September 10 Questions Blog Hop

I'm here at work and the rain is still coming down. At this point we have had well over a month's worth in the last 4 days. In very exciting news, the weather is supposed to be a little more moderate next week and I HAVE NEXT WEEK OFF! I'm hoping to get a lot of baby pony training goals checked off next week and attend a weekend clinic too. I'm beyond excited.

Thanks once again to LWilliams for providing interesting blog hop topics!

1. Favorite quirk your horse (or a horse you’ve spent time with) has?

Bridget is so funny to me because she's like a grumpy old man in a young mare's body. NOTHING is fun, everything sucks...until you convince her to do the thing and suddenly she's having fun and surprisingly agile :)
Sophie is a typical quirky mare-y mare and very dramatic. My favorite thing about her is how overwhelmingly friendly she is...it's kind of flattering how excited she is to see me and go on adventures with me.

Telling me off the other morning for disturbing her nap with the camera noise. A serious offense in Bridget world.

2. Three words that perfectly describe your horse?

Bridget: Tired (of everyone's BS), Hungry, Loyal
Sophie: Happy, Friendly, Interested

I'm not sure I have any pictures with her ears anything but forward.

3. Plan your next ride. What will you do/work on?

Bridget: Forward off the leg (always), and being adjustable in the gaits without sucking back or leaning (always). 
Sophie: Simply sitting on her and walking around. On the ground, long lining and getting her confident moving out without someone leading.

Look at how happy and hardworkingsleeping she is. Add that to the quirks actually, 50% I have this, 50% of the time she thinks she's the most athletic pony and the ruler of the world and super busy, quick,  pushy, and bossy :)

Showing us her 'piaffe' on a day where she thought she was all that

4. Have you ever trained an OTTB? If yes, what was the biggest challenge?

Many years ago. She was just lovely and very easy and hard working, but I was pretty inexperienced and needed to become a lot more sensitive to what my body was doing. I got the ride because she was just little and I was a small, brave, teen. I always regret not being able to buy her myself when the time came for her to go to a new home. We won't count lessons on assorted OTTBs over the years, because fresh off the track or no, being in a lesson the trainer/coach is really the one with the training plan!

5. Have you ever groomed or worked for a professional rider?

I groomed and worked for my coach for the years I was there - I think everyone did! An easy way to trade for lessons and keep board prices manageable. She's an upper level dressage rider these days which is nice - the few times I groomed at events it was a lot more work!

Remember when I wanted to be an eventer and Bridget and I used to go to eventing camp?

Aww, her little clip job then was so cute. /diversion...back to the blog hop:)

6. Favorite horse and rider combination?

Beyond the usual riding idols (Ingrid Klimke of course!), honestly I get the most joy and inspiration watching local people I know ride and train. It's much more relatable as far as my goals go and of course it's really fun to cheer on your friends!


7. Have you ever ridden a horse at the beach?

On vacation basically every time we go, provided the horses are well cared for. I ride often at our local lakes, but they don't have sand to run along. I've gone to our local beaches a couple of times but this is rocky coastline and there is maybe only a km of rideable footing at low tide at the bigger one....you have to plan well in advance!

Typical coastline here

I'll never get tired of this picture of Sophie at the lake :)

8. If you could experience the equestrian community (i.e. ride and compete) in another country, what country would you choose and why?

Some of my friends and old barn mates have had exciting adventures, and if I could cheat I'd choose all of them! (We were talking South Africa and the Netherlands the other day and wow both sound amazing) I think for simplicity's sake I'd choose England because the dressage and eventing culture is really strong and I speak the language. Plus I have friends already living and riding there.

Also I think they might be open to Welsh Cobs doing dressage? I have visions of a whole stable full of Bridgets, how fantastic would that be? (Not sure the universe could handle that amount of ponytude in one place tho)

9. In your opinion, what is an item of tack that is given unnecessary hype?

So much of it! I feel like there is always some trendy bridle/bit/saddle/pad/blanket/boot/stirrup that is a million dollars and miracle working. Then 6 months later there's a cheap knock off everyone else buys, then 6 months after that no one talks about it anymore.

This saddle pad is magical, yet marked down to $20 right now. Surely magic can't be purchased for that cheap? ;) Review here if you're interested.

10. What was the first horse you rode called? Are they still alive?

I got a job at a trail riding stable as a kid and was in pony heaven with so many to ride and learn on! I'm pretty sure the last of those ponies passed away a few years ago now. I just visited that farm this past weekend and everything looks so run down and neglected...it made me feel really sad (and old!)