7 years, 700 posts

Somehow I've found the energy and time to write 700 posts on this very blog. 7 years of posts, memories, worries, failures and successes.

holy shit.

I was debating what to do with this blogiversary, since everyone always seems to do cool shit and have the hook-up with fancy sponsors/ hosting giveaways and whatnot. Alas, I do not have such things, only mediocre art skills and have nothing to giveaway except maybe some non-equestrian paintings of mine, or offer to make you a saddle pad. But lets be real, I don't have time for that unless you pay me.

For real, give it to me.

Christmas is coming up you know. People love paintings. Essentially, give me your money.

So instead, I spent about 2 hours yesterday digging up 7 years of photos from this blog to share with my people. If you've been around all this time, congrats to suffering through my seriously cynical and depressed college writing and thank you for paying attention to my horses. I obsess over them, so its nice to have internet stranger friends who do as well.

I also was going to try to write a short recap of each year but oh my god no, that would take me days and aint nobody got time for that. It was really fun looking back through posts though, reminiscing on everything Ive done. That was in fact, the entire reason I started this blog. If it got deleted somehow I think that would be the cherry on top to do me in for good. I would literally cry and lay in bed for days.

For those of you that might be new, here is a super short  and fast recap of the last 7 years. In college I trained horses for show money. I went to school in Missouri, so those horses were owned by rednecks and were generally ridden in western gear. It was still fun though and I made a ton of money doing it. I also got injured a LOT. Its apparently my thing. I spent my entire college career trying to move up to Prelim with Yankee and never made it due to one thing or another. Usually money, because I am an actual broke bitch. Also injuries, as mentioned. We still did fun things like dressage and showjump and won lots of cool shit. Yankee is the actual best OTTB and I don't deserve him. Then after graduating, I taught painting for 2 years, because I didn't want to adult. Then I moved back to Ohio, got a real job, bought Bacardi, suffered  worked through his bullshit for two years and here we are today with two, very alive, badass horses. I count my lucky stars everyday that they are mine and that Yankee lived through colic this year.

 Enjoy this random collection of pictures dating 7 years back, in mostly chronological order. Lets start with the extra shitty pics from a flip phone!...

18.1 hand WB I started in dressage, she was HUGE

Lil Freddy, started him too for his owner

This was Chyna, she was insane

Yankee and his signature face

My Baby Z; mini I raised from a foal (she now has a baby of her own!)

Spirit, my badass eventing pony. He was sold in 2008 to a BN eventer, but was still a part of my life until he died 

Working on in hand piaffe with that Yanks in winter

Showing his younger, spunkier side

Contrary to popular belief, I did USED to event

Our 1st top ten finish at Training

Yankee in western LULZ with his leaser Emma

That one time I made this meme and got on EN

Jackie riding Yanks

Training level dressage; got us 2nd place

Turn n' burn

Should've bought this pic

Probably my fav pic of us EVER

Jumpers

Doin our thang

Winter jumper circuit

The colors omg

Still one of my all times fav pics over 4ft 

He's perfect

Pic says it all

Riding Jackie's horse, Isis

USDF Region 4 

Cleaning up in jumpers

No absence of failure. ..

BOING

The legendary day, 5'3

The pic I used to announce my acquisition of this dude

aaaaaand then he kicked me

Saying farewell to Yanks on his lease to the Stivers

Working with spazzy B the following spring

aaaaaand him busting his face open

Killing it at Training

Then, Jackie took him on lease

My EME showjump family

And most of you know the rest!!