Happy Birthday Tony!

Today, Tony turns ten. Double digits, baby!

Tony in his first hours, 10 years ago.

Here's to many more years with the big guy!

Goals

So I've got my 101 is 1,001 list of goals (which I still need to finish...), but what do I want to ultimately accomplish?

Tony's just about 10 (tomorrow!), so he's got 10-15 good riding years left. Maybe more. He's a Haflinger after all, and they tend to go forever (knock on wood). My hope is that someday I can earn all of my bronze medal scores with him. We will never be spectacular. We may never win anything more than a schooling show, but I hope can get to a place where we can put in a decent enough test to get the necessary scores and say "we did it."

The current extent of our extend.

Lead changes, half passes, and extended gaits all seem so far off, though. I'm not the greatest rider. I've certainly never ridden a third level test myself. I've taught myself and my difficult horse most of what we know. So at this point, we've got okay leg yields, rushing lengthenings, and tense shoulder-ins. The past couple of weeks, we've suddenly had a stretchy trot after a long time of really terrible attempts, so I'm hoping these things just come with lots of hard work.

A stretchy trot appeared out of nowhere!

We All Love Quirky Horses, Right?

Tony is a weird horse. Some things make him completely crawl out of his skin, but he is perfectly okay with the oddest things. For example:

Things Tony is OK with:

-Gunshots
-Fireworks
-Dogs
-Farm Owner (FO) mowing the lawn
-A large cut-out bull (working equitation obstacle. Didn't phase him one bit).

Despite his face, he was totes fine with this. Charge!

-Trails

-Trailers
-UPS trucks
-Round bales in the field
-Working through puddles when the arena floods


Things Tony is not OK with:

-The neighbor cutting his lawn
-Grass that has changed color
-Things that have been moved without his permission (jump standards, the neighbor's construction equipment, the tractor, etc)
-Hammocks

Terrifying pony-eating hammock!

-Squirrels
-The rock wall that has been on the outside of the arena for 3 years now (he's getting better about that one. Still spooky though)
-Cows across the road
-FedEx trucks
-Round bales on trailers
-Crossing raging rivers (or 6-inch wide streams)
-Whatever else Tony has deemed scary on a particular day


We've worked through a lot of these things, and he is significantly more reliable than he used to be, but he is still a weird guy. He used to have a huge bolting problem (trainer G said he was the worst one she's been on). Now he only occasionally does the spin and bolt move, and he usually doesn't get far. His neck is so strong, that when the problem was at his worst, I could have both hands on one rein attached to a curb bit and his neck wouldn't move (he also has limited feeling in his mouth, but that's a story for another day). You can't just unbalance him like you can with some horses.

As flighty as Tony can be in the arena, or when he has to do any "real work," he is Mr. (mostly) Reliable on trails. He's had a few moments out there where he panics, but overall, he enjoys hiking up and down mountains and adventuring through the wilderness.

Adventure awaits!

Too bad I have decided to make him a dressage horse. Sorry, buddy! You'll just have to get used to working for a living for a while.

Show Gear on a Budget

For my day job, I work in education. I have a degree in art education and was an art teacher for four years. I now work in museum education, which means I work for a non-profit foundation. Which means I don't get paid a lot.
Thankfully, I do not own Tony, so I don't have to pay for his board, feet, or vet bills. I provide his grain and pay for any training/lessons/shows/outings/etc. That's huge, and I am super grateful to his owners (family friends I've known forever). It means I can spend a little on "extras" because my entire income isn't going into just keeping my horse alive. I still don't have much to spend on horsey things, so I've gotten really good at finding a good deal. My entire show outfit was bought at extremely discounted prices.

Let's start with the show coat. I was at the Chilliwack Horse Expo in B.C. in 2014, and there on the end of a rack at one of the first vendor booths was a beautiful show coat. It had new technical fabric, cute bit details on the zipper pulls, and just looked so pretty. First, I looked at the size. There were only two jackets, and one was my size! Score #1! Then, the price. Retail said $299, but it was marked down to...wait for it...$60! There was no way it wasn't coming home with me.

Goode Rider Ideal Show Coat

I own two pairs of white breeches. Who ever decided that white breeches was a good idea for horse shows? Ridiculous. Anyway, one pair is maybe Ovation, or Devon Aire, or a basic cotton breech of some kind. Bought from a friend for a low price. Like $20 or something. My other pair is my one pair of FITS. They're pretty see-through, so I have to wear wunderbreeches under them, but hey, they're FITS! Got those suckers for $90 from a Facebook tack sale group. I don't know that I love them enough to buy a bunch for schooling, but they are pretty nice.

Yay! I can be a baboon butt too!

I also have a beautiful pair of cream Pikeur Lugana breeches. They are so pretty, and I have a saddle pad and polos that match them. But they don't fit. Yet. I'm working on it. I can almost button them. 10 more pounds should do it. Totally worth it though, as I got them from eBay...brand new, still with tags on for $50!

Cream looks so good on the fluffy pony.

My show shirt is a basic Kerrits Venti I got from a Facebook group for $15. Yay cheap! I also have a Riding Sport one I got for the same price. Boring items...but you don't see them under the jacket ;)

Not me, but we feel the same way...I should be smiling, right?
I feel slightly uncomfortable with you taking my picture right now...  

Oh boots...I hate finding ones that fit. Also, I am cheap, There is no way I can justify spending $$$ on customs. I have wide calves, and my calves are actually pretty long. But my ankles are smallish. And my foot is not long, but kind of wide. But not wide enough to justify a wide foot shoe. Just not the easiest to fit. I had a pair of Ovation field boots that I loved (the zipper broke the very first day, so they refunded my money, and I had the zippers replaced...they went strong for 2 and a half years after that), but now they have a gaping hole by my pinky toe, and it was time for new ones. Found a pair of new Tuffrider Baroque boots for $50 on Facebook. Perfect price to take a chance on. They fit! They're a little clunky in the foot, and they're a little too big in the ankle, but the regular width ones fit because of the elastic panel. Score! I can totally tell they won't last more than one year, but for $50, I'll take it.

I do really love the super tall Spanish tops...they make my legs look longer.

This year, I was needing to buy a new helmet. My Charles Owen GR8 was in its last year, and my dog chewed the corner of the visor a couple years ago, so it was not a pretty sight. I bought an IRH that was ok (new, but had been sitting in a box for a year or so...$70...was a $250+ helmet), but it didn't fit the best. Tack of the Day had Charles Owens a few months ago, and I took a chance on a JR8 for about $100. It's fine. Just a helmet, you know? I've been coveting one of the blinged out OneKs for a while, but couldn't justify the price (see a trend? Yeah, I have no monies). So I blinged my own helmet with Swarovski crystals from Michael's and epoxy. I'm in love with it. 

This is a bad photo. It's actually super pretty. 

The only things I purchased at full retail price were my stock tie and white gloves. They're both very basic. I have a prettier stock tie, but I hate the way it fits, so it needs to move on to a new home. My stock pins are blingy brooches from Joann fabric. Yay bling!  

Total retail for all of my show gear: Approximately $1,700.

I paid approximately $450. The only things that were used were the FITS and the show shirts, and they looked barely used. No stains, no pilling, nothing. 

If you are patient, the deals are out there! 

A Well-Rounded Horse

And I don't mean fat!

I want any horse of mine to be able to go out and do just about anything. I don't want a horse that can only be ridden in a ring on perfect footing or that can only do one job. My horse needs to be able to be flexible and roll with whatever I want to throw at them.

Tony's well on his way to being a take anywhere/do anything horse. Basically, this is a media dump of things Tony has done. For all his difficultness, he actually puts up with quite a lot ;)

In addition to dressage, we...

School cross country 

Weeeee...Tony like run fast. Hold on, mom.

Jumping baby log jumps.

Ride in the snow

My mostest favorite picture of us. 

Ride bareback (including jumping!)

No bit = no steering. For reals. Good thing there's a fence.

Hold on little hobbit...

Hit the trails

Tony is surprisingly sane on the trails. Good little mountain pony.

Throw on a Western saddle and toss the husband up

Husband is allowed to ride Tony because if he falls off, I won't feel bad. I mean...he has enough muscles to stop a runaway beast. Don't they look cute though? All 6'3" of my husband on my 15hh horse.

Give pony rides to children

Something else Tony is surprisingly good at. As long as I attach him to a lead rope ;) 

 Try out different disciplines...like Working Equitation

The only picture I had on my computer...must find better ones. Attack the bull, Tony! And yes, I am holding a "spear."

Foxhunting

This is Tony's brother Sacha...5 months under saddle. Solid choice. I lived.

 Dressing in whatever ridiculous costume I can come up with!

Battery-operated Christmas lights, plus tinsel and antlers.

Angel and devil at a dressage show. He is devilishly good looking.

With our friends Chesna and Pippin. The horses look less than impressed.

Aarrr, we be pirates. We may have jumped out of the arena at this show. And then back in. I had zero control. People still remember us. Good times.

101 in 1001

A while back I saw a post somewhere (now I cannot remember where) where someone posted 101 things they wanted to do in 1,001 days. I have started a list (the first goal being to finish the list), and will keep it updated. I've already got a good start! My start day is April 15, 2016, and my end day will be January 11, 2019. It feels like a long ways away, but I know it will come up quick.

The two I have finished are:
#3: break 65% at First Level. Yay for last weekend! My previous post talks more about the show. I talked with my trainer, G, yesterday. She did not see my ride, but watched the video later, and said I downplayed how good he was (I told her the judge was very generous). Maybe we did deserve the 68% after all. I'm feeling more confident about where we are and where we're going.

Gosh, he's cute!

#16: Win a blue ribbon. I didn't "beat" anyone since it was a percentage show (ribbons based on your score, not on your class), but I still got the ribbon! I'm counting it!

This was actually at a different show, but it's the exact same ribbon, so it'll do.

 So things are looking up, and I'm looking forward to a good season! Now to decide if I should ride First Level test 3 or test 1 at shows! Test 3 is stupid hard. I just don't like its flow. Guess I should attempt to ride it before making any rash decisions. We're going down to G's farm to ride in the dressage arena before it gets put away, so I think I'll try it out.

In which Tony becomes a real dressage horse

Yesterday was my local dressage GMO's spring Ride-A-Test and percentage show. In case you don't know what any of those things are:
-GMO: Group Member Organization (affiliated with the USDF- United States Dressage Federation)
-Ride-A-Test: You ride a dressage test and get a mini lesson on test riding from the judge (awesome!)
-Percentage show: you are not competing against anyone but a number. If you get above a certain percentage you get a blue ribbon (down to 59%- white ribbon). Fun and easier to organize.

I took Tony out for his third try at First Level Test 1. It's not a hard test, but Tony's not an easy horse. First level is probably a stretch for us, but I don't care! I want my bronze medal! This weekend Tony proved that maybe we can actually do this dressage thing! His two tests were a 68% and 66%! The judge was very generous, but who cares! Big numbers! Everyone loves a little ego stroking now and then ;)
He was very skeptical of the judge's tent to start with, so I was glad that I schooled down in the arena before the show started. Took us a few tries to get past it, and had to have a friend walk in front of us in the end. But we did it, and we got over it. I think Tony's trot is starting to look so fancy! His walk and canter need work, but most of it is strength building and getting him to put his inside hind leg under himself and use his back end more efficiently. Still lots of running and not very round, but it is far and away better than where we started four years ago!

Who knows, maybe we'll make it after all!