2013 In Review PTI

I usually don't do one of these since my years have been less than eventful lately, but I did a SWELL job of documenting pretty much everything I DID end up doing and waded through 678 pictures that were labeled on FB as "Riding 2013".

I should really call 2013 the year of-riding-a-lot-and-getting-somewhere-then-something-happens-and-we take-a-step-back-and-nothing-really-gets-accomplished-year.

Some memorable moments....

February was mild so we jumped a lot..

March was a month of dressage...

Practicing for the schooling show after no recognized shows in previous year

Schooling show at Fox Run in an attempt to gain practice for first event of the year in May. We got a 1st & 3rd

April was a big month. In spite of a thrush outbreak, we were busy prepping for the first event of the year and did a bunch of jumping...

...and went XC schooling for the first time in over a year. We tackled Prelim fences in attempt to be more than ready for Training. We had some rough patches but overall, great school and I was feeling alright about showing again...

May was not a good month. My truck broke down 2 days before my event and no one had room to take us so we had to scratch. I felt defeated...again. Little did I know that would begin the "Summer of Expensive Shitstorms".

We also said goodbye to one of my very best friends, H and her horse Pronto, the big black perch cross. We went on a trail ride a week before she left for grad school in TX and it was beautiful!

I went home in June to Ohio and while I was there, visited my QH babygirl, Dutchess. I sold her before I moved to Missouri in 2009 to my best friends mom. She was lovely as always...

July was a BUSY month and  miserable one. It was SO damn hot!  July 2nd Yankee made a new friend...

Smokey, a new boarder and Yankee's new pasture mate

I tried to get back into riding more and prepping for a show in Chesterfield that I wanted to go to...

Yankee was ridden by a local girl in a 3 day dressage clinic...

I think they both almost died from heat exhaustion

We had a fun gallop...

I took Isis swimming and almost died from having too much fun!

We went through a pretty rough patch in jumping and several bad rides...

Fail

Practiced for SMSG and put in some work in the ring...

...to be continued from SMSG

Simmer Down Mother Nature

Seriously though.

Most of this post is just me kind of ranting about things you've all heard before so continue at your own risk.


Apologies for the lack of presence on le blogger, I've been dealing with a SHITSTORM (like nothing I've ever experienced in my 23 years) in my personal life and dealing with with that as best as I can ...which turns out is not well. Typical me.

I haven't even gotten on here to read anyones blogs either, for lack of time and spiraling in to some sort of almost depression. Don't worry though, over it, new life plan. I have dearly missed my blogging friends though and intend to make a comeback to riding and blogging once life and the weather simmers the fuck down.

We left off with Yanks being a grumpy butt and plans to start showing in Florida next month once I move. And we pick up today having ridden maybe 3 times, dealing with working 70 hour weeks, being dead tired, battling the batshit INSANE weather we've been having and currently NOT moving to Florida.

I kept this from everyone for about a month and  half because not only do I feel like my life was upturned (yet again, worst luck ever), I was almost embarrassed because I made a huge deal out of it, got an apartment AND a barn, poo poo-ed the naysayers and was basically like fuck ya'll.

So now I hang my head in sadness and shame and wish my life would just work out the way I want it to FOR FUCKS SAKE. Done a bit of soul searching, hoping I found the right answers, but I really don't want to talk about it further.

SO ANYWAYS.

This weather doh.

Since last post I got a wicked cold and was down for the count for about 2 weeks, luckily  some of that was when I went home for Christmas and Yanks got worked 3 times while I was gone.

Since THEN though I just haven't felt like battling the snow. ice and bitter cold to ride when there's  no point so I think I rode once and lunged once.

He's turned into quite the sourpuss as well and I don't want to deal. Thats terrible of me I know but I just can't right now.  I know he misses work and HATES being shut inside but I don't make the rules about turnout. I make sure the baby gets ample love and grooming but thats about it. I am frustrated that we were finally getting somewhere and had to shut it down for a month, even though we have an indoor! Some kind of cruel fuckery.

I also realized that as of Jan 1st, Yankee is now TWELVE and has YET to go fucking prelim. Everyone's lecturing me, saying be grateful he's alive etc etc. I KNOW PEOPLE CALM DOWN I'm just frustrated that my boss ass beast can jump intermediate and do some solid dressage now and we can't even afford to get our qualifying scores to GET to Prelim.

YET AGAIN FOR THE FIFTH YEAR RUNNING. God dammit I'm so over it.

It is really hard to be happy when all I've ever wanted with this horse was to go 2* and everyone around me is competing and getting new horses and I'm over here like 'oh hey at least his board is paid, he has shoes and food but uuuhhh past that, SOL'.

I was going to be SET in FL, but thats no longer an option.

As for the weather, not sure how ya'll are faring but our barn is a DISASTER. We are not used to temps below 0* and the windchill has held steady at -30* for going on the 3rd day. All of the horses had been in for 4 days and only some got turnout today at the cost of us begging the BO to let us for fear of getting trampled while barely getting stalls clean.

Yankee was happy happy happy

 I seriously don't know WHY people would choose to live in a place that normally is this cold because I feel like I'm dying, haha.

Our barns manure container is full and we have nowhere to even dump what we barely take out of the stalls. They're all frozen! How do people in Canada do this??

Sassy Pants

I feel like I start every post with and "I'm sore" statement, but seriously Yankee has had a trend of being a brat and it requires more muscle exertion than usual. Yesterday this would be my shoulders.

I think he almost pulled my arms out of their shoulder sockets. OTTB ass.

We've put in some good work this past week and I think mostly we are both just tired and he is especially grumpy. We spent most of yesterday fighting because doing things the proper way is hard.

Yanks has started  anticipating flying changes too, now that we have them *mostly* nailed, and its getting annoying.

Ponyface is one of those "grumpy lead change" horses. You know the kind. Ears pined, grumpy face, tail swish...but he does them. So thats nice?

He also tends to be exceptionallly exuberant in changes...

It would help if I would stay straight and released more with my inside rein...so theres that to work on.

Beast was also ON FIRE yesterday...and not in a good way. Talk about long spots, bucking, dancing sideways and overjumping.

Forward TB was forward

Fuck you mom I want to run

Holy bounce

At least Yankee is fucking majestic when he's sassy.

We had a few good moments. Only a few. But mostly he was a ratchet mess and even knocked 3 poles due to a flat canter and simple disobedience. GAH. My Arms.

Oh look he's a little chill here

Solid rollback

Oh Hi eq! I missed you lots!

Sassypants IS pretty though

Also, got a cool pic of a trot/canter trans

DAT ASS DOH

You might note that is is fucking december and I have a T shirt on. Yeah welcome to the midwest. When 3 days earlier I was...

Bounce bounce do yo thang

.....Freezing my ass off and had to jump in the indoor.

This was quite the rambling post but when I'm cleaning/listening to music my words are just not there. But pretty pics?

I uploaded my vids from the past 2 rides on my channel on youtube, but since his behavior was embarrassing I didn't post it here. Hunt me down on youtube if you REALLY want to see, ha.

Toodles my beautiful candy canes.

Holy Hip Flexors Batman

Morning from chilly Missouri! (-3 windchill)

We is dressagin and we is doin it right!

My compadre, Jesse, who rode Yankee while I was in FL came and kicked my bum into gear with a dressage "lesson" of the aggressive type. I asked for it. Literally, asked her.

When I got home, Yankee was entirely different. In a good way. Straight and forward mostly. I was mostly happy, but slightly jealous that Jesse whipped him into shape in a week (see post titled "Stop Being Better Than Me").

So I asked her to tell me how she did it.

And it was really really hard.

  I have the unfortunate conformation that is not conducive for proper form in the saddle. I never have looked graceful in the saddle like most people do, and look even more awkward on Yankee who is small bodied. I might be the only person to complain about having long legs and a short torso, but seriously finding a saddle that FITS is impossible. My knees always look like theyre in my lap even when my stirrups are too long. Its an epic battle to keep them straight and I discovered that my hip flexors are tighter than a stuck pickle jar lid.

Jesse helped me with my dressage eq, since it was since gone by the wayside (think hair scrunchie). I have a HUGE problem with stretching through my hips down into the stirrups and tip forward, and ride with my hands in my lap. Typical ex hunter.

With CONSTANT (literally, almost every minute) feedback I was able to ride properly: legs back, seatbones connected, back straight, shoulders back, hands up, eyes up. Only when reminded though. In the video its really easy to see my inside hand creep home to its safe place on the saddle.

Muscle memory is a bitch.

Jesse would constantly fire commands at me; "inside hand up, shoulders back, sit, hands up, GET THAT INSIDE HAND UP, sit up, INSIDE HAND WOMAN, sit, legs back, half halt, sit sit sit"

But magic is magic and it worked. Who knew proper riding FIXES things.
 
This video is a really great visual for anyone that wants to see me being extremely tense (riding in the proper position is unfamiliar) and thus making my hot OTTB even more tense as well. Slowly, ou can see a difference and throughout the vid you can see us both relax. Yankee really changes from trotting/cantering up and down with no back swing, ewe neck/tense, to soft, swingy and relaxed. BUT as soon as I tense up again, he does the same. It is REALLY evident in the leg yeilds.

I know watching 7 minutes of another person ride can be exceptionally boring, but I really think this video is helpful! At least to me, especially because I can see the mistakes, see them corrected and SEE the difference.

For some reason I can't get the video to go where I want it, so its at the end of the post. DAMN TECHNOLOGY.

I could see the biggest difference in the WALK. He usually is really lazy and tense, and in some parts of the vid his back legs are actually stepping up. And the free walk? ummm, I love it.

Take a look at some differences in these still shots.

Better position, and look at dat trot!

Classic Monica, hands in lap, tipped forward, heels up. BAD, But DAT TROT

AH MAH ZA ZING trot, and look my hands, my upper body! Leg is still a little tense, but better.

Ah-mazing walk, Upper body is a little forward, but, I still love this walk

So you can see here my hands in my lap, but my upper body is where it should be and my legs are relaxed, getting there....

Here I was tapping with my inside leg, but my thigh is still relaxed, hands where they should be and upper body back. He is listening and REALLY engaging (look at his back right behind saddle pad) and that inside leg action!

Classic Monica is back, but Yankee looks SUUUPERRR relaxed

Here I was half halting with inside, then outside, but my leg is all tense again and I'm starting to tip forward

Lovely engaged collected trot. LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture as a whole

I don't know if you guys have ever tried to change your way of riding in one day but it is seriously frustrating. I was definitely complaining and puffing like a fatty. I wasn't used to moving that way at all and my muscles were very unhappy with me. I was actually TIRED from riding. And my legs/back/abs were sore as soon as I dismounted.

God, I need to work out  more.