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Showing posts from January, 2019

SMDA Recognized Show - July 14, 2019

Ellie and I tried her first recognized show in July.  It was quite an interesting experience; I don't know why this has been such a weird year, but sadly it has!

I signed up to ride Training 2 and 3, paying the little extra to have T3 count as a qualifying score.  It didn't really matter since we cannot do enough rated shows this year to qualify for a USDF award, as I want to do horse trials and other things on weekends when the rated shows are scheduled.  But I wanted it to "count" just in case because you never know lol!

I didn't get any media as I went by myself.  Training 2 went great!  Ellie warmed up well and we had a really solid test.  She was calm and rideable, and I honestly thought we had done quite well!  The judge didn't agree and we scored a 62.241%, for third in a class of five.  Not a terrible score, but it seemed lower than the performance.  I figured it was just a difference between normally doing schooling shows and this was rated, so the sco…
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Morgan Dressage Association Scholarship

When I bought Ellie back at the end of 2017, I somehow came across the Morgan Dressage Association's Facebook page.  Promoting Morgans in dressage is a cause I find worthy of support, and of course with a fun year end award program it seemed like something I might want to do with Ellie someday haha.  They base their awards on rated USDF shows, so it will be some time before we are ready to show regularly at that level though.  Schooling shows are life (and cheaper and closer...!)  MDS also has a scholarship program and an interesting newsletter, so overall it seemed worth the small fee.



Besides sending in my yearly membership check, I have admittedly not had much to do with the organization.  However, back in November, I received two different emails from MDA about their scholarship program, as they were extending the due date by two weeks.

Basically, MDA awards three to four $500 scholarships a year, to be used exclusively on dressage training on a Morgan.  As the website states, 
S…
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Restless

This is the time of year I always grow restless.  As much as I am glad to give Ellie the down time, with just two to three days a week of hacking out in the sn*w, I really miss being able to ride more than just at a walk in questionable footing haha.  I was spoiled last winter with good sn*w, while this year has brought a lot of rain and ice.



December distracts me enough with the holidays, but January and February make me crazy (and sometimes March and April, too)!  This is when I start wishing I could board her out over the winter in order to ride productively more often, but that scenario isn't realistic in several ways; the biggest issue being there isn't a nearby farm with indoor I would feel comfortable with boarding.  

Oh, the woes of a horse girl in Maine!  ;-)
Despite the fact the majority of our rides have been just walking in the sn*w, it is interesting to me just how much Ellie has matured over the past year.  Last winter, she was so green and not yet even comfortable …
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2019 Goals

Setting goals as an equestrian is really just compiling a wishlist of hopes of what the following year will bring.  I always attempt to create realistic yet challenging goals that are attainable, fairly specific, and FUN!  I love outlining an idea of what my show season might look like as well, and I happily create a Google Doc as the show dates come rolling in.

My overarching goal of any year is to keep both my horses happy, healthy, and sound.  That really goes without saying, but I ought to include it anyway.  Dreamy is 28 this year (!!!) and Ellie will turn seven.  They both have their own specific needs at this point based on their ages, and I will continue to meet those needs to the best of my ability.
Training goals
I will definitely continue my weekly(ish) lessons with Beth and hopefully also my monthly lessons with Babette.  Both of these instructors were a huge help in 2018, and I want to continue my riding student relationship with them.  Specifically, I want to improve Ellie&…
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