Irony at it's finest

Last week I posted  The Unknown where I talked about entering the show and how I didn't know wether or not I could go due to the combination of possibly having to run a horse in trials in Boise and then having horses run here. Then in Whatever I posted about how the show was cancelled and that it was probably good because I really didn't need the added stress.

Here's exactly how convoluted my last week and a half has been:

7/8 I enter a show for 7/19 and then freak out because we might have two horses in at two different tracks. I pray that the trials don't go so I can go to the show without having to jump through a bunch of hoops.

7/13 I find out that the show has been cancelled. However, the fiancé enters two horses for the 18th. One horse, we have never run before and the other is a big pushy oaf of a three year old that can be a bit of a handful. We also have two others to enter for 7/19 in Denver and one for the trials in Boise. I order Bionic gloves with part of the money that will be returned from my show fees to cheer myself up.

7/14 The fiancé decides that it would be better for me to haul a first time starter the fifteen hours to Idaho rather than run the two(for sure) to four(possible) horses that we may have in here. I begin wondering if Gastro Gaurd works as well on people with ulcers as it does for horses. I get a message from my stepdad that my mom had to go to the emergency room and I start thinking that going to Boise might not be a bad thing. My mom has had a really rough last couple of months between surgery, two emergency room visits, an injured horse, and having to put one of their dogs down. I wouldn't mind being able to go home to cheer her up some.

7/15 I go through all of the two year olds that are nominated to the Idaho Cup (even after the owner sent me an e-mail summarizing which horses will likely be running) and find that there are nine that could realistically run with two others that have a slim possibility (like the owner had already said). If there are ten or less, they won't run trials.

7/16 We enter the two horses here and the one in Boise. The trials in Boise don't go and the two here get in. I'm relieved to not have to make the long ass drive, but feel bad that I can't see my mom. Then she calls and says she has to go in for surgery tomorrow, so I feel even worse about not going home.

So the general jist is if something went right, it was going to cause something to go wrong. Not my week, I guess. I don't mean to complain, I'm mostly just venting. Maybe I just needed to put everything into words. If you lost track of what went on after a few lines, don't feel bad. It's my life and I can't even keep track of what the hell is happening.

Terrific Score Tuesday #3: Joules

I have a serious Joules fetish, so when I see a tack store with a bunch of it on sell, it's like heaven to me. Thank you Tack Room Inc.!

The sizes may be limited, but they have enough product that most people should be able to find a good deal in their size.

*All items say they only have one left, but when you click on different sizes, it says they are available.

http://m.tackroominc.com/category/363235?page=1

                                

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Whatever

I received an e-mail this morning from the management for the show this weekend. Initially, I thought it was my ride times, then remembered entries don't close until tomorrow. Yep, they cancelled the show. As much as I wanted to go, with all of the unknowns going on this week, it's probably better to not have a show adding to the stress. I want to go have fun, not be there stressing about the horses that we have running. So whatever, there will be more shows.

Beefs wasn't very happy about it though. He likes to show.

There's really no other news to report and I still haven't felt well enough to ride. The racehorses haven't done anything spectacular enough lately to talk about. So enjoy a couple of random pics from the last few days :)

Princess trying out my BoT pad.

Zorro now insists on riding on the hay in the cart while we feed.

If a bale isn't available ,a flake will work.

Clean tack

We've only had him back for a week and I am in no way responsible for the state of his mane. There's no quick way to fix THAT!

Amira Equi

I love this store (even if I've only seen it online)! Not only do they have products that are hard to find in the States, but a lot of the products are much cheaper than you can get them here. Even with shipping being expensive. For example:

I've been wanting the Pikeur Tosca since the sales lady at a tack store in Phoenix convinced me that shorter coats were all the rage and that I should at least give it a chance by trying it on. I was
perfectly happy with my Diana up until that point. Long story short, I loved it and I no longer care for her much ;) However, we were just planning the trip to the Derby and I figured the SO might have an aneurism if I spent $420.00 dollars on a show coat without at least discussing it with him first. To be honest, I haven't exactly been doing a lot of showing lately and could understand his lack of enthusiasm in finding the coat to be a justifiable expense. I guess. Needless to say, I left without it (nice try evil/wonderful sales lady).

In my typical fashion, I went online to see if I could find it any cheaper even though I knew the chances were slim. Then I found it on amirashop.co.uk for $244.44. The shipping on it would be $44.20.

                                     Pikeur Tosca

                     

Total price $288.64. A savings of $131.36! I'm sure it would take quite awhile to get here, but I'm in no hurry. I don't expect to do any recognized shows until this Fall/Winter at the earliest anyway. 

So does anyone else have much experience with ordering products from outside of the US? I'm just wondering if you've found it worth the trouble or not?

Amazed

*Warning-post filled with craptacular quality of pictures taken while in a sickness induced haze combined with awe and a general lack of focus. They'd be good if it weren't for that. You can still see how lovely the horse and rider looked together though :)

I have been pretty sick the last few days and just wasn't able to ride Beefs. I feel like a whimp, but it feels like there is a rock in my chest and I can't freaking breath. Just tacking a horse up makes me feel exhausted and cleaning stalls is the absolute worst (I wasn't having to clean stalls until we got more horses in last week). Needless to say, I'm so drained by the end of the morning that laying down is about all I care to do.

So thankful and lucky to have a friend here that is a good rider!

Anyway, enough of my whining. Since I haven't been able to ride, I had my friend ride Beefs for me yesterday. She rides hunters and jumpers and is a very good rider. No, I'm not one of those dressage people that thinks h/j riders can't flat a horse (there are all kinds of riders out there that can't do good basic flat work, I don't judge someone by what discipline they ride). A good rider is a good rider and can handle solid flat work. Honestly, I think that a lot of dressage horses could benefit from having a good H/J on them every once in awhile. The basics are the same and they are good about keeping the horse in front of their legs, riding the horse into their hands, and not forcing the frame.

He looks alot taller without my giant self on him.

Beefs was really relaxed from the beginning. I thought he might be a little fresh, but he was really chill from the get go. The little guy has gotten so much more professional in the last month, I don't know why I was even worried about it. They walked, trotted, and cantered with Beefs staying through and steady in the connection. She asked if he would be okay with her cantering him in two point. I told her he actually really likes to be ridden in two point so there shouldn't be any issues. Beefs loved it.

The traitor looks pretty happy, as you can see. He was swishing his tail because of being bombarded by all the nasty ass bugs that no spray on the planet can seem to ward off, but he was definitely enjoying himself.

Watching Beefs, I was beaming with pride. In the past couple of months, he has gone from a pencil-necked wiggle worm with a bit of an ADD issue to looking like a horse that people would actually want to ride. He was through, uphill, and balanced. It looked like she could pop him over a significantly sized fence at any moment without missing a beat. He reminded me of some of the really good jumpers I got to work with in Ocala. Beefheart looked like the real deal. Oh shit!

They looked awesome out there!

Obviously, this gives no indication of whether or not Beefheart actually has any talent for jumping. I've only popped him over fences a couple of times and that was in a dressage saddle over jumps that were lucky to be 2'. He went over them without hesitating, but after the first couple of times he decided they weren't worth actually putting much effort into. I'm thinking he would be the type to develope a decent form through lots of gymnastic work more than coming by it naturally. What I do know is that Beefs is super athletic, has a great mind, is smart, and tries very hard to please. He has become very trusting of whoever is riding him and I think he would do anything for the rider as long as they are fair to him. Beefs lives for being rewarded.

He's finally starting to get some muscle.

My friend really enjoyed riding Beefs. I was once told that you've done your job when someone else can get on your horse for the first time and get them to perform well. When she got along with Beefs so spectacularly and then said I've done a good job with him and that he really tries hard to please, it really felt like I've been doing the right things with my horse. My friend is honest enough to say something if she thought he needed work, so it was good to not get any negative feedback. She is a very patient and quiet rider, so I figured they'd get along. I never dreamt he would go THAT well for her though (the emphasis in that statement being on him and the training I've done on him, not her). Maybe, after the show, it would be worth him going for a jumping lesson. Or two.