New Horse, Who Dis?

Well then. It has been a hot minute since I've last posted on this thing. Nigh on EIGHT. GODDAMN. YEARS. if you're counting, which I am. As you might imagine, quite a few things have happened between then, and now. I reserve the right to do a longer retrospective post at some point in the future(hm... maybe for New Year's?), but for now, Imma just lightning round it.

• I got serious about improving my Dressage, and set myself a goal of earning my USDF Bronze medal.
• I've started competing in recognized Dressage shows, and qualified for SWDC regional championships at first level in 2019
• Scored > 70% in a recognized show
• I wound up Jousting both Zigs, and Shadow.
• I changed jobs twice since.
• I traveled to India, Germany, Iceland, and Belize.
• Shadow bucked me off, and I suffered, and recovered from an unstable burst fracture of my L2.
• Both Zigs, and Shadow had to be put down the same summer, within a month of each other. That was rough.
• The last time I jousted was 2015.
• I rode Icelandic ponies in Iceland. It was amazing. Also, Iceland in general is just epic.
• We did a trail ride through the Jungle in Belize
• Since Shadow and Zigs passed, I leased both an Irish sport horse, and a Morgan, both mares.
• Coincidentally, I discovered that I AM in fact, a mare person.
• So, of course, I bought a Gelding.

A 10 year old, 17.1 GOV, as a matter of fact. As I write this, I've had him for almost 5 weeks, and I'm extremely happy with him. That's honestly part of why I decided to get back on the blogging horse. In addition to that, I've decided that I'm going to try rather than setting New Year's Resolutions, I'm going to try setting yearly goals on my birthday, using this blog to track my progress toward (most) of them (some will stay off the internet, because, privacy), and I think also now that I've gotten very serious about training and showing, it'll be cool to have this as a time capsule to look back on, to see where I've come from. But, without any further gilding of the lilly, let's get to the good stuff. (dem goalz...)

Goals

• Figure out how to consistently ride at least 3 times a week, ideally 5.
• Qualify for GAIG championships in 1st and 2nd level
• Get my bronze scores at 2nd level
• Trot down centerline at least once at a recognized show at 3rd level
• Stretch Goal: Get my bronze scores at 3rd level, and earn my Bronze by my birthday 2021.

That's the plan. Now to put in the work.