I’ve been giving a lot of thought in the past few weeks to what my long-ish term goals are for Henry. I of course bought him to be a jumper, which he is perfectly fine at. He’ll probably never be fantastic – he’s not a super quick, super athletic horse – but he could do ok in the 1m at the local level, and I was fine with that.
And then we went XC schooling. And then we did an eventing derby. And then we went XC schooling again. He is a horse that has always done whatever job I’ve given him in a very polite yes ma’am kind of way, but he’s never really “lit up” and seemed enthusiastic about anything before. It’s pretty hard to ignore his affinity for XC.
I’m not one of those people who goes tottering around sprouting things like “Schnookums LOVES ____”. It’s a horse. It loves food. But I do think that they can absolutely enjoy some jobs more than others, and Henry’s happy XC ears speak volumes.
My friend Michelle accompanied us on last week’s XC school and she too was super floored by Henry. She’s been there every step of the way since even before I got him, so her opinion means a lot, and she said “He wants to event”. Eventing trainer that took us on our first XC school says “He wants to event”. After a few weeks of stewing on it, well, damn it… let’s give it a go. Not a half-hearted go like I was thinking before, but a real go. Let’s set some goals and lets see what we can accomplish.
So we’ve come up with a plan. We’re going to try to qualify him for AEC’s next year, just at BN. There’s really no good reason for that goal other than 1) AEC’s are definitely still in Texas next year, and it seems a shame to miss out on them being basically in my own backyard 2) It would just be a fun experience to GO. I don’t even care if we do really well (that’s a lie, but I know it’s pretty unlikely we’d actually be competitive and I’m ok with that). Let’s face it, first and foremost this is supposed to be fun. I want to do things that I will fondly remember for many years to come. Pretty sure this would be one of those things. Or at the very least, more memorable than a year of random local level h/j shows in the 3′ jumpers. So why the hell not? Let’s do this and give it 100% commitment and see where things go from there.
Good luck!! That’s how I started eventing with Dino… he LOVES XC. And there’s no better feeling than being on a horse that loves what he does! We are all here for you with moral support for the dressage. 😛
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I just need someone else do to the dressage part FOR me. 😉
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Good luck! Hopefully I’ll be able to watch you compete the superstar sometime!
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Cool, best of luck though I am sure you’ll be able to do wonderfully without well wishes! You two are quite the pair!
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Eventing suits you. Think how many outfits! 🙂
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So many. So, so many.
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YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! SO excited you’re pulling the trigger and trying for the AECs!!! You guys will be awesome 😀
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Decisions are good. 😉 We’ll see if this was the right one.
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It was the margaritas that finally brought you over to the dark side. Admit it!
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The copious amounts of alcohol are a definite perk.
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AWESOME!!!!! Methinks you two may get bored at BN heheh
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We talked about that already too lol. BN is the easiest to qualify for, so we’re gonna go for that since it’s the most realistically attainable goal right now. If we get him qualified and want to move up to Novice, we can do that and still keep our BN qualification for the AEC’s. 🙂
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Sounds like an awesome plan! From all the videos you’ve posted XC schooling you guys look like naturals out there. 🙂
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Woohoo! Excited to see where this adventure takes you!
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Awesome! Henry does look super happy over those XC jumps. Dressage isn’t all that bad, and it gives you a great excuse for more tack shopping 🙂
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I’m so done tack shopping. Someone take away my Paypal account.
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You go girl!! This IS supposed to be fun and you are right its worth a try!
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Woohoo!!!
Sounds exciting! Can’t wait to hear more.
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So fun when they really enjoy their job, too! Exciting! Good luck!
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Sounds so exciting!! 🙂 Best of luck!
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You guys will totally kill it. 2015 AEC domination, here you come!
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Or at least 2015 AEC participation? lol
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Do it! You guys will rock!
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So exciting! You’ll do great!
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If you and Henry have fun doing it, there seems no harm at all! Plus… swag!
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Weee!!! Quite a goal!
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Oh the dark side, welcome to it!
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Sounds like fun. I cannot wait to keep tabs on your progress & of course live vicariously through your shopping sprees as you combine ADE breeches and Kastel shirts for awesome XC colours ☺
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so exciting! awesome goal and wishing you the best of luck!!
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Awesome! I’m excited to follow along. He’s a beast on the XC stuff.
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