Making New Strides

I have the most exciting news to update about! But first, I’d like you guys to enjoy the video above. One of the ladies from my barn made a video for us, from our last show together, back in November. The video got a little messed up when I uploaded it, it’s in slow motion and the sound is very delayed. But it’s an adorable video and I’m so thankful for all of my friends that take such lovely photos and videos of us!

Onto the big and exciting news! January has held so many changes for me, I feel like everything changed so fast and I didn’t have any control over what was happening. Most of the changes have been for the worse, but because everything is so different now; it’s made me really think about my current situation and make some tough decisions. For the past 8 years, I’ve really just wandered aimlessly from ring to ring, never really dedicating my time and effort to one specific discipline. I got scared at the thought of living the rest of my life being an average rider, who becomes an average trainer, riding average horses, at an average barn, going to average shows. This problem has nothing to do with lack of training, I simply have no direction in my “horse life”.

I thought about what I’m going to be happiest doing the rest of my life, what I would be best at, and what I could go the furthest in. Though it’s the discipline I’ve put the least effort into, in the past, I came to a decision that I’m going to change my main focus to Dressage. It seems like the most logical path for me to take. I’ve always had an  interest in it, I think it’s a blast and there’s no “shelf life”. Saying I’m going to do Dressage is one thing, but actually doing it means I’m going to have to really stick with it and not give up if it’s “too difficult” or I lose interest. This means I’m going to be making a lot of changes in my life. For one, I’m going to have to start taking private lessons. My barn, in the beginning, didn’t start as a hunter barn. It was very much a combined training facility. Though my trainer incorporates dressage into hunters more than any other trainer I’ve ever met, our barn has primarily become a jumper and hunter facility. This means that when I’m eventually ready to show, I’ll more than likely be going alone, along with my trainer of course.

Morgan is currently sound and I’m getting him back into light work. I’ve ridden him twice this week, and both days he was sound for walk/trot/canter action. While his jumping days are gone, there isn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind that he wont be completely fine going back to flatwork. Dressage can be just as stressful as jumping, however, the lower level stuff should be fairly easy for him to handle. Morgan and I have basic dressage training, but that’s a long way from being competitive. For instance, even before he had gotten hurt, Morgan had never been taught how to get on the bit. I’ve never even sat in a dressage saddle, or  even tried on full seat breeches. It’s going to be a tough journey, but we’re absolutely ready for a new challenge. I’m not going to be starting formal lessons with my trainer again until Morgan is ready to be worked for a solid hour, but stay tuned for more updates on his recovery and how our first dressage lesson goes.

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~ by theroanypony on 31/01/2010.