Tuesday 13 September 2016

Two Years

Two years ago I stole a horse.

The day I brought her home. I need new photos, she looks so different!

Ok, I did pay for her, but I paid so little I might as well have stolen her. Seriously, who sells a rock solid Pre-Training (Novice) packer with plenty of Training miles for less than I paid for my used Amerigo?
Our first show (that resulted in our first cooler)

Two years ago trying to jump an oxer would almost certainly send my anxiety through the roof. I was having panic attacks almost every time I jumped (even if the jumps were under 2'6").

First XC School

I was casually looking for a new partner. I had a pretty short wish list:

1) Jump All the Jumps
2) Preferably no greys
3) Jump ALL the Jumps
4) Everything else is negotiable

All the jumps. even the crazy ones!
Dee checked all the boxes, and some of the ones I didn't even think about (Next time I will make it no greys and no pintos though. I'm so sick of purple shampoo).

Who knew I needed a horse that would let me "pony" my dog?
Or would take me to my first Endurance ride?

Or do a dressage test aside, after only 2 other sidesaddle rides
Or learn silly tricks, just to appease my inner child
Slowly but surely my little, overlooked, rockstar has helped me find my confidence again. We recently went XC schooling and we did the Prelim water line like it was no big deal!

I can check Rebecca Farm off my life list
Oxers (and triple bars) no longer have me quaking in my boots. I know we can successfully jump around a 1.0-1.10m stadium course. Dressage is still a major challenge but I have faith that we can get around any course thrown at us.

Still one of the best moments

I can't find the right words to explain what this horse means to me. All I can really do is leave this reminder: Life is too short to ride a horse you aren't enjoying. Find the one that matches you and the world opens up in ways you wouldn't believe.






She sure doesn't look (or act) 19

19 comments:

  1. Aww I love this and I <3 Dee!

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    1. Convince your company they need to send you across the border to AB for some reason and you can come ride her!

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  2. Dee is so awesome. So glad you both found eachother :)

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  3. She is one of my fav horses on the blogosphere! Happy anniversary :D

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  4. She looks so different! Lucky you guys found each other

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  5. Happy Horsiversary! She's an amazing girl :)

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  6. That's incredible. What an awesome find she was!

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  7. Happy anniversary and what a find! The transformation sounds like it was highly beneficial for both of you.

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  8. I can't believe she's 19. That's crazy pants. You totally lucked out.

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  9. This is such a great post and something that I needed to read tonight :)

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  10. She is stunning. Happy anniversary!

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  11. Wow! You really have brought her a long! I never would have expected. I always believed she had been going this level for eons so just looks like such a pro

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  12. You two give me so much hope for my crazy little guy! She's fantastic! (:

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  13. OMG your before photo! The day you brought her home!!! HOLY COW have you ever done incredible things with her. <3 So proud of you for all your bravery, overcoming all of your fear and giving a cute, little, overlooked mare a chance to prove herself. Most definitely Best Pony!!

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  14. Love this! My boy is a total NUT this fall and making riding extremely stressful and not fun...

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