Cob Jockey

I am so new to driving, I don't know what I don't know yet. Which is why it took me a while to admit that the black cart wasn't right for me.

There's a lot about it that IS right for me, and in a world where I had the time and money to fix it up and the right vehicle to transport it more easily AND the space to store multiple carts, I would 100% keep it. 

But it needs more work than I could possibly have assessed until I got it home and hitched it up, it's not suitable for some of the classes I'd like to do, and honestly, it doesn't make me feel confident while driving, which is making me not want to drive - which, in a sport that already feels like it has a lot of mental barriers to me, I really don't need!

Fortunately I paid very little for it and should be able to sell it for the same.

But I'm an avoidant that will power through pretty much anything without thinking about it (hi, working on it), so it's not like I actually thought about all that until I saw a nearly new Frey Sprint cart for sale on Facebook Marketplace an hour from me for about half of the new price, and the exact amount I just sold Connor's Dressage saddle for...

Stopping me in my tracks while scrolling Facebook Marketplace. Well, hello.

The Frey ticks a lot of boxes - it's going to be suitable for anything I want to do in driving for many years to come (including CDEs until I get to a level that requires a four-wheeled cart), it's far easier to transport, and it's light and sturdy. 

The shafts come off (really the whole thing comes apart) and my goodness did I feel safer hauling this than the wood cart. It doesn't stick out at all past my micro truck bed with the shafts removed.

The only thing it won't do is win any "fancy turnout classes" - I can still do them, but I probably won't win. That said, I'd rather bomb around a cones course or a marathon course than win a turnout class anyway, and the wood cart is not suitable for either.

Hilariously, a few hours after I agreed to buy the cart with Disco's jump saddle money, Disco told me he wants to jump, but that's okay. Jump saddles are easier to find.

I got it home on Sunday, and I'm SO in love with it. My SO couldn't stop raving about it either - how much easier to move it was, how much sturdier it felt. The fact that we can swap out the wheels for snow sled runners.

The most handsome horse 💕

The seller also had carriage lamps for it that she threw in for an extra couple hundred dollars. I really shouldn't have, but that's not something I could say no to - they were $500 new and fit the cart perfectly. They are actual oil lamps, like, with flames and wicks, which blew my mind. They will also, along with the wood dash, class it up just a bit more when I'm in a "fancy turnout" class.

They also have red glass on the back - tail lights!

It's easier to get into, and fits me so much better - I can actually brace against the footboard properly (the wood cart doesn't even have a diagonal footboard) which even just resting on stands, felt so much more secure than sitting perched on the wood cart with my feet dangling.

And, on that note, the whole thing is adjustable in so many places. Seat height, shocks, shaft length, shaft width, cart length. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. We'll be able to get this perfectly balanced to Disco, although I'm sure it's going to take some fiddling at first.

Bolts, bolts everywhere.

So, all in all, I couldn't be happier with this purchase or the decision to delay getting Disco a jump saddle. It already feels worth every penny to feel EXCITED to drive again, rather than slightly intimidated and uncomfortable.

I already can't wait for my next lesson.