Tag: Goals

Goals, Uncategorized

Second Quarter Goal Review

roamingridersite

Six months into 2017 already? I know it is horribly cliche, but seriously, where does the time go? I remember as a kid thinking it moved like molasses. As an adult I feel like I blink and a year has gone by.

It is time to check back in on the goals I made for the year and see where I am at and if they still even really apply.  Scratched out goals are ones that I either completed (one time things like bringing the horses home) or ones that no longer relate to us any more.

Gemmie Life Goals

FOCUS – With Gem it is going to be all about finding the right balance of being with her and not being away from the family too much. Success!!! Pretty much all horse related family stress has gone away since she has been home and in fact things only continue to improve as we have been able to get Pete back into the fray as well. 

1.) Bring her and Pete home.   

2.) Start riding consistently 2 days a week.  Sorta, kinda. I’m no longer allowing myself to ride at home which puts a damper on things, but I have been getting out consistently. 

3.) 1-2 long trail rides a month, preferably with friends.  Yup!!

 

4.) Make it to 1 lesson a month.  I’ve been getting in about 2 a month and loving it. 
Gemmie Competition Goals

1.) Complete a 50 mile endurance ride towards our decade team award.  No longer any interest in this and removing it from the list. 

2.) Complete a Ride and Tie of any length.  Same as above. 

3.) Make a decision on what to do about her 100 mile bronze medal.  Decision was made last quarter. Not going to go for it and I am perfectly happy with that decision. 

4.) Make it to a dressage show and not make a complete fool out of ourselves.  I did a dressage test at a CT, does that count? We even managed to get a decent score. 

 

Me: Life Goals

FOCUS – For me it is going to be all about striking a better balance in life. Currently, I feel guilty when I don’t ride and guilty when I do. I haven’t taken an actual vacation longer than a long weekend since 2007. I haven’t seen a doctor in 4 years.  We went on a sorta vacation to CA in April, I’m taking more time to work out and be healthy and while work right now is nothing but a big ball of stress, overall things are much smoother. I still need to get a doctor though.

1.) Stop feeling guilty about self care time.  50/50. I enjoy my work outs at the Y but there is still always that nagging guilt about not being home with the kiddo

2.) Run 2 days a week minimum.   I work out two days a week. Currently doing spin on Tuesday and weights on Thursday. 

3.) Ride 2 days a week.  Mostly!

4.) Establish with a primary care doctor and get a physical. Still hasn’t happened.  

5.) Figure out just what I want with my relationship with Gem. Is it okay to back off and just putz around? Do I need to have some set competition/training plans to feel satisfied?   I’m very happy with what we are doing right now. Some trail time, a lot of learning and some new show/competition goals. All reasonable for our level and time constraints. 

6.) Continue with my pen pals. Add two new ones from new countries.  Still writing. 

7.) Create a smashbook for Wyatt.  Yeah, not going to happen. Haven’t started it yet, still can’t find it from moving and now the year is half over. Maybe next year?

8.) Find a trainer that I can work well with in regards to approach, personality and

scheduling. I love trainer J!

Me: Competition Goals – none of these matter to me anymore
1.) Complete a half marathon.  

2.) Complete a full marathon.  

3)  Host a Ride and Tie.

 

Half a year done and looking back to where I was in January, I am completely different. I never thought I would have completed a CT, have cross country schooling on the horizon and a possible full on horse trial in the fall. This is really why I don’t like making goals because so many factors ebb and flow. I think for 2018 I will do only quarterly goals so that when things change I can make amendments.

Riding/Horses

Trainer’s Comments on FGF CT

roamingridersite

The stars finally aligned Wednesday evening for a lesson. There are way too many things to say and I want to spend more time on writing it up, so in the meantime I’m going to focus on her opinions of the CT.

Poor Trainer. As soon as she walked over to me she got hit with a tsunami of verbal diarrhea followed by getting a phone shoved in her hands so she could watch the videos. She took it all in stride though which is why I love her.

Basically, she praised us both for getting the job done and doing well. She thought Gem looked very relaxed and ride-able throughout. In dressage, she really didn’t have a lot of comments aside from what the judge had already told us: decent test, needs bend. She understands more of where we are coming from and what we are working on, so she watched the video and knew it was about as good of a test as we can put in right now.

She did laugh at my jump video specifically when Gem walked over the two scariest jumps on course: the train and butterfly planks. Her own horse went preliminary in their summer HT last weekend and looked hard at that train, so she finally knew what I was talking about! She thought I rode pretty smart for what I am comfortable doing and did remark that I need to relax a lot more and just let Gem get the job done. More leg!! More looking up!! More go!!!

For Gem’s part, Trainer commented that she really likes that Gem is the exact same horse on both sides of the fence: she doesn’t rush before or after. While my steering was a bit odd looking, Trainer liked how I was able to move Gem onto a chosen line and that she didn’t fight me or spook and for my part, that I actual rode with a chosen line and stuck to it.

Overall, she was really pleased with the outing and thought we had earned our 4th place ribbon. Lots to work on and improve, too.

After she watched it and Gem was all tacked up, I started talking to her about my short and longer term goals. She was a bit hesitant when I started talking about what I wanted to do from here. I think she was a little scared I was going to go all nuts on her with big lofty competition goals, but I am practical at heart and once she heard my plans she was 100% on board with it all.

Now that she is in agreement, I can share on here in writing for the universe to laugh at. Eventing is definitely something I want to continue to pursue as long as Gem agrees to go along with it. There is a nice, beginner friendly HT we are going to shoot for in November. Trainer has agreed to take us xc schooling in July and August to see where we are at with solid obstacles. Honestly, the fences aren’t what scare me at the 18″ height on xc. It is the big open spaces between the jumps where Gem can get squirrely that terrifies me.  If those schoolings go well, we can set our eyes on the amobea level schooling HT in November!

After that, my bigger goal is to work really hard on our canter this fall and winter so we can come out at the tadpole level next summer. I’d like to return to FGF CT next June at tadpole which is a BN dressage test and 2’3″ stadium. Trainer thought that was doable. While stadium had more questions than I had been prepared for, it was an open and inviting stadium course and really friendly atmosphere, so a move up there would be really nice. Plus I already will know the lay of the land, so one stress would be removed. I’m excited to have a goal to work towards and I think we could handle 2’3″ with some hard work and dedication.

Competition, Uncategorized

Show Goals

roamingridersite

Ride times were supposed to be posted Wednesday (yesterday) and I only checked it about 100 times throughout the day only to be disappointed each time when nothing was listed. Then again today I have been feverishly checking a million times. Ugh. Why aren’t they listed?!?! The information says they will be and if I don’t have internet I am to call no earlier than this evening, so maybe they will still post them yet.

Love this gorgeous face
Not only am I excited and nervous and hoping my entry went through all right, but my ride times actually matter in my planning. The venue is 2 hours away and Gem can handle the haul no problem. We have done way farther than that for endurance rides. he issue is me. I want to have enough time Sunday to prepare and walk my course without feeling rushed and adding to my already very anxious nature before a competition, even one with the goals I will get to in a minute. If my ride is in the morning, I will go there Saturday night (I already paid for a stall just in case), so that I can get acclimated to the venue and braid Gemmie at night hoping she stays clean and braided for the morning. If however the rides are in the afternoon, I can avoid sleeping in my truck and the overnight away from family and get up and go that morning.

I NEED MY RIDE TIMES!!! WHY AREN’T THEY POSTED?!?!?!

Ok….mini, stress induced melt down over.

Found a local taco place downtown. After eating real tacos in San Diego with L from Viva Carlos, I had to try them. No where near as good, but decent.
Back to the purpose of this post: Show Goals.

I’m not a big goal setter. It is probably a personality flaw or something, but it is what it is. In endurance, my only goal was to not fall off and complete. I fell off at my first 25 and my first 50, so those went out the window. Thankfully I stayed put for the 100 and all the other rides I did in between.

Going into this show, my first ever actual horse show experience, I have some things I would like to walk away with:

  1. Figure out if this is what I want to do.  It is a CT and a small schooling one a that, but I am hoping it gives me a taste of what it is all about. I want to walk away knowing if this is something I want to continue to pursue or if I need to go back to the drawing board.
  2. Have fun. Sounds simple, but I’m actually not that good at having fun at events. I enjoyed my first LD a lot, hated my second and third. My first 50 was a mess, but I loved the second and adored the 100. So we will see.
  3. Complete.  This may sound stuck up or whatever, but I am not worried about our performance. I know our weaknesses are plenty and we have only been doing this for a very, very short period of time. I know we can do walk and trot, how pretty it is doesn’t really matter at the moment, and after my last schooling ride I am fairly confident Gem can jump 8-10 18″ cross rails without killing either of us. What I am worried about is breaking some rule I am unaware of and getting eliminated or refusing a ton and getting eliminated or falling off and getting eliminated. I just want to finish both phases, please.
  4. Maintain Gem’s new relaxed zen.  I wish I had some video or photographic proof of how tense and racing Gem used to be. It was awful. Ever since I started lessons, she has just been so chill about everything. There are a million things to say about it which don’t belong here, but it is something I have zero interest in ruining. No matter what happens, I want Gem to remain relaxed and calm and leave happy.

That’s about it. I’d love it if I showed up and there was someone else above the age of 10 in my amoeba level class, but I don’t have high hopes for that. I have zero goals about being competitive, but I wont feel bad beating a 6 year old either.

Now if only my entry status, ride times and stabling assignment would show up online I would be able to calm the heck down and focus on the lovely hay delivery I am getting tomorrow.

How I am feeling right now. A little sideways and a little giddy. This is also why I have little media. The hubby’s pictures are unusual.