, is.... probably wrong lol.
We had a lot of fun in 2021 with the monthly summer CT series at Thornridge Manor. Not just bc shows are fun, omg! But also.... getting my own butt in gear to put together a show-worthy-ish round once a month was just.... so SO beneficial for allaying my imposter syndrome.
majestically overlooking the xc course during pre-ride walkies. 100% will be back to conquer that later!
We laid low for a few weeks throughout early winter, but basically ever since the solstice, we've kinda quietly started getting back into a groove again. And luckily, little jumper shows are starting to reappear on the calendar, yay omg!
but first, we conquer the warm up! twas a tad frozen, but organizers were on their AAA+ game with dragging and everything was nicely groomed in time for our rounds!
There's a venue I've had my eye on for YEARS, but never actually made it out, but this weekend was finally TIME! The Stables at Fox Crossing are in Cochranville, PA, basically right around the corner from Windurra. And omg, they have the cutest looking xc schooling field too -- looks like sort of a Tranquillity feel, but with more jumps concentrated in one place. We will 100% be back for that omg!
finally!!! go time!!! also, peep that cafe-style heater!! there were THREE in this area alone
This weekend tho, it was just the jumpers. On a somewhat frigid morning, but we didn't care. Charlie and Royal traveled well, and we arrived in good time to get a lay of the land. They sent out ride times in advance that Megan and I both sorta intuitively understood were "optimistic" times for a jumper show.... But we didn't care. We'd rather be early.
behold --- the ring! jam-packed with twisty turny beautiful jumps
And let's be real, the show *could* have run on time, but..... instead they chose to be friendly and inviting. Rider having trouble getting around? Get the coach in there to help them finish. Didn't go clear? Do the jump off anyway. Everybody got a good time and jumped all the jumps, with as much encouragement as was needed. Yep, I will 100% always be fine waiting around in that sort of environment!
engage go-go-charlie!
Charlie and I entered two 2'9 classes. The over-thinking part of my brain always wants me to "do more" or whatever. But my emotional side is still kinda fragile and I really want to build on the stability and resilience we (I) started to feel through last summer. So, we carry on.
omg they gave the 2'9 division a 24' in and out, i almost croaked lol but charlie was fine
Especially with winter and stuff, it's hard to get in preparation and reps. But Charlie is so good. Y'all saw him doing grids a couple weeks ago. And I jumped him again, but omg this time in our outdoor jump ring bc we had a week of good weather!! And he's just good. He is trained. He is a packer, bless his darling bay soul <3
pictured: my horse is a very good horse
So for our actual courses... I tried to just trust it, ya know? Tho -- something that makes me quite excited for the potential future, I *did* find myself channeling recent lessons with KGK (that new trainer we've met exactly twice). Mostly --- just feeling the length of Charlie between my hand and leg. Not necessarily "shortening" him (at least, not without supervision), but just trying to "feel" his ends as we approached a jump.
omg you have to watch the video for this sequence. spoilers, we go from this long spot to a left turn to the yellow/blue standard bottom right corner of the frame
And guys, Charlie LIKES that style of being ridden. I've always known he wants rein contact, and always known he wants leg on. Really, he IS a full contact sort of horse. But for some reason, envisioning his body the way KGK describes sticks in my mind, and helps me remember to give Charlie what he wants.
omg he TURNS 'n BURNS omg
We were still a little inconsistent around our first course tho. Mostly for *me* reasons. I was nervous, ya know? It's a narrow indoor with all sorts of twisting turning lines -- and more than a few places where you land with a jump directly in front of you that you are NOT intended to jump. I was worried about Charlie getting backed off, so did his job for him and put him behind my leg myself lol, whoops.
sir, my heart, you have it <3
He was obviously still a very good boy, and jumped from some *very* close distances.... But I was also very happy to have a second round to go out and try to be a bit more forward. Still feel his front and hind end. still do all the stuff I've been working on.... But, with allowance, ya know?
the goodest boy <3
And our second round (source of all these pictures, plus the video below) was MUCH better. Like, not gonna lie, I'm still happy with the first round too bc this is legit the shit for me, ya know?? Going out and riding my amazing horse even through all my mistakes lol. But... Riding two rounds in a row is really useful for me, esp as an eventer who is so used to "one shot."
literally the only "long" run on course, and he just loped on down like a perfect hunter
For my second round, I just reminded myself to let him go and trust him and be a bit more forward. A little looser even as I focused on keeping a feel of his "ends." And? It worked out!!
voila! et fin
The courses were honestly a bit bananas and not really something we're likely to see in a stadium round at a horse trials, or even in a proper jumper show (since, spoiler alert guys --- we might be trending in that direction). So it doesn't bug me that we weren't really perfect for all of it. Actually, it's pretty good that we weren't. It's good for my brain to experience imperfection and survival at the same time lol.
look at how happy our horses are!!! lol
Tho, I'm also not gonna argue with winning both our classes lol. In, ahem, a class of two. And, of course, it should be noted, we lost the division bc I didn't ride the third round. Again tho, I wasn't there to win. I was there to ride two rounds. And we did that. And our second round was better (by far) from our first round. And Charlie knew it. Voila, the end.
Idk about y'all, but that basically ties it up for me goals-wise in February lol. This show was definitely very different from some of the indoors jumpers shows I've done before... But.... I think I liked it? It was harder, much more complicated.... But, the people were fantastic and they were on top of their footing conditions even in bad weather.
for real tho, so fun
On one hand, for horses that are struggling, that sorta cramped crazy jumper environment might back them off too much... But, honestly? I think it was just the ticket for Charlie. He really adjusted and adapted and handled the turns and everything great.
Kinda... Makes me wanna do more of... this with Charlie. Tho, lol, their xc course still called to me. So idk, we aren't done with that either. Maybe some sort of hybrid going forward? Idk. We'll see. It's February, after all. Any body else out there trying to make sense of early season plannings and ideations?
