July
Connor got his first real injury days before Pony Cup, because of course he did. He got his permanent pony card at a surprising 14.1hh, and we had an absolute blast at NDPC, where we also met Katlyn and Emilie, and Connor met his sister for the first time. NK gave me some tough love in a lesson, and we survived 2-1 at a schooling show with a 60.000%. I finally pulled the trigger on a PS of Sweden bridle, and JenJ introduced me to Franklin Balls. I also continued to wax poetic about how much better my life got after I moved Connor. |
| Still the straightest canter stride this horse has ever taken in his life. |
August
My trainer moved her program from my old barn to my new barn. I had kind of mixed feelings about this after I realized that I made a lot of progress when I started riding more outside of lessons. Things were just good, every ride left me with a huge smile on my face. NK fixed my leg aids in a lesson and I did a side-by-side comparison of my scores from the same test at the same show two days in a row.
September
I finally allowed myself to say out loud that we might have fixed the hard to catch issue after almost six years. I made a big, guilty confession, and wrote about some things that I've noticed about Connor lately. Connor got banned from being turned out with mares, and I started lunging him in my warmup. I also bought an Equisense with a work spiff.
October
We rode in IDS Championships and scored basically the same as last year despite being a very different pair this year. I sold my trailer and clipped Connor super early. I bought a one horse slant trailer, confirmed Connor would load in it, and insured it. The Equisense proved we are not ambiturners, and the Shadow proved to be every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. We went to Connor's breeders to photograph the Class of 2017 and her amazing young stallions.
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| We also photographed someone that's not for sale! |
November
I put up an excessive amount of The Organized Barn and Trailer gear into my new trailer's tack room and showed you guys how to DIY that. NK gave me a huuuuuuuuuge butt kicking, turns out she was holding back during my show season. I clipped Connor again, and our indoor footing got redone. We had so much to be thankful for, and wrapped up the month with a ton of travel for me.
December
I struggled to balance CrossFit and riding after coming back to CrossFit for the first time in a year and took a flyer on a pair of La Mundials on eBay. We jumped for the first time in nearly a year and hit three of our four 2017 goals.
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| From a December 2017 ride |
Happy almost New Year, everyone! I am off to Chicago to watch Connor's Aunt Mary get married tomorrow. Catch you in 2018!
Lots of big changes esp at the end of the year - it'll be exciting to see how they play out!
ReplyDeleteFor sure! Never been a year with more changes I don't think.
DeleteAre you still using the franklin balls?
ReplyDeleteUnsurprisingly, considering my pony path seems to follow yours, I've been eyeballing the Flying Change bridle from PS of Sweden. Need a new black bridle for that new black saddle I'll be getting ;) Will definitely go back to your post to read your thoughts on it.
Woo hoo for black saddles! I have continued to love the Flying Change BUT I still don't feel that I sized Connor correctly. I got him a Cob noseband and flash and he really needs pony, but I can't exchange them at this point. I am still using the Franklin Balls, just for a few minutes at the beginning of a ride every once in a while if I feel like I need the position reminder.
DeleteHave fun in Chicago and stay warm!! I can't wait to continue to see your progress in 2018 :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha, stay warm. I can't imagine what it's like for you in MN right now! Same for you in 18 - hope to see you at Pony Cup!
DeleteI possibly love Connor even more now that I get to watch his floofy tail go round and round.
ReplyDeleteLOL, side benefits to the Pixio I never even thought of. I don't get to see it myself either since I'm always the one on his back. So swooshy.
DeleteBang up year!
ReplyDeleteThanks, for you too!
DeleteConnor is absolutely my new internet crush. So adorable. Great year and i look forward to following you in 2018!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's been fun following your blog this year too!
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