Awareness of the outside world. Ancient DNA shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age.
~~~
Best seat in the house. Captain Fabulous, aka Sam. [Foto Friday: Ears]
A reader was kind enough to ask what happened to Saddle Seat Wednesdays. (Waves hi!) I figured I’d answer at large. [State of the Subtitles, comment]
Back in 2015, I was learning a new discipline and mad showing. I had much to say. Many posts. I started Saddle Seat Wednesdays as a rate-limiting step to keep the American Saddlebreds from taking over the blog & crowding out Rodney & Milton. [Whither Now?]
ASBs IRL
I’m doing less saddle seat these days.
I’m done with Academy. It is an excellent division. I wish other disciplines had such a robust entry-level program. But, it is meant as a pass-thru program, never a permanent residence.
I still don’t want to buy a horse in order to move up to suit.
Those are the two options at saddle seat shows, Academy or Performance. If I politely declined both, that puts a crimp in the show schedule.
But you can still do lessons! Every time you ride, you learn!
Absolutely.
However.
Lately, whenever I make plans to spend more time at Stepping Stone, shit goes down in my life.
Have two lessons. Resolve to make this a regular practice. [Two At A Time]
Nope. Go to New York for a family funeral. [Touring The Towpath]
Arrange to take horses over for BEMER sessions & have lessons while they bake.
Nope. Boston for funeral from the other side of the family. [Meet The New Dogs]
Just before New Years, Greg and I each had a lesson. I asked about coming to the barn to work on long-lining. [Other Horses, SSF]
Nope. Less than 24 hours later, we were are at the vet clinic waiting for Milton to come out of surgery. [The Poop Emoji]
Intellectually, I know this is a fluke of timing. Correlation is not causation. The last part of 2022 was a series of shocks. That much bad news will disrupt any plans.
Emotionally? I’m a whole lot twitchier. It feels like universe hitting me on the snout, saying, ‘No. Bad plans. While this is a valid path, it is not your life path. Go away and be awesome elsewhere. Whack.’
If I make plans to go back regularly will something bad happen?
No.
I know this.
And yet. Twitch. Twitch.
Although, Milton has just started his long glide-path to recovery so it could be that I am not processing at optimum right now. [Welcome Home]
Additionally, I’m still getting revoltingly nervous before lessons, and I’m getting tired of living that way, but that is a topic for another day.
ASBs & The Blog
Fewer lessons equals less to say equals fewer posts.
Even when I take a lesson, I struggle with post content. At this point, there is not a lot to add aside from a cute between-the-ears pic.
To be clear, I have not learned all there is to learn about saddle seat, not by leagues. It’s just that there is not a lot to add from my location floating in Academy limbo. [Saddle Seat Genius]
So, I have shifted the post schedule around.
The last Saddle Seat Wednesday was the 2022 wrap-up. [A Year Of Ears]
Moving forward, any saddle seat lessons will be stirred in with any hunter/jumper/eventing lessons, dogs, etc., for an Other category on Thursdays.
That’s the plan anyway.
Outro
Must give props to Coach Courtney for allowing me to futz along. There are barns where you may take lessons for one year and then you must to lease or buy a horse. So, thank you for letting me swan about as a perpetual Academy student.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 