A Balancing Act—How I Managed to Ride My Horse in College

Someone recently asked me how I managed to balance all of the things I have going on in my life and I didn’t really know how to answer their question. I have always been pretty ambitious when it came to anything I wanted to do and I knew that I was busy more often than not, but I had never really thought about how I handled it all. I just did it. I never really gave myself an option to not handle it all.

My junior and senior years were really the peak of how many things I had piled onto my plate. Between being a Resident Assistant at college, riding on and captaining a competitive intercollegiate equestrian team, buying and riding a new horse, maintaining a GPA to graduate with honors while taking 21+ credits for a major and a minor, working to support my horse, being in a healthy relationship, creating and writing my own blog, and trying to have a social life, it could be tough to keep my head above the water sometimes. So the question is, how did I do it?Continue reading “A Balancing Act—How I Managed to Ride My Horse in College”

App Review: SmartPak SmartBlanket App

I am awful at figuring out what blanket to put on my ponies to keep them as snug as a bug in a rug. Considering I clip Ax during the winter, knowing which blanket to put is kind of important. I am forever asking the other boarders if they are blanketing or even calling my mom for her opinion. So when SmartPak released their SmartBlanket App, I thanked the horse blanketing gods.Continue reading “App Review: SmartPak SmartBlanket App”

B&BS Blog Hop: Can’t Have Just One

I have written a few blog posts about equestrian things that I have multiples of whether I need them or not. You can read them here:

BBSfinal

Now it is your turn. I want to know…

What horsey things do you have that you can’t have JUST ONE of? From breeches, to bits, to bridles, I want to know what you hoard in the endless world of equestrian things.

I can’t be the only one. Happy hopping!

-TC

Hand Gallop Blog Hop: What’s in a Name?

Jumping back on the blog hop band wagon with Hand Gallop‘s hop. She asked…

What’s the origin of your horse’s show name and barn name?

I have always had horses that were already registered and had their own names, so I never got to choose what I call them, but I do have quite a few nicknames for both of them.

My gelding is USEF and Oldenburg registered as Southern Axcent and we call him Ax for short. The Dutch Warmblood/KWPN naming system designates a different letter to each foal based on the year they were born and the foal must be registered with the first letter of their name being the designated letter. Ax was born in 1999 when the letter was “S”, and he is from the southern states, therefore he became “Southern”. According to the Oldenburg Verband, colts are to be named patrilineally, so the first letter of the son’s name is the same as the first letter of the sire’s name. Axiom was his sire, just carry over the “A-X” and you get “Axcent”. Put it together and you get Southern Axcent. Shorten it and you get Ax.

He also had many other names I call him. depending on the day. We got Prince Charming, The Prince, and Southern Prince from our first summer on the Vineyard when I fell in love with his perfectness. He became The Giant Squish because he loves when you smoosh his nose and is a Giant Jumping Bean when we have over fences lessons. My mom calls him Dopey because of his laid back, goofy personality, and Jose calls him Ponyboy. Basically we call him anything we want.

All snuggled in plaid on this chilly fall day 🍂🍁🍃

-TC

1. Viva Carlos 9. I Trot ON 17. Kristen
2. Viva Carlos – Ramone Edition 10. The Fabled Christmas Pony 18. Bay with Chrome
3. No Hour Wasted 11. Cob Jockey 19. Centered in the Saddle
4. Oh Gingersnap! 12. Three Chestnuts 20. Rhiannon
5. Tear Drop Winken 13. Now, That’s the Spot 21. Riding on Water
6. Genny 14. Adventures with Shyloh 22. Hey, Hey Holls
7. Poor Woman Showing 15. Equestrian Journey
8. Good Time To Review 16. Pony Express

Ponies, Practice, and Pinkies

Closing my fingers on the reins has never been a huge issue for me, especially not over fences. As a self-recognized “holder” I am more likely to have a vice grip on the reins instead of open fingers. So when I found myself in the emergency room with what I thought was a dislocated pinky after missing a distance, I was a little shocked.Continue reading “Ponies, Practice, and Pinkies”