Today is Casey's day off because I'm going to the coast with my hubby and dog! By far my favorite part of living in Oregon is the great access we get to all different kinds of nature. We have forests, the coast, lakes and rivers, desert to the east, mountains, it's really great if you are kind of person that loves the great outdoors. What is your favorite aspect of your state (or country if you're outside the US)? #horse #equine #equestrian #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #bayhorse #baymare #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #dressage #horseriding #englishriding #oregon #oregonequestrian #ditzymare
When she's good, she's great. She was really hot today still, but she was listening and behaving herself. Also, jumping her frickin socks off! We went through both jumper courses from yesterday's show and she was amazing. Especially considering that we haven't done a ton of coursework recently, I was super impressed. #horse #equine #equestrian #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #bayhorse #baymare #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #horsejumping #jump #horseriding #englishriding #ditzymare
(this is a continuation of my last post...) Even though I'm really not happy about how our first show went, I'm trying to focus on positives because there really were a lot. My husband and barn family are the most supportive and loving people who made me feel so much better when I was really upset. Casey was so good for the vast majority of the show, she even went in the warmup arena with five other horses and behaved herself! Also, when she was jumping (and not bucking) during our course, she was jumping her socks off, she kept popping me out of the tack! And lastly, but not least, my horse may have been a freaking-out brat, but hey, I stayed on! I chose to scratch and had Casey under control, which really was quite a feat because she was going ballistic. Thank goodness because my very first show ever (when I was a kid) I fell off and then my horse wouldn't let me catch her and it was the most mortifying experience... So all in all it wasn't the worst day in my life. There's another show next weekend and I'll try again then. Hopefully Casey will stay a little bit calmer for attempt number two. #horse #equine #equestrian #equestriansofinstagram #equestrianlife #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #baymare #bayhorse #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #horsejumping #horseriding #englishriding #horseshow #ditzymare
I feel conflicted about posting this, but I created this account to track Casey and my journey so here it goes... Today was our first ever horse show together, it was a schooling show at our barn so I figured it'd be a good first attempt at this whole showing thing. It did not go as expected. During our first class, Casey got upset right after the first jump because there were horses loading in the trailer to our left. She was trying to bolt and while I kept her from that, she then took off bucking after the second jump. I got her back under control and we tried two more lines before I scratched. She was getting more and more agitated and I didn't want to risk either of us getting hurt because of pride. So I got off and that was the end of our first attempt at showing. I'm obviously upset. I'm not mad at Casey, because I know she was legitimately freaked and she really did try so hard to be good the whole rest of the show, but it's frustrating to work towards something for so long and for it to blow up in your face like that. I had prepped her as best I could, riding her multiple days before, getting there early to warmup before others got there, getting her relaxed while the chaos of arrivals were going on, and I even had a really nice warmup with her right before our class. It was just a case of a horse getting anxious and not being able to come back from that. This is getting too long so check my next post for a continuation of my summary of the experience. #horse #equine #equestrian #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #bayhorse #baymare #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #horsejumping #horseriding #englishriding #horseshow #buck #badhorse #ditzymare
Casey was an absolute saint in our lesson today. The neighbors started driving ATVs and making their calves run around the field next to the barn's property, which made all of the horses in the pasture freak out (watch for Eclipse the black horse taking off and bucking in the background), which then made all the dogs start barking and running, while I was cantering Casey... And she did nothing wrong! She did tense up, but she didn't spook or try to take off and kept her nice calm canter. This is amazing for her, even a few months ago any one of those things would have set her off, but she's gotten so much more level headed and trusts me to know I'll look out for her. We did end the lesson after this, because we had intended to do some work on relaxing while jumping as show prep (I doubted we'd be able to jump calmly after all that chaos), but I continued to ride on my own and she stayed super well behaved. She's a unicorn for sure 🦄 #horse #equine #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #equestrian #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #baymare #bayhorse #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #dressage #canter #goodhorse #horseriding #englishriding #ditzymare
I'm loving the new Professional's Choice jump boots that I got Casey. Her old boots were cheap and not very breathable, so when @ridingwarehouse had a sale over memorial day weekend I jumped on the chance to get some new ones. They fit Casey perfectly, are super breathable, and I love the styling with the stripes and stars. Oh and I had to clean them so I threw them in the washer and they popped out looking brand new and were completely dry after leaving them out overnight. #horse #equine #equestrian #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #bayhorse #baymare #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #jumpboots #openfrontboots #professionalschoice #horseriding #englishriding #ditzymare
Casey was fricken phenomenal today! Of course the one day I forgot my phone at home... I set up a course of mixed cross rails and 2' verticals are prep for the show this weekend. I was expecting her to be rushy and hot as she'd had yesterday off and just has been hot jumping lately, but instead she was perfect! She was looking to me for guidance, listening to my half halts, and jumping her socks off. I swear she jumped one of the verticals as if it were 4' instead of 2'. We did one course and she was so good that I let her be done with that. I'm hoping we get that Casey for the show! #horse #equine #equestrian #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #bayhorse #baymare #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #dressage #horseriding #englishriding #horsephotography #equestrianphotography #ditzymare
My barn is going to have a show this weekend and I think I'm going to take Casey in a few classes! I'm super excited as it will be our first ever show together, but I'm also super nervous. We still have tons of work to do in terms of getting back to where we were before the whole year of dealing with the suspensory injury. But, we have to have a first show at some point, and realistically it'll probably have highs and lows no matter when we do it. Do you show your horse at all? Tips for getting over show nerves? #horse #equine #equestrian #equestrianlife #equestriansofinstagram #ottb #tb #thoroughbred #bayhorse #baymare #bay #mare #hunters #jumpers #hunterjumper #dressage #horseriding #englishriding #canter #equestrianphotography #horsephotography #ditzymare
