Cob Jockey

This post is a bit delayed due to, sigh, porch pirates.  This is only the second time in all the years I've lived here that I've had a package stolen.  I felt SO bad that my Secret Santa had to make and ship my gift twice,  and I honestly told her she didn't need to send me anything at all after I realized it was stolen - but she did anyway and it was SO worth the wait!


My Secret Santa was Stacie at Amateur at Large and she did an AMAZING job - really she went over the top if I'm being honest, and I love it.


If you don't read Stacie's blog, let me preface this post by saying matching is kind of her thing.  Not like, just matching your pad to your bonnet, but like, REALLY matching. 

When your shirt matches your pad matches your bonnet matches your polo wraps! PC: Stacie's blog

So you can guess what my Secret Santa present looked like 😁

When the coozies match the bag match the cup match the pug notebook.  My husband called the Noble Outfitters Wine Down hoofpick "unsanitary".  I laughed.  Looking forward to using that at shows this year!

But that's not all!  She also sent me a One Horse Threads long sleeve tee.  Let's be honest, most of the time my horse looks like the groom is off duty anyway (which drives Connor's Aunt Mary CRAZY), so this shirt is perfect for us.


And that's still not all!  She also sent me a bonnet - and I am kind of in love with it.  It's in our color, it actually fits Connor (very hard to do) and it's well-constructed.

Yes my bridle is dirty, don't judge, we are in full on "survive winter and nothing else matters" mode right now

Before anyone asks, that's not rain rot on his face, those are bite marks from the pony he's tuned out with

And even though it's winter and I definitely don't need to be riding in a bonnet right now, I put it on him anyway and constructed a matchy matchy outfit in honor of my Secret Santa!

But like, it's just a pad and bonnet, I don't have matching anything else.

I had just one "disappointment" out of the whole thing - peppermint pop rocks DO NOT taste like peppermint!  They taste like strawberry!  I feel so misled. 😂

Eye opening!

Thank you Stacie for the amazing Secret Santa gifts!  You rock!

About the third week of December I got an email from my Secret Santa telling me that my gift would be delayed due to "mechanical issues".  I know that was true, but I also think my Secret Santa just wanted to wait to give me my gift when we met in person:

Once again, I am completely floored by JenJ's skills, and the effort she puts into these things.  It is just awesome beyond words.

Needless to say, I am IN LOVE with it, and I haven't had a chance to hold them against each other yet, but I'm pretty sure it's going to perfectly match his Welsh bonnet that she also made.  The pad lays nicely on his back and is definitely the most well-constructed Dover brand pad I've owned.


She hand made those dragons!  Hand made.  From fabric.  How amazing is that?

The only issue I had was that I hadn't planned on fitting a saddle pad into my already overstuffed carry on.  The flight attendant looked at my suitcase as I boarded and said she was pretty sure I was going to end up gate checking that thing, the stitching was visibly stretched it was so full.  But with my tall husband's help I managed to wedge it (literally) into the overhead bin.  Take that, air travel!

Of course the design is on both sides, because she is just that good.

So thank you, JenJ, for giving me an awesome Christmas present that is nowhere close to the suggested gifts list I sent Tracy.  This is way better than socks!

Jen of Wyvern Oaks and I have become fast friends.  Really, it was sort of fate.  She owns a Haflinger, I own Castleberry's Not-a-Haflinger  Contender.  She works for the company that owns the one piece of software that I am an undisputed expert in.  Both of us understand the value of cute pony photos in blog posts.   Both of us have Husky mutts that form dog balls:

Dog Ball.

 Both of us are named Jen.  Meant to be.

So after my fly bonnet post, I got a message.  Hey, I have this fly bonnet sitting around, you want it?  It's just a plain fly bonnet I bought and never used, but it will work.  Sure! I said.  Then she was like "What are your XC colors?  I am an amazing seamstress, and I'm going to pimp this bad boy out for you."  (My paraphrasing, of course.)  Then that turned into "Your farm colors are what again?  Okay, I'm doing two bonnets."  Then that turned into three bonnets, and many hours spent trading designs back and forth (that may or may not have occurred at work.)

I could hardly believe my eyes when they got here.  They are so beautiful and SO well made!

That is a Welsh dragon fly bonnet in the colors of the Welsh flag!  Not going to be mistaken for a Haflinger now!

My farm's colors.

Every time I text Jen a picture, it invariably is accompanied with "Eeeeeeee!  So cute!"