For more history on Equilutions, here's your yearly recap:
2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019
The bottom line is I was a slacker-blogger this year. I posted a whopping 6 times in 2019... I am sorry.
The thing is, it's not that stuff wasn't happening, it's just that.... well.... I'm just not as Overanxious about everything as I was when I got my first horse, and I have a pretty strong support system now. When I DO freak out (and I do) I have more options than just shouting it into the digital void. I have a group of experienced horsey friends and professionals I can call/text when I need to, and let's not forget I now have a pretty chill and broke horse who miraculously has remained uninjured for nearly 5 years (aside from a foot thing summer of '18).
Also, I don't mean to suggest you are The Digital Void. You ALL have been tremendously helpful and supportive over the years!
So what DID happen in 2019?
My goal for the 2019 was:
I just want to get to the point where I feel like writing a big expensive check for a horse and taking on the responsibility of expensive board and unexpected vet expenses seems WORTH IT.
Did I achieve the goal? I did. In July I decided to take ownership of Kevin. He wasn't "expensive", and he wasn't the fancy reiner I thought I wanted, but he was the right choice. For the third time in my life I am a horse owner, and I do not regret it. Horses are expensive. They cost time and money and emotional labor. They have the potential to break your heart and owning a horse is living with the fear that at any moment.... okay so yeah, I'm STILL overanxious. LOL.
So what else happened? Kevin and I competed in 5 ranch horse shows in Open Conformation, Showmanship, Pleasure, Horsemanship, Trail, and Ranch Riding. We showed in wet freezing wind in April, sweltering heat in July, and some pretty decent weather in between.
Overall we did really well, winning the year-end high point Buckle for the Open division.... again. :) I have noticed that Kevin is not doing as well in Pleasure and Conformation as he used to. I'm thinking it's a combination of his age and an increase in competition. I'm planning to get a vet assessment in the spring to see if something could help him move more smoothly like he used to. He's fine, not lame, just not a fluid as he used to be.
I've been horse trailer shopping for months now, and I promise to tell you all about that eventually. Seriously it's almost worse than buying a horse!
We entered a Halloween costume and obstacle contest and we were 1st in costumes and 2nd in the obstacle challenge.
My awesome friend and barn owner bought us a photo shoot with Kate Bowser Photography so for Christmas so I got these:
So what about 2020?
Gosh that's a nice round number. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come: balance, solidity, and clarity. 2020-Vision, you know?
My only real goal is to continue enjoying my horse.
And maybe try to rejuvenate my blog, but I'm not sure how much time I'll really have to do that, so I don't want to make promises I can't keep, to you or to myself.
SHOWING in 2020:
There will be shows! Our show circuit is changing for 2020 and I'm disappointed in the changes. First of all, our favorite venue is closing and the shows are now further away - over an hour instead of 30 minutes - which means I can add hotels to my show budgets. Joy.
Instead of 4 Ranch shows and 3 pleasure shows with ranch classes counting for points, its only 2 ranch shows and several pleasure shows with ranch classes. BOO! The pleasure shows stick the ranch classes at the very end - like an afterthought and with such big showbills, the ranch classes could start at 2pm or 9pm, there's no way to know. The judges tend to be more pleasurey judges and since the classes are filled with pleasure horses in work tack it's hard to place. I'm not knocking pleasure people, it's just that they have a style and an aesthetic that is different from ranch and a judge that prefers that aesthetic will look for it and reward it. Judging is subjective and I accept that, but it reminds me of riding really good arabs amongst a sea of quarter horses in the 90's and never placing - oh boy do I have some stories about prejudiced judges.... Plus they're only offering conformation, reining, showmanship, pleasure, and ranch riding. No trail. No horsemanship. No fun.
The only other ranch circuits are over 2 hours away and without a living quarters.... BOO.
The two ranch shows are both on Sundays following a Western Dressage show, and I'm planning to compete in those two shows, too. So it may end up being a 4-shows-but-only-two-weekends show season.
I also hope to do more trail riding. We'll see how Kevin feels about that....
Happy New Year!
