TBT-The Pony

Gringo and I 

1989

I don't do these usually, but I was going through some pics and saw this. He was such a cool pony! My mom and dad's friend let me ride him. All of his grandkids had learned on Gringo and I believe he was about 22 in this picture.

*Thank you Herb Mink for giving me this ornery pony to toughen me up. May you rest in peace.

A few before and after pictures

I wish I had done a lot more before and after pictures. I have some more somewhere, but these were the more accessible ones. I love watching them gain weight and the change in their muscle developement (yes, we try for correct muscle development). Anyway, here's three that we've had in the last year or so.

HARLEY

I was pretty pissed off when we got her and she looked like this. Really pissed actually. It wasn't even hard to get the weight on her, there is no reason she ever should have been in that kind of condition.

BOURBON

He didn't look horrible when we got him, but there was certainly room for improvement. I think this over a six week period, but I'm not 100% on that. I couldn't get him to pose the same for the after picture, but you get the idea. Isn't he cute?

BISCUIT

Proof that feeding just grass hay probably isn't going to cut it. It took three months to get him looking good.

Attempt at a realistic show schedule

I was thinking about the fact that we will be heading to Denver soon and started checking out the Rocky Mountain Dressage Society calendar.  Uh oh.

Me showing my mom's horse, Regairo, in 2012. She couldn't show because she had surgery and so baited me to come home with showing him :) Unfortunately, she wouldn't let me steal Reggie.

The fact is, I really need to get some consistent showing in this summer.  This once or twice a year isn't going to cut it. My horses need seasoning.  I need seasoning.  I need targets to shoot for instead of this wandering aimlessly "I think I want to go to that show.  Oh crap, the entries are due tomorrow." stuff that I always seem to do.

If I have dates to focus on, I ride more consistently.  Working seven days a week at the track is exhausting and it makes getting motivated to ride my dressage horses a lot more difficult.   Sometimes, we have so much work to do that I get overwhelmed and to that point where I just want to shut down and rest.  Obviously, this isn't helpful to getting my dressage time in.   I'm a lot more likely to get the motivation, no matter how completely exhausted I am, if I there is something for me to look forward to.

It's not that I need to show just to show. I like showing and think it helps my riding and confidence. It makes me focus. Most of all, it's fun.

I love Pikeur, but....

So I've seen these online here and there and am honestly curious about everyone's thoughts on them.

Pikeur Full Seat Badira Floral Print 

ooteman.nl
Fashionista or Equestrian Pole Dancer? (But of course shimmering gold boots would be the only logical accompaniment)

ooteman.nl

And.....go.

In other news

We were supposed to have a horse in today, but the jockeys refused to ride due to the fact that Turf Paradise only has a half-assed, crap-tacular $500,000 insurance policy to cover them.  I don't blame them.  Their job is obviously very high risk, but they shouldn't be financially ruined if they have an accident.  Anne, who became paralyzed after a horse fell on her only two weeks ago, is ready to go to a rehabilitation facility now, but the $500,000 coverage has already been exceeded.  This can obviously affect the quality of the facility that she is able to go to, something that she shouldn't be required to worry about right now.  Even though missing the race is a pain, I'm proud of the riders for standing up for Anne and themselves.  Click here for the Daily Racing Form story.

*On a good note, the owner of the horse we had in is the father of one of the riders here, so he isn't going to be too upset about not running.

On the dressage side of things, I FINALLY got my new One K Defender helmet yesterday!  I was like a complete crazy person, checking the tracking number every ten minutes to see if it had been delivered yet.  We also ordered some stuff for the barn (pretty excited to get the Back on Track no-bows too), but it was my helmet that my nerdy self was getting all spastic over.

So happy! Don't mind my tired and haggard look, it was a long day. Plus, I'm just not a photogenic person.