I got back from a hack out with my mom. She rode Hope and I rode Cherish, as usual. We had a grand time, and were trotting and walking all over the backfield. Every so often we would stop to let the horses have a bite of grass and for us to take a bit of time to chat. It was great, I wish we could do it more often. Unfortunately our fields have ground hog holes or something of the sort all over them right now and it’s not really safe to go faster than a trot… Sigh. Any who know me know I don’t mind going for a leisurely gallop.
As many know, the best time to think is when you are doing something that is completely boring- just like cleaning. To tell the truth, there is a completely fascinating element in cleaning, being that you can get a lot of thinking done and still get your cleaning done well. Any who know me know that one of my favorite things to do is think. I have decided today that I will make cleaning one of my favorite things because instead of thinking of it as a chore, I will simply think of it as a time to delve into my thought process. I will also try to do things before my mother tells me to, because whenever she tells me to do something I feel like I must defend myself. I do not know why. I've been thinking over that too...
Anyways, you're probably wondering by now what I am thinking about. I was thinking about the doom that lurks at the back of many horse girl's brains- moving on. Not "moving on" as in quitting horses, as in breaking up with boys, as in selling your horse. When I speak of "moving on" it is moving into another direction... towards college or whatever other kind of training you must go in to in order to go into the dreaded work force and away from your horses. Don't get me wrong, I love learning and I love the idea of being able to be specialized in something... But not just one thing. I imagine that I will never be able to hold out a single job for my whole life, that I will most likely have multiple jobs that I carry. Many people say that those who change jobs multiple times are the people who are unsuccessful, but I beg to differ. I think that the people who change their jobs a few times throughout their lives tend to be the happier and more excited on the spectrum and therefore the better workers. I'm not really thinking about college or jobs though- I'm thinking of what will be put on pause for college, and what I hope to get accomplished before then. This is where I want to see myself in the next two to four years:
I hope to have a small trailer and truck either of my own, or shared with my mom. This would be necessary to fulfill my dreams, to be able to do anything of this efficiently.
I want to be able to go to state and multi-state horse shows. I have dreams of riding into grand arenas on a large, beautiful horse that has a completely happy and confident expression on its face. I want my horses to want and love what I help them excel in. The disciplines that I wish to excel in vary greatly, but really not that much- Hunter Jumper, Dressage, and Reining. I also want to be able to do Endurance and maybe a bit of lower level Cross Country. I have also been hoping to Drive horses and maybe a little bit of Barrel Racing just for fun. The first group is all Finesse- some people would mistake Hunter Jumper for Jumping, but it’s quite different. Hunter Jumpers usually has low jumps and is more about the form and cooperation of the horse and rider. The second group is more about Liberty, and the third is about Freestyle. These would all take different horses that would be suitable to go high into the levels of these and were specifically bred for that purpose or purposes.
I not only want to compete in these high level horse shows, but also travel to photograph them. I am hoping that by that time my photographs will have improved more and look more professional. For those of you thinking that my photographs aren’t anything special, the photographs I use on my blog either aren’t mine and are taken by friends or family, or I use the automatic setting for them because they are specifically for my blog, which I would never or rarely use otherwise. If you want to view a bit of my photography, go to this website: http://www.blindeyedphotography.tumblr.com
I also want to continue improving upon my art. I am forever improving with my drawing abilities, and am not the greatest but have definitely gotten much better. I am slowly being able to record things with my hands from my mind or real life more accurately than before. Proportions are still a bit of a problem, but as I watch the movement, proportions, and looks of people in everyday life I acquire more and more ability to draw. I’m not a bad drawer, I am actually pretty good (or so I’m told). I’m just a perfectionist and am pretty hard on myself when it comes to things that I wish to excel in. I don’t think it’s bad to be hard on yourself when it comes to things I want to excel in…. when you’re hard on yourself with normal things it can be destructive, but a little bit of pressure from yourself is good and can actually help you grow.
I want to continue designing buildings or fixing up house plans that are inefficient. I have gotten pretty good at this and some people are surprised when I tell them that I love to design things like this. I actually designed our barn, but that was a fairly simple task for me. For example, I went into Panera Bread the other day with my aunt and started moving my fingers lightly through the air. She looked up after a few minutes of my doing this and asked what I was doing for so long moving my fingers like that. I told her that I was revising the plans of Panera because I didn’t like the way they had put it together.
And… of course… I want to excel in my natural horsemanship skills. I’ve decided that I’m going to branch out a bit and gain knowledge not just from Parelli, but also from other natural horsemen… I’m hoping to get a Parelli Professional lesson, but that may not be possible right now. I’m going to start playing with all three of our horses instead of just Cherish so that I can gain more savvy arrows. I want to work towards auditioning for my levels and having set goals so that I can reach those levels. I know that I have a lot to work toward, but I’m ready. I’m going to really start delving into this.
This is where the challenges show themselves. Even though we live on a wonderful farm and in a beautiful house, we don’t have a lot of extra money to throw around because we have spent it all on our house and barn, the fencing, the property, etc. We don’t have a truck that can pull a trailer or the trailer itself. We don’t have an arena or area on our farm to train in any of these disciplines, which is why the trailer would be necessary to travel to other barns. I don’t have any trainers to train me in these disciplines to get me to a level where I can compete. At the shows, I would need the necessary tack and dress. All of these require different wear and it would require me to have several different sets of tack as well. The saddle I use is more of a trail saddle- it would be fit only for trail riding and Endurance. The bridle I have right now rubs Cherish’s face and doesn’t fit her right so I never use it anyway. I’m hoping to get a Cradle Bridle for Christmas… but that’s no good for competing in either. The horses I used, if I wanted to really compete, would have to be of different breeds and different horsenalities. I could probably use an Arabian for most of these, but what do I do when it comes to Dressage and Hunter/Jumper? You don’t see too many Arabians really excelling in this. I know that most people pick a single discipline, but why should I have to pick and choose? Well… If I did have to for money reasons, the top on my list would be Hunter/Jumper, Dressage, and Reining… which I assume all are better with RBI horses, horses that I am more in tune with anyone. I prefer Right Brain Introverts… just look at my little mare, who is a Right Brain Introvert!
In order to get there, I'm going to have to get a job when I turn sixteen. I'm going to have to become more responsible and raise my grades. I'm going to have to be less of a procrastinator and more of a doer. Less disrespectful and more compliant. More involved in things relating to horses, even more so than I already am. I need to have opportunities to learn from multiple trainers who specialize in these subjects. Oh dear… I hope at least one discipline works out.
Most of all, I want the relationship with my horses… So one of the most important things is to take the time it takes, but also be progressive.
So… Here are my dream horses for certain disciplines:
Hunter Jumper: Arabian/Warmblood Cross, Anglo Arabian, Appendix, or Thoroughbred
Dressage: Arabian/Warmblood Cross, Anglo Arabian, Appendix, or Thoroughbred
Reining: Arabian
Endurance: Arabian
Lower level Cross Country: Any horse would work for this really, as long as they enjoyed it. In this I’m not really looking for performance, but more for purpose.
Driving: Finale, my Morgan, would be great for this. Since I wouldn’t be doing anything fancy with it, I could probably have Cherish as her team horse.
Barrel Racing: Arabian
You can probably tell by now that I’m a bit of an Arabian Freak. I also love Arabian Crosses, I almost think they tend to be prettier than the “new and improved” show Arabians that you see with the teeny tiny teacup noses.
Wish me luck with my dreams [: I’m sure they won’t all come true within the next two to four years, but it would be nice. I will fulfill them.
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