I mentioned that my husband asked me why I don't show more last week. After all the penny-pinching I've done and all the times I've gone out of my way to minimize my time spent at the barn, my first thought was "YES! It's working!" My second thought was blank, as in, stunned silence. Nobody's ever asked me why I don't do more with my horse before.
"Well, he's still pretty green, and I've put my money into good clinics and training opportunities this year. I do plan on showing more in the future, but..." *insert itemization of how much it costs to show at a recognized event here*
"Okay," he said, "That's fine, it's coming out of your paycheck anyway [That's our prearranged agreement], but I still think you should have something to show for all the effort you've put into him. And," he teased, "I want to be able to tell my coworkers 'My wife spends all this time and money on this pony and won her division last weekend' instead of 'My wife spends all this time and money on this pony and...?"
Ah, testosterone, where would we be without your ability to incite a competitive drive even in men only mildly related to the competition itself?
"What are your goals?" he asked when I didn't respond.
"Well..." I said slowly. I had never said this out loud to anyone before. "I want to qualify for and compete at the American Eventing Championships on Connor someday several years from now."
"See? That's a great goal!"
"It's far away."
"Okay."
"It's really expensive."
"Okay. You know we won't be buried in student loans forever, right?" Cue money discussion with lots of dewy-eyed hope for the future.
So there it is. My husband wants me to show more, and is on-board with my pipe dream of making it to the AEC's on my barely-a-large-pony. Woo! That doesn't really change my plan for Connor, besides putting a slight tinge of possibility to what had been a completely out-of-reach dream before. And also, it makes me want to buy a trailer...
Short term goal: two recognized BN events in 2013. Stay tuned!
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Good for your husband and you.
ReplyDeleteA trailer is not too bad a purchase. I ended up with a brand new trailer with everything I wanted with payments small enough I can manage. The loan was for ten years which helps. The price was a bit lower because the trailer was a demo at the Horse Expo. My parents bought the truck, the harder part to handle. Even if you go used, the market is full of great, safe trailers for reasonable prices. Our first trailer we bought for 105.00 and called the Rust bucket, but it lasted for years and we sold it at auction for 400.00. So owning a trailer is with in reach for you and opens a lot of doors.
Great goals! So nice that your husband is behind you and supportive!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! Good on you for being so careful with your finances and marrying such a great guy. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I have a welsh D as well I'm wanting to event at some point, so I am incredibly excited for you and can't wait to hear all about it!
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