Cob Jockey

Along with my plans for starting Disco, I'm making plans for a little baby show season for him this year as well. My big goal for him this year is to take him somewhere with a lot of presence. Ideally a rated show, with lots and lots of horses, and I won't say no to an indoor venue either.

Please, for the love of EVERYTHING, let Disco handle indoor shows better than his Uncle Connor. Pictured: Jesus-take-the-wheel'ing our way around the Majestic Farms indoor in February 2016

With that in mind, the perfect target for this year seems to be my beloved National Dressage Pony Cup, which is bringing back the in-hand breed show in conjunction with the big show this year, and holding both in July at the World Equestrian Center - Wilmington, less than a half hour from my trainer's barn in Ohio. 

He'll get to take a 2.5 hour trailer ride and spend probably 3 days/2 nights there, depending on schedule. Just Going There and Doing the Thing is my only goal for him, but if he shows well and scores well, that would be nice too.

This again, but with Disco

To prep for that, I'd like him to practice doing the sporthorse triangle thing with me, so I'm tentatively planning on showing him at the Indiana Saddle Horse Association show on May 20-21 at the Hoosier Horse Park. A familiar facility close to home, and an organization I love to support.

Ring stewarding for Lisa as she judged the sporthorse in-hand class at the 2022 show

Soapbox moment: ISHA fills the missing gap so many locations have for an affordable, fun and big horse show that's competitive but low-key enough to be accessible to a wide range of income levels and a wide variety of equestrians. Classes are mostly $5-10 each and you don't need a single membership for it. I realize most of my readers are competitive English equestrians, but if you're not supporting those kinds of grassroots everyman shows in your local area already, please consider it. It's fun!

And finally, what show season would be complete without the Welsh show? Tentatively scheduled for October-ish, it would mean Disco shows once in the beginning, once in the middle and once at the end of next show season, which is perfect.

He's been so much fun to show so far, I can't wait to see what this year brings for us!

Hello world, it's me, CobJockey. Again.

2022 was a rough year for me. For one, I got a divorce. It was amicable and as straightforward as a divorce could possibly be, but was still a major life change to absorb. New responsibilities to take on. Learning to live alone.

Two, I lost all of my fire for pushing up the levels and competing, at least for now. My personal life had something to do with it, but so too did the tiny voice in my head saying that Connor was not comfortable in Dressage, that the "bee sting" head shaking he's done for years IS pain, probably nerve pain. 

And so when we started having major technical difficulties with my phone and Pivo last summer, I took the opportunity to bow out of weekly lessons for the first time since 2011.

I stopped riding almost entirely for most of 2022, although I never stopped going to the barn, because that's life in a co-op. Connor lost topline, gained a dad bod, and was allowed to grow a full winter coat for the first time in the 11 years I've had him, partially because I wasn't riding and partially because he needed it for, um, protection.

Full time battle royale over here

But my mental health suffered. Riding has always reset me in a way that nothing else does. There is something about shutting my mind off and just being present without the possibility of distraction on the back of a horse that picks me up and puts me right side up. So last week I started riding again.

For the moment, I'm doing twenty minutes, at a walk, on the rail, five days a week, on a long but not loose rein. No leg yields, circles or anything fancy. Just getting back in the routine, beginning to build back Connor's fitness, and focusing on both of us using our bodies well.

And it feels...good. From a goals and competition perspective, I don't particularly care what Connor does this year, but I can feel myself starting to get excited about setting goals for Disco.

This is not lunging, for the record. This is walking him three times in a circle around me using voice cues and then putting him away.

So here I am. Still here, still blogging, just not as often as before. And that's okay. Welcome to 2023.