Cob Jockey

I was already thinking this year I wouldn't do my usual year-in-review on the blog - this was a transitional year full of things that, frankly, make for boring blogging.  Spending as little money as possible on horse things, not showing, over-analyzing biomechanics and hardly going anywhere fun?  I won't make you sit through that a second time!  So I'm joining in Amanda's blog hop.

Favorite Show Picture

PC: Karen

This year was H-A-R-D in a lot of ways.  But we made a great deal of progress, and our second and final show of the season proved that to me.


Favorite Non-Show Picture

PC: Leah

I still have to pinch myself sometimes and remind myself that this really happened.  I'm still so grateful to Karen for including me in her contest winnings.  Sidenote: KPG came back to our area to clinic recently and the prices reminded me I definitely could not have done this if it wasn't for that contest!


Favorite Thing You Bought



Due to my spending freeze, I have a short list of 2018 purchases to choose from.  This saddle was a 2017 purchase, but having it professionally fitted in July is definitely my favorite purchase of 2018.  Especially after discovering Connor is exceptionally hard to fit in a Dressage saddle, seeing how well this one sits on his back now just feels like a miracle to me.


Favorite Moment on Horseback


This whole clinic.  How could it not be?!  This photo is KPG gushing over our shared love of Welsh Cobs.  She may not be competing one in the Olympics, but once a Welsh Cob lover, always a Welsh Cob lover.


Favorite Moment out of the Saddle



Moment?  How about weekend?!  Flying to Colorado with Connor's breeder to meet Erika, and to watch both Castleberrys Dillan and Castleberrys Gavin go in the RMDS Championship show was so amazing.  It was so cool to watch Connor's breeder watch her "kids" go, and and to understand that dreams 15 and 13 years in the making were realized for her that weekend.


Favorite Between the Ears Picture



On one of the last warm fall days this year Connor and I wandered the open field at just the right time of day, just enjoying each other and the warm sunlight and the beautiful surroundings before winter set in.  This picture is my cell phone background now, and I get a little zen every time I look at it.


Favorite Horse Book or Article



It's not a horse article, but nonetheless, Simone Giertz's TED talk had a profound impact on my horse life.  And then shortly after that, Matt Brown's CoTH series dialed in on the same ideas.


Favorite Horse Ridden Aside from Your Own



I only rode one horse that wasn't Connor this year and it was a great one!  Riding JenJ's T in January (then Second Level, now Third Level) was incredibly enlightening and really shaped my whole 2018.  He helped me realize I was as crooked as a pretzel and as tense as a vice, and that sparked a quest to fix all of that, even if I didn't initially understand what was happening.


Favorite Funny Picture of Your Horse



There was LITERALLY NO REASON for this!


Favorite Movement That You Conquered



I wouldn't call mediums 'conquered' yet, but this is the first year in which I actually felt some lengthening at the trot.  Such a simple thing, but so much went into that from a biomechanics, strength, feel, and straightness perspective, it feels like an achievement (in progress).


Favorite Horse Meme



You have to have a sense of humor to own a Welsh cob, as Dr. Marks said so many years ago!