Reprioritizing/Goals Check In

I made my goals this year and feel like I have been doing quite well at keeping to plan, especially given the fact I'm working and living in two separate places and the horses are living in hometown where we are a ferry ride away from coaching.

Until now! When I set out my plan for the year I didn't adequately think through the consequences of some of my goals and choices the past few months. For example, buying and keeping another horse does not still equal a bank account capable of funding all the shows and training I'd like. Nor does rebalancing work/life, resulting in a lot more free time, but also a smaller paycheque.

Oh yeah, and then there's the whole "you probably need 2 new saddles' thing. Yes, I can sell the old ones to fund new ones, but I can't bank on that happening tomorrow. (Also, why am I always looking for important pieces of tack DURING show season? I think it's a pony conspiracy!)

So, while 2018 has had some HUGE wins so far (I love, love, love the new pony, and I can't wait for my new and improved work schedule to kick in) we've had some recent setbacks too (trailer repairs, saddle fitting, lack of interest in local clinics, pony 'tude)

Green = Done, Red = Failing, Yellow = Some progress, and Blue = Planned for later in the season. I love how the two seemingly most difficult things on my list are the ones I'm checking off in Q1.

So, moving forward...eventing/jumping is the first thing getting put on the back burner. I'm going to prioritize selling my jump saddle in order to fund a nicer replacement dressage saddle, and only then sell my sort-of-fits-with-huge-shims-dressage saddle and use that money for a jump saddle for B. 

Weekly lessons/Audrey lessons remain a fail - I simply can't justify the expense to ride other people's horses in lessons, no matter how wonderful they are.

Horse trailers...maybe I will drop this plan completely, maybe I won't. Since I spent money on a new pony,  trailer buying this year for me would involve borrowing money, which I'm not overly crazy about. It kind of sucks spending money for repairs and maintenance on someone else's trailer, but overall I know it's cheaper than owning and we're very lucky to have the opportunity to borrow. Still...we were discussing how nice it would be to have the peace of mind of our own trailer on our own maintenance schedule, and it would be something G would be willing to purchase because he's wonderful like that. 

She's kind of going thru an awkward stage, but I really think the new girl is going to be special and I am so excited to see what the future brings with her. Tried calling her Sovie (short for  her registered name of Sovanna) and everyone heard Sophie. So...maybe that's what will stick?  She's too serious and sweet for a funny name, so luckily I'm not even tempted to call her Banana. If Bridget was a palomino, however, she'd suit Banana to a T ;)

Show schedule: this is the huge unknown for me right now. Shows are very very expensive for me to attend (min $500 in trailering and ferries from our current location to Vancouver), so I'm tempted to just pick one mid summer and funnel the money saved from the rest I'd planned to attend into lesson boot camps and tack and trailer funds. We can still work hard and aim for second level at our local % day this fall...I know it's not the same, but it's still something!  Surprisingly I can honestly say our recent not so great showing isn't factoring in to this decision - I still had so much fun at that show, learned so much, and Bridget is just Bridget...just my bad luck that naughty Bridget showed up on a show day. Yes, I'd be happier to put things on hold after a bit of a high, but meh, that's life.

In short....I plan to keep working my butt off...but progress just might be slower than anticipated this year and you will likely be reading a bit more about baby pony adventures and training than the next big show recap.