Tis' the Season for Tall Boots

I knew as early as last Spring that I had to start stockpiling pennies- 2014 was going to be an epic Tall Boot year.

In the old house I had my boots lined up in a row on the living room floor and Paul once asked why I needed *so* many in the same boring black.

Boring black is a thing of the past friends! Now there's lizard tops, blue piping, two shades of brown, and patent!
I had to round out my tall boot year with these Monaco Stretch patent top beauties! If I've learned one thing from my manufacturing industry education- once they're gone, they're gone.

And my collection is officially complete i.e. Paul is refusing to allow any more boots into the house (meaning I sneak in the cover of darkness).

Gorgeous Girl

Love this gorgeous girl!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Let's all raise a collective eyebrow and have a small freakout session over my jacket-less debut at the KMT schooling show Medal final.
It was terribly improper of me, I know. The sad truth? I can't exact fit into any of my hunt coats right now. I thought about going for the Ariat super stretch soft shell but wasn't about to take the chance of, gasp, flashing my show shirt when the snap buttons....unsnapped.
Forget about soft elbows let alone bending arms that are stuffed into the sleeves like tiny sausages.

Did I care for a single moment that I was not in a show coat? Of course not! I was neatly turned out, my horse impeccably turned out (minus a tiny poop on face- inevitable)- and ready to rock my division!

I'm busting my butt 6 days a week in my fitness class and know that when it's (rated) show time next year those damn coats will be too big!

So chill. It'll be fine.

Grey on grey on grey camo- so no one can see me

KMT Medal Final

A friend told me today that horse shows are made up primarily of angst with a little bit of hope thrown in..... which is why we keep coming back.

We had the usual share of frustration but today's hope came in the form of an ass kicking Eq round- complete with a roll back and bending line.

The flat round. Meh. We need to keep working on getting a consistent pace and I need to get stronger.

First O/F round- dismal. Eerily reminiscent of the last show in July. Lots of running around and leaping from awkward spots.

Second O/F round. OMFreaking Amazing. Medium canter. Landed on her right lead for the roll back. Landed left lead for the bending line. I stopped trying to micromanage and she stopped flinging her head like a nut. A legit, well earned first place ribbon.

Medal O/F round. I mean really-  how do you improve upon perfection? While heads and tails above Round 1 we ran into a few tough spots. She gave me a flying change in the rollback but I rode her too far to the base and she caught a rail. Yes. A crossrail came down. I was very pleased with her willingness to carry onwards despite us both being a bit tired.

Medal U/S round- sad. I was tired, my leg was floppy. Ellie picked up the left lead instead of the right in front of the judge and then galloped around. The problem with letting her move out is that she has such a huge stride she ends up lapping everyone like 80 times. But bringing her back becomes a bit of a "break to a trot" battle. Again- just need to get stronger on my flatwork.

A few key callouts from today......

- We did it! We strung 8 canter fences together in a nice way. There's hope for us yet!

- Both Brook and Emma were so helpful with training today. Emma's advice- soft elbows. She laughed when she said "I don't care if you're flipping me the bird around the arena as long as you take away a few things I say." Just to be clear- I wasn't literally giving her the bird. But I appreciated that she took my attitude in warm up with a grain of salt and came back to review the courses with me!
When I asked Brook if I should just trot the last two rounds after our rough first she pushed me to try try again. If she hadn't given me a nudge we wouldn't have had our OMFA round!

- I love my barn friends! I was able to catch Tara and Tiamo rock their huntery jumper rounds. Jen and Pie were division Champions in Pile of Poles (if you recall- Pie has spent the last 5 month battling a severe eye infection that has left her partially blind in one eye). Jen called me yesterday afternoon for a little pre show pep talk after her unplanned dismount in an earlier lesson and I texted her at 6am today telling her how nervous I was.
Claire stopped by before her ride to ogle my ribbons and help me put Ellie away before joining Tara and I for a celebratory glass of wine.
It's so great to have a group of gals who I can cheer on, celebrate with, and who are always available to lend an ear!

Jen and Pie- back in action and Champion in their Pile of Poles!

Getting a kiss from Alison!

Ells is ready to call it a day

The official Medal pic

Good friends and a little wine!

End of Year Division Champs!

Bae- what it really means

A bit of a random blogger break there. While I started the week off with the best of intentions I also began the week with a 5:40am flight out of SFO to Arkansas. Home Tuesday night around 9:15, long day Wednesday with Fall '15 line close plus dinner with the boss-man (Chevy's- yummo), then a quick day trip to Salt Lake with, you guessed it, a 6am flight time. Still at the airport enjoying a nice glass of wine before heading home!
Glad to see the tail end of this week! Is it too early for a rousing TGIF?

A few random fun notes from my week.....

Today I stopped by Seattles Best Coffee in SLC and was told to bring my cup by later for a free refill. When do you ever have a need for a refill at an airport? When you show up again at 2pm! YES!

I was reviewing my Instagram feed on the Long Term Parking Shuttle Tuesday night. I follow quite a few of the barn juniors and I keep seeing them use the word "bae" in reference to things but not understanding their generational shorthand I can never put it into context. So I googled the term, feeling fairly certain it's some type of Beyonce reference.......
I wonder if the girls realize that bae is the Danish word for poop.

Good morning Fayetteville, AR

Monsters