It’s like a pressure cooker in here.

So show season 2019 is just around the corner folks and you know what that means?  New year = new challenges.  This year China and I will really and truly be loping for the first time.  Oh I know, we loped as a two year old at SEMSCA.  But we were the only ones in the class.  And we loped at a couple of open shows last year.  But this year, no more walk trot.  And boy- I’m starting to feel the pressure. We’ve been working but sometimes- when you don’t know what you’re doing, all the practice in the world isn’t gonna make you great.  If there is one thing having horses has taught me is that practice doesn’t make perfect- practice makes permanent.  (And sometimes that means cementing the wrong damn thing in everyone’s mind.)

I’ve had several people private message me or ask about training their horses because I’ve "done so well with China".  Ummm.  Walk. Trot. We can walk and trot and even then I manage to screw it up lots of times.  And for the record- it isn’t the training.  She’s just that good.  I didn’t train her to go fast or to go slow or to do this or do that.  I just rode a lot and with time she just decided to do this or do that and when she did I said "holy crap, I don’t know why you did that, but (pet pet pet) you’re such a good girl!"  So she did it again and again.  If that’s training- I can train a naturally good horse any day of the week I guess!



I always send those folks on to actual trainers with a thank you for their vote of confidence and then my anxiety rises, because people are going to expect big things out of us this year and I fear they are in for an epic disappointment.  I once had a judge ask me if she was as pretty of a loper as she was a trotter- this was her as a 2 year old.  My response then was the same thing as it is now, "she’s got a big lope."  And now that she’s learning there is another way to lope besides the one speed God gifted her with from birth, we have a new problem.  Consistency.

I attended a clinic with her hoping to gain confidence.  Instead I gained more doubt.  Tim asks how riding went every time I come in the door after practicing.  I tell him the same thing, "We did stuff. I don’t know if it is the right stuff, but we did some stuff."  Only time and shows will tell I guess.
Here’s what I do know.  China and I won’t be winning any belt buckles or saddles this year.  I’m not being a pessimist or getting down on us.  Anyone who rides and shows horses knows that figuring out the lope is a big old job.  This is a learning year for us (much like her two year old year was a learning year for her).  I’m 100% okay with that. She’s going to be showing against seasoned horses with her novice trainer aboard and giving her as much help as I can (which isn’t nearly enough for a green 4 year old).  I just hope everyone isn’t disappointed in us.  Because there is something I do know, we are only going to get better.

I know we will keep learning and working and we won’t settle.  I know China is going to give her all every second of every ride and THAT is what I’m going to love about 2019, that mare’s big old heart and her big old try.  I know that even if we don’t have the prettiest lope, it’s my job to "sit nice" (as I used to tell my girls) and ride.  Because even horses that aren’t the prettiest movers, can still place in horsemanship, equitation and showmanship if their riders don’t screw it up for them.

So goals for 2019:
1.  Keep working on that lope.
2. Make it to another clinic to at least audit.
3. Get better at showmanship!  I can do this!  Place in the top 3 at some point this year.
4. Qualify for Champ Show in two classes.
5. Find my diagonals- without looking- IN A CLASS. I can do this at home every time.  Get in a class and I lose my mind.
6.  Share lots of laughs with my family and friends at every show.

My biggest goal is to always remember- it isn’t about winning classes or this or that judge’s opinion.  It’s about enjoying my horse and getting better with each ride.  It’s about being the best that China and I can be on that day and never forgetting how lucky I am to have such an amazing creature as my partner in crime. She’s my heart horse, my forever pony and the stuff little girl’s dreams are made of.