2016 Recap

Re: the tent, thank goodness G is one of those people that runs warm and radiates heat even sleeping in sub zero temps. A "talent" I am admittedly less fond of in the summer. 

2016 certainly had some highs and lows, but I'm proud of what we accomplished this year. For a not super confident adult who'd never really competed in anything jumping related, and a green pony who's probably no one's idea of a sport prospect, I feel like we got a few things done. Most importantly, we had a lot of fun :)

Jumping wise, we moved from being comfortable over crossrails to being pretty comfortable with 2'6", and even 2'9" on a good day.

A terribly ridden course early last summer, but pony has her game face on and wants more.

We worked our butts off developing a canter. The canter went from not really being a thing, to being somewhat adjustable, and there on demand. Simple changes through trot and walk are now pretty reliable. There's some lift there now too, rather than the scrambly forehand heavy thing of last year.

Dressage wise, we moved up from barely cantering in T-1 to good scores at T-3, and are ready for First Level.

Shows: We got out there and went to quite a few shows. Some were better than others, but with my show nerves just getting out there is a win - the more we do this, the easier it will get. We went to only one three phase event, which is less than I'd hoped for, but it was a good outing and I was happy with our results, particularly as it was our first one ever and a proper recognized one too.

We look like we're having fun, right?

Clinics: All of our clinics this year were eventing/cross country based. All but one were super fun.

Go Bridget, go! This pic was the last fence on course and although we both look tired, gives me hope that moving up a level in in the spring will be possible.

Holidays: Even my non riding vacation days were horsey, with a trip to the event at Rebecca Farm, show jumping at Thunderbird, and a day at the races at Hastings.

Riding Lessons: I made a promise to myself this year that I would take as many lessons as I could afford. This ended up working out to about two per week. I made a ton of sacrifices to make that happen both time and budget wise, and have zero regrets. Learning is good! I also expanded my comfort zone and rode some different horses, and even picked up a weekly ride on a barnmate's baby dinosaur horse.

Life: I struggled a lot to balance all the things. I missed my husband a lot. Work was difficult. I lost some confidence riding, then gained it back. Bridget's training regressed a little towards the end of the year, but such is life. I didn't ride Ginger nearly as much as I thought I would,  both time and confidence being big factors there. I did not go for the testing to get my coaching certifications, simply because I don't think I currently have the time to teach regularly enough to be as prepared/good as I'd like to be at it and keep my certifications current. Perhaps next year. Still, for now I think this is a good place for me, and the short term plan is to keep on keeping on for another couple of years (or however long I can stand my boss...whichever comes first lol). We've got bigger plans on the horizon,  but for now it's baby steps, got to put in the work to achieve the dreams!