Horse show travels: Paso Robles, CA

Whelp, this is long overdue, but in October I flew to San Jose, California, only to rent a car and drive about 2.5 hours to Paso Robles, California, for the PCCHA Futurity. While the route I took on the way over did not sport very scenic views, I went back on Highway 1, and that drive along the coast was quite beautiful!

Paso Robles is wine country, as evidenced by the many wineries that call it home. The town itself is not very big, but it does boast a good pizza place called Rustic Fire. I may have eaten there multiple times on my trip; I may crave it every day now. Don't worry about it.

Alas, I did not drink even a sip of wine, but I did see impressive expanses of grape vines as I drove through the country. On my way back to San Jose, I stopped several times whenever the view warranted it. Times like this:

And this:

It was a tad windy on the coastline:

I tried to go see Hearst Castle, but I discovered when I got to it that I had to pay for a tour that included a bus ride to the top of the mountain where it sits, and I didn't feel like spending 2.5 hours doing that or being that social. So I just looked at it from afar.

After I left Hearst Castle, I was driving along Highway 1 when I spotted a sign that said "Elephant Seal Lookout" with an arrow pointing towards a parking lot. Naturally, I swerved in. And I was not disappointed:

There were so many! And they were sleeping and arguing and making great noises...best stop yet.

I always love California and was really happy to get to go twice in 2015 (including the side trip I took to Lake Tahoe while in Reno). Maybe I'll get to visit again this year!

Read More

5 Things I Learned From Chica

(I just noticed today that I have a surprising amount of drafts on my blog that I've never posted, and I was going through them to see what they were. There were some that made me happy (like a post about a large horse show I took Sienna to that I never posted), and some that made me pensive (several posts that pondered whether being financially broke but happy due to the horses was worth it). And then there was this post, written shortly after Chica bucked me off nearly three years ago and gave me a concussion. It wasn't finished, so I've edited it down to five things instead. But they are all big things, and Chica deserves the credit for them. Here we go!)

As a followup to the "10 Things I Hate About Chica" post, I thought I should post some nicer, more gracious tidbits about my pony. As a side note, it has been almost FIFTEEN years since she attempted to buck me off the first day I owned her. Wow.

I could go through and list the obvious things my horse has taught me: how to be a better rider, for instance. How to sit a buck (or not). But I think it would be more fun to write about the non-conventional things she has taught me, the priceless knowledge I have gained from my best red-headed girl.

5. How to French braid. During our days on the Katy Cowgirls drill team in high school, part of our costume was a large star with ribbons that had to be French-braided into the horse's tail. After a year or two of having to sit and wait for someone else to do it for me, I finally decided to learn how to do it myself. Chica always stood there patiently as I braided and unbraided her tail, until I understood the process. By my last year in Katy Cowgirls, other girls were enlisting me to help them.

The tail star...and an unsure expression on my face.

4. How to mount a horse bare-back, from the ground. Not from a mounting block or fence. Chica and my aunt get the credit for this one. My aunt told me the theory, and it was up to me to figure out the movement. Again, Chica patiently stood there while I yanked her mane, kicked her in the side, slid off, tried again, and again, and AGAIN, until I finally succeeded in the correct jump/swing combo. (This is actually something I can still do today, although I've learned that the mathematics for the "jump/swing" vary from horse to horse.)

3. How to be assertive. For our first years together, Chica had my number and knew how to intimidate me. It was something that started off small and grew the less I worked on it with her. She got to where she would buck me off and run away or yank her leadrope/reins out of my hand and disappear, and one day she even charged me in the pasture. I was scared of her, and she knew it.

I was also picked on at school for stupid things like liking horses. While I usually tried to ignore it or laugh it off, one of my Ag teachers told me one day that I needed to start standing up for myself. And thanks to my trainer Connie, who taught me how to show Chica she was no longer in charge, I learned that it was not okay to let her push me around. And by proxy, I was able to transfer that over to human interactions too. Now I'm told I'm intimidating when I'm angry. Thanks Chica!

2. How to be responsible. I look at teenagers today that are getting into drugs and alcohol and becoming pregnant while still in high school, and I think back to my high school years. What was it that kept me from becoming like one of them? For one, it was a little red mare that kept me grounded and busy so that I was not out partying with the "cool" kids. Even in college, my friends understood that taking care of my horse came before anything else, and I don't know how many of them got stuck riding out to the barn with me, and even helping feed or clean my stall, on the way to dinner/a movie/formal events/what have you.

1. How to be happy. In 6th grade I was diagnosed with depression, and I was started on Paxil and weekly group and individual therapy. I got to where I hated group therapy, and the thought of having to take a drug for the rest of my life just to be "happy" did not sit well with me. My mental state during those years was what convinced my mom to try out the horse thing, and although it was indeed expensive and my parents had to work very hard to let me keep her, my mom has told many people that she thinks Chica saved my life, so I would assume she doesn't regret it (mostly). Around that time I also started talking to God more, and I think that through a combination of developing my relationship with Him and Him sending me Chica, I was able to get on the right track.

It has been an emotional and good almost 15 years, Chica-Chica. Here's to the next 15!

Read More

Horse Buying Horrors

Yesterday, at 12:27 PM, I bought a horse. He was a coming 5-year-old, a tall APHA hunter/jumper prospect. By 3:46 PM, after being put through the ringer by the horse's agent and "trainer" and being denied a pre-purchase exam because of the offer I had made (that was accepted), I backed out of buying the horse.

This horse was located in the Houston area, and I went to try him out last weekend. The weather was poor, but he stayed very calm in spite of the wind and rain, which impressed me. He had some issues due to a lack of training (or the wrong kind of training), but I thought they were fixable enough to make an offer, though definitely not pay full price.

Basically, the horse had no forward motion, and the "trainer" had been riding him only on a draped rein with a training fork. Seriously. She was marketing this horse as an English prospect and riding him with no contact whatsoever. She was also riding him with spurs, which is not a problem except she did not tell me to bring spurs and did not offer to let me use hers. I could hardly get the horse into a walk, much less a trot or canter. In fact, she had to pick up the longe whip to help get him to canter.

After talking to my trainer and several people in the industry about the horse, each person individually agreed that they would not pay more than xx for the horse, which was $1,000 less than his asking price. So I called the trainer and asked if she was open to offers. She said no, so I said thanks but no thanks.

During all of this I was also speaking with the horse's agent, a broker of AQHA and APHA pleasure horses. When I told her the trainer was not open to offers, she acted like I was being unreasonable expecting to pay less for him when he had already had his price reduced. I ultimately stopped responding to her.


The next day, the agent messaged me to find out what my offer was. I told her the xx price that everyone else suggested, and she told me that it was too low. I came up $500, which was $500 less than his asking price, and she told me he was mine.

After making plans to pick the horse up next Tuesday, I called a local vet to see about them going out to the barn to do a pre-purchase exam (PPE). I then let the "trainer" know I was doing a PPE. She freaked out on me, saying that the price I was buying him for did not include a PPE and she didn't have time to haul him for me to do that. I messaged the agent and told her about what the "trainer" said, and she also freaked out and told me that the extra $500 that I'm not paying the owner for the horse is now going to the vet instead, so it's like I'm making the owner pay for the exam. After going back and forth with her, at 3:46 PM, I told her to forget about it, I'm not buying the horse.

That evening, the "trainer" started attacking me through texts. She "informed" me that I was getting the horse for way less than he's worth and lowering her commission in the process, and again said that she's not spending the time to take him to a PPE when she's not being compensated for it. I don't know what part of me saying "I'm going to pay for the PPE and have a vet come out there" she couldn't understand. She went on to say that I was low-balling her (by offering $500 less? Really?) and trying to make her jump through hoops. And she blamed it on me that the agent did not know I wanted a PPE, when really that's the agent's job to discuss.

The bottom line in all of this is that the agent and the "trainer" were going to get less commission on a horse that isn't worth what they're asking for him right now, and they were butt-hurt about it. If I were the owner, I'd be interested to know that I lost a sale because of their greediness.

And you know, if you're trying to become a horse trainer, attacking and berating a potential future client because they don't want to accept the absurd conditions you've placed on a horse is not the way to further your career. I've always said that it's a bad idea to burn bridges and create enemies in the horse industry, because it's very likely that you'll run into those people in the future. This girl does not know that I write for an equine publication and interact with a lot of horse people. But I know that she is a "trainer" trying to get into the Paint horse world. And guess who has been telling everyone she knows in the Paint industry to not do any business with this would-be trainer? This girl, right here. I will also never do business with the agent again. There are plenty of other people selling horses out there.

Read More

Horse show travels: Las Vegas

Yes, you read that right. I had the difficult task of traveling to Las Vegas for a horse show for work. They had to really twist my arm on that one.

I went up for the High Roller Reining Classic, which was at the South Point Casino and Event Center. It is the coolest facility; the arenas and barns are attached to the casino, so you literally never have to go outside of the building. I spent 4 days indoors without seeing the light of day. And you can watch the live feed for the show on your hotel room's tv, so you can see where they are in the draw while you get ready.

I had the awesome opportunity to cover the Open Derby Saturday night, and it was the best show I think I've seen since I started working at my job. Over 30 people scored a 220 or higher, and the winning score was a 232. The Reserve score was a 230.5. I've always loved reining, and getting to watch so many beautiful runs was exciting. This was also my first work trip where I got to go with a coworker, which made the trip even more fun.

We played the slots in our off time and ate SO MUCH delicious food. One of the restaurants, the Coronado Cafe, brought us this wonderful bounty:

Also, good news!

We attended a longhorn auction during the show, because apparently reining people like longhorns, too. And while there many things to take photos of, like the longhorns running amok in the sale ring while kicking their feet up and trying to eat fake plants, I only got a photo of the ice sculpture:

A week after I returned, Philip and I celebrated 6 months of marriage. I expected him to take me to dinner, but he had other plans. I arrived home from work to find him already there with steaks, potatoes, asparagus and rolls cooking. There was salad and a bottle of wine on the table, and the room was lit with candles. Frank Sinatra songs from our wedding played in the background. He even greeted me dressed up in his wedding clothes.

I am a lucky, lucky girl!

Read More

Horse show travels: Nampa, ID

A few weeks ago, I went to Idaho for the first time. And let me tell you, Idaho is possibly one of the most underrated states I've been to yet.

Boise and Nampa weren't much to speak of themselves, but during one of my off days, I took some time to drive up into the mountains to go horseback riding...and it was B-E-A-yootiful!

The outdoorsman's paradise.

I ended up in Garden Valley, ID, for my ride. Since it was a Wednesday morning, it was just me and the guide, and we talked all about horses and Idaho pretty much the whole time. The weather was cool, the scenery was beautiful, and it was so relaxing. I rode a little Paint mare named Mindy who seemed a little put out to be riding instead of hanging out in her pasture grazing, but she was well-behaved.

I stopped for lunch at a little cafe in Crouch called Wild Bill's Coffee and Bistro and got a BLT, which was delicious. So was the free chocolate gelato I got, thanks to the coupon given to me by the trail guide.

As I had driven up to Garden Valley, I was tickled by the signs I saw on the roadway:

The "OPEN RANGE" signs were just so iconic. I did see some range cattle, which somehow exist effortlessly on the side of the mountains. And that was the only "wildlife" I saw. I definitely will need to spend some more time in Idaho one day, white-water rafting, mountain climbing, and of course, horseback riding.

In what's happening back home, I rode Rosa English for the first time. It felt very different on her, since she's so small. The whole time we were cantering I felt like I was going to come off over her head, but we managed through. And she makes a cute little English pony!

We also bought Philip his own saddle!

Now we can both ride Western at the same time! And he doesn't have to get leg cramps from riding in my too-small-for-him saddle. Which means more riding! Next on the list for him? Boots. Because somehow I married a guy who has never owned a pair of boots.

Read More

Remember how I used to post on my blog?

Well it's your lucky day, because I'm back!

June, July & August have been incredibly busy for me between the job and life in general. Life in general because this happened:

 
In an act of road rage, someone swerved in front of me and slammed on his brakes, brake-checking me. The first time it happened, I managed to avoid hitting him. However, the second time he swerved in front of me and came to a dead stop, purposefully causing me to hit him. Then, the driver floored it and tried to drive off, but I went after him and got his license plate number. Not that it's done me any good; he lied to his insurance company about what happened (saying that he didn't brake-check me, that he was just slowing down because he heard me honk at him), so they found me at fault. But $3,700 later, my truck looks like new again:

 
I'm sure you can imagine how happy we were to pay that out of our own pockets.

My job has been crazy because I drew the short stick for the NCHA derby held in Fort Worth for three weeks, which would have been TERRIBLE if work hadn't loaned me their (3500 dually) work truck since I had no transportation of my own. Between my deadlines for those stories, another story I was writing, dealing with the insurance companies and police from the wreck and having 11-hour work days where Philip would drop me off at work at 8:00 AM, head to his own job in Dallas, and then pick me back up at 6:30 or 7 PM when he got back to Fort Worth...well, the blog has been the farthest afterthought possible.

But I'm happy to report that I had a vacation last week where I got to go visit my grandparents, and Philip and I had a mini-vacation at his friend's lakehouse on Lake Palestine this past weekend. Even the Corg got to go along. Despite not liking the motor noises at first, she warmed up to the boat:

But once we got to the "swimming hole" and got out of the boat, it was hard to tell if she spent the time in the water terrified or happy. She turned out to be a good swimmer, but she much preferred to rest on the noodle with me holding her to anything or anyone else.

Even when Philip tried to hold her, she fought to swim back to me. Poor little short-legged corg.

In the world of horses, Rosa has been doing really well. She has reached the point where she's started questioning what I ask of her (silly teenagers), but we've had several pretty good rides lately where I insist she do as I ask and she concedes that might be a good idea. And meanwhile, she's really looking like a horse and not an awkward baby anymore!

Chica's doing really well, too. In fact, she's been more sound in the last few months than she has been since she was denerved. Philip and I have been riding a few times, and she's wonderful with him. We took the ponies trail riding one weekend, and even Rosa was a rock star. She spooked at a bench (and nearly jumped out from underneath me, thanks cutting horse bloodlines) and spooked at her reflection in a window, but other than that, she didn't really spook at any other "scary" things. It might have been the older horses' influence, but I think she has a good brain in there somewhere.

As futurity season gears up, I'm preparing for the imminent Season O' Work Travel. This Saturday I fly to Idaho for a week, then two weeks later I fly to Vegas for 5 days, then a week after that I go to Reno for a few days. In October, I'll be in California. And I don't even know what November and December will look like yet. So if you don't hear from me on here for a while, I'm probably buried in horses and articles. And I'm okay with that.

Read More

Horse show travels: St. Paul, MN

A few weeks ago, I found out that one of my coworkers was slated to go to Minnesota to cover a reining show. And it was her birthday weekend, so she wasn't terribly excited about going. I, on the other hand, was a tad jealous, since I had never been to that part of the country. When I told her I'd go in her place, she was SO excited, and so I booked my flight and eventually was able to cross two new states off my bucket list: Minnesota and Wisconsin!

Y'all. I've never thought that Minnesota or Wisconsin were very high on my list of places to see, but let me tell you, they were BEAUTIFUL. At least at the time of year I was there. I'm not sure I could handle their winters. But when I was there over the weekend, everything was so green, the weather was pleasant, and even the farmland areas I saw of Wisconsin were gorgeous (and farmland isn't my favorite scenery). The old farmhouses and silos were so picturesque, and I was definitely that tourist on the side of the road taking pictures. And the people I interacted with were as nice as they could be. Possibly the best thing about the trip, though, was that I didn't have to explore the state(s) in a minivan – this time I was upgraded to a Jeep Patriot!

The reining show, which was in its inaugural year, was very good, and the show organizer was super nice. Hopefully I'll get to go back again next year.

Reining is hard to capture on a cell phone.

Monday I went out to see my ponies, and I was really excited because Chica was going to be used for a lesson. The little girl had just started taking lessons with my jumping trainer after coming from another barn, and during her first lesson, she fell off, making her terrified of the horse she had been riding. Part of the problem was that she came from a western barn, where they only taught her neck reining, and since she's now trying to learn English with all of its direct-reining glory, she's having a hard time transitioning. Since Chica does both, the instructor thought she might be a good mount for the little girl to learn how to direct-rein on, while at the same time building up her confidence again. Isn't it so funny how 14 years later, the horse that first shattered and then rebuilt my confidence is now helping another little girl find hers?

The instructor's opinion on Chica after the lesson: "She is worth her weight in gold." I'd have to agree.

Rosa was there too, obviously. I thought that riding her and making her focus on ME and not Chica would be good for her. Now that she's 3 and a half years old, she's lately been trying to assert her rebelliousness (I knew she was too good to be true, as easy as she was to saddle-break!) like any teenager, so our last few rides have been interesting. The one before this one, she bucked with me in the saddle for the first time. I stayed on and told her how I felt about it. While she didn't buck with me this ride, she certainly felt like she was thinking about it, but I managed to keep her moving and busy and we ended the ride on a good note. Plus, her turn-arounds suddenly improved exponentially last night, which was a pleasant surprise. I think we have a little ways to go yet in getting her lope more consistent, part of which is due to my own lack of confidence now that falling off hurts a lot more than it used to. But I'm happy that she is capable of learning and settling down even with Chica in the arena.

Read More