Dandyism

[dandylonglegs]

Kitchen Reno Finished

As of yesterday, I can finally say that the kitchen renovation is finished! Well, actually the kitchen part has been finished for a long time but yesterday the baseboards and the ceilings got painted so we are officially done with contractors for Phase 1 of our demo. This is a big deal! It has been many many long weekends and a lot of money but I am so so happy with how things turned out. The…

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Gray Horse Problems

The problem with gray horses is that it takes a lot of work to keep them gray and not brown. This is especially hard when it starts warming up but it’s still raining on and off and the minute said gray horse is put out in pasture he rolls. Oh, and the wash rack is out of commission for repairs. #grayhorseproblems … story of my life. Gus always comes in a mudball. Even when there is not rain and…

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Poplar Place Farm Schooling H.T. 2.11.17 – Part 3

Poplar Place Farm Schooling H.T. 2.11.17 – Part 3

The great thing about this being a schooling show was that we were able to school XC the day before. And not just school XC, but actually school and put together the jumps that were on our course. And it was a weird, windy, and open course. Instead of the 20 minutes it should have taken me to walk the course, it took me an HOUR. Yes, an hour. And, okay, I did walk it without a map since they…

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Poplar Place Farm Schooling H.T. 2.11.17 - Part 2

Poplar Place Farm Schooling H.T. 2.11.17 – Part 2

The time to tack up and get ready for stadium came way to soon. We had walked the course the night before but my memory really wasn’t all that great and it had been such a sweeping big course that I wasn’t feeling confident about getting every fence. I had to watch a few people ride it to really get it down and I’ll admit that, on course, I had a couple of panic moments where I just kept riding…

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Poplar Place Farm Schooling H.T. 2.11.17 - Part 1

Poplar Place Farm Schooling H.T. 2.11.17 – Part 1

Since the agility trial the previous weekend, I have been battling an unrelenting sinus infection. Trouble breathing, sore throats, and a nasty hack are not what you really want going into a horse show, especially not when you’re going to be camping. But it’s what I had. Partially due to being sick and partially due to the fact that one day shows are just a mess, nothing quite seemed to line up…

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Show Prep

The downside to the agility trial last weekend was that I spent three days in the cold and what was a slight tickle to my throat turned into a full blown sinus infection. Lovely. I would have stayed home from work on Monday but am already taking Friday off for Poplar so that was a no go. I suffered through work but trot sets with Gus that evening were out of the picture. It rained in the…

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Not Wrong but Not Correct

Not Wrong but Not Correct

Over the weekend, the boy and I took all three dogs to another Circle of Friends Agility trial. If you’ve read all the other recaps from this particular club’s trials, you’re probably expecting something along the lines of “Well, it doesn’t look like it, but we made major improvement this time out!” But you’re not getting that today because Harley was a rock star. Not even kidding. I only had to…

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[dandylonglegs]

Short People Dressage

All my life, I have despaired at ever having that dressage look. No matter how long I made my stirrups and stretched my legs, no matter how much I sat on my pockets and put my shoulders back, I always looked like a fish out of water. I figured there was just no fixing my stumpy legs and I would just ride as best as I could and hope for a miracle. Well, the miracle has occurred and it was as…

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Lainey Ashker Clinic

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from riding with Lainey. She’s a lovely rider and obviously she has a soft spot for my favorite breed, the thoroughbred, but my trainer also had me a little nervous going into day 1 of the clinic. What if I couldn’t keep up? Luckily, that was not the case. Lainey is a lovely clinician. She expects you to try and she expects you to work hard but she doesn’t get…

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Bits & Pieces

Apologies for the lack of horse related posts recently.  It’s not that I haven’t been riding and that I don’t have things to share, it’s just that I’m trying so hard to put my day to day life back together. Work seems to be falling apart at the seams. So to help me get back on track I bought journals.  It might seem silly but lists help me. Today’s also really depressed me when I put together…

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Winter Blues

Can they be called winter blues if it’s 70 degrees and sunny out? I’m not convinced but I have no other adjective for what I’m feeling right now so let’s just roll with it. Things are just off. I know 90% of what I’m feeling is due to work and the other 10% is my normal winter and short day glumness but it doesn’t make things any easier to deal with. So I’m trying to focus on the positive. Like,…

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Review: Lund Figure 8 Bridle

Review: Lund Figure 8 Bridle

Figure 8 Bridle by Lund Saddlery After hearing some talk around the interwebz about this new brand, Lund Saddlery and how nice the stuff was, I had to give them a try. I was looking for a new bridle anyway so it seemed like a good opportunity. So I reached out to the company to see if I could buy something before they officially launched. I am so lucky they said yes! When the bridle arrived, I…

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Recovering

Food poisoning is no joke, ‘yall. I have been very blessed in 30 years to never have it… until this weekend. Never. Ever. Ever. Again. Please. If you have never had food poisoning, thank your lucky stars. I was violently sick, like, coming up through the nose violently sick. Cold sweats. Cramping. Even when my stomach was empty I didn’t get out of bed at all on Sunday and probably should have…

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January 2017 Goals

Despite the rain, December was a busy but productive month. I feel like I got a lot done even if the goals don’t quite show it.  December 2016 Gus Work on ground work with help from New Trainer – We did do some ground work but not with New Trainer and not nearly as much as we needed. Worked on though. Include more desensitizing to weekly rides (flags, tarps, gate opening, etc.) – Didn’t do this…

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New Swag

I love buying myself new things. My family is not really great at picking out the horse presents though they can follow instructions if I’m specific. But I also feel bad telling them all the things I want because horses are expensive, yall! So usually I just ask for money or gift cards and then I can buy what I want without feeling unappreciative. This year I decided to update my wardrobe a bit:…

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2017 Looking Forward: Year Goals

2017 Looking Forward: Year Goals

I cannot believe how quickly 2016 went. On a day to day basis, mostly it felt like the year was dragging it’s feet but when I look back at the whole thing, I have no idea what happened to the year! Personal Goals Continue to find ways to eat healthier and work on fitness, make this part of my daily life Put work aside at the end of the day so that I can enjoy my horse and my training Blog…

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2016 Look Back: A Year in Review

2016 Look Back: A Year in Review

January January was a slow month. Gus and I did get at least one lesson in but it felt like for most of the month I was dealing with a winter wild ex racehorse. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world because it made me realize that I had gained a lot of confidence back in just dealing with an unruly horse. February Another slow month on the Gus front where I was trying to figure out just what…

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