Virtual Brush Box

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. Elizabeth Bear: Gamification might be bad, actually?

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Last weekend, we visited a local jumper show on a fact-finding mission. The starting class was .65 meters (2 feet 1 1/2 inches). While I am not a fan of watching people ride in classes that I want to be in, we figured more information is better then less.

Jumps. Tiny, but still too big for us right now. I could feel how Rodney eyes would bug out if I took him into a ring with that much to look at. [Rodney’s Recent Jumps]

Courses. Standard how to have a jumper course without moving your hunter fences.

Note. PVC jumps mean light, light poles. They were coming down with a tap.

We are going to have to work through a lot of overwhelm before a ring full of jumps is a possibility. The height is irrelevant. The only reason the course needs to be .65 meters or .75 meters is so that I can be the adult in the room. [Free Jumping]

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. NPR Story Corps: Horses And Helicopters.

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Found this suit bag while packing for the show. [Show Report]

A year-end prize from eight years ago(!). If I were to use it, would the kids be impressed or would they just think I was older than dirt? [Banquet Photos]

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. Medscape: ‘Great Optimism’ Over Complete Responses in dMMR Rectal Cancer, Harrison, June 05, 2022. Many caveats, but I’m told this level of result *never* happens.

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Total. 57 miles, 31 rides, 25 hours 6 minutes, pace 26:25 min/mile.

This week. 1 mile, 1 ride, 25 minutes, pace – walk.

To go. 43 miles in 41 40 days. We are officially behind the curve. Update, corrected for date of post rather than date of draft.

Notes

How to ride with a swollen foot. [Bored]

Take an jod boot that is out-of-service due to a blowout between the upper and the sole. Cut out zipper. Insert foot. Close with duct tape. It is on days like this that I feel vindicated for never throwing anything away.

[Delay of Game, Week 8, Virtual Tevis 2022]
[VT archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the horse world. Helmet Watch. Devon livestream on USEF Network. Amateur Road Horse class. Spotted two helmets out of three entries. Doug Shiflet > (Horse Show Proofs) > (2022 Proofs) > 2022 Devon > Wednesday PM > 013 – 431 Roadster Horse Amateur. All the hunter/jumper riders had helmets. I think it’s universal in h/j now? Slowly seeping into saddle seat. [Watching Louisville]

Also spotted, vest in a jumper class, and mask in the audience. [New Equipment]

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What I want from a hunter barn is a local guide in my corner at shows.

I don’t need help jumping 2’6″. I was stuffing George over that height back in the 80s. [The Whatever Horse]

Yes, I would need help to jump the round smoothly and flawlessly.

Yes, I would need help with bigger heights.

However, given a modicum of cooperation from the horse, 2′ 6″ is in my wheelhouse. [The Cast Assembles]

In fact, if when if when I ever get Rodney to a show with jumps, I’m would be better off without help, at least in the beginning. There will be so much baggage. So. Much. Baggage. I would be better off left alone (with my ground crew!) to get over myself and get my horse around.

What I would like is someone to answer questions, to point out local rules, to generally keep on eye out. In other words, what Coach Courtney did when I took Milton to Mid-South. We kept to ourselves for the first two classes. Then, after Milton misbehaved, I didn’t know the correct protocol.

Should we do the third class? I was out of earshot, but I could see the ‘Oh hell yeah’ from where I was … being 10 feet off the rail made me harder to avoid. ‘If your horse is going to be a jackass, stay out of everybody’s way.’ Yes, Ma’am.

[Hanging With The Saddlebros IIb]

So, that’s what I’m looking for, with less jackass.

From a time standpoint, I am talking about less work for the money. No getting ready. No warming up. I would be happy to pay a full day’s training fee for someone to watch my rounds and be on hand for advice. If they need to watch my rounds from the warm-up ring while getting someone else ready, that’s fine – perhaps even preferable.

Conversely, different requires effort. Everyone else is over here, being part of the program. I’m over there, flitting about on my own. Keeping track of an outlier is hard. From what I’ve seen, the hunter/jumper world around here is riders, mostly kids, at training barns. AOTs doing their own thing are rare. Therefore, folks don’t have procedures in place for dealing with us. Even the show entry form assumes a barn affiliation.

No solutions. A conversation I was having in my head and decided to get out into real space.

Onwards!
Katherine

Images

Awareness of the outside world. ARTNews: The 25 Best Artworks About the U.S. Flag, From the Patriotic to the Provocative, Greenberger, 2022.

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Legend

J – Flag Day. US Flag Code, Cornell LII

U – Solstice. Summer Sun. Countries with sun flags: Argentina, Bangladesh, Republic of China (Taiwan), Rwanda, Namibia, Uruguay. World Atlas: Which National Flags Feature A Sun In Their Design?

N – “Strawberry Moon … June’s Full Moon also coincides with a Supermoon. The Moon will be at one of its closest points to Earth all year at 7:21 p.m. Eastern.” Inverse: Full Moon 2022 calendar: Dates, times, schedule, and names for the brightest nights all year, Spivak 2021. Lunar flags, BBC: China becomes second nation to plant flag on the Moon, 2020

E – Juneteenth. “You’ll see that the Juneteenth flag uses the exact same colors as the United States’s flag: red, white, and blue. This was intentional and meant to show that the formerly enslaved and their descendants are free Americans, too.” Oprah Daily: The True Meaning of the Juneteenth Flag, Explained, Jean-Philippe, 2022.

Book. A Flag Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of National Symbols (Politics of Place), Tim Marshal, (Elliott and Thompson 2016). Started but not finished. [A Vexillological Moment]

[The Illustrated Month, January]
[The Illustrated Month, February]
[The Illustrated Month, March]
[The Illustrated Month, April]
[The Illustrated Month, May]

Onwards!
Katherine

Blogging About Blogging

Awareness of the outside world. In looking up links for this post, I came across a post from January of 2020. [Adventures in Predicting the Future, The 2020 Show Season]

As I have said before and probably will say again, ‘We had no idea …‘ Not a profound thought, but one that keeps smacking me in the face. [Exploring The Rabbit Hole]

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A blog hop is anthology, i.e. a collection of stories around a central theme. Entertain us. Share your variations on these themes. Some I have written up; some are ideas for the future.

if you blog any of these hops, please comment here &/or message me so I can list your post. If you have already written posts that fit, please drop a link in the comments so we may enjoy.

Not a horse blogger? Got you covered. Ideas for all bloggers & non-equine bloggers below.

Not a blogger? If you feel moved by one or more of these, let’s talk guest post.

Let the writing begin!

For Horse Bloggers

How We Met. How did you find the horse(s) you are riding now? Did you search for him/her on your own? Shop with a trainer? Classifieds? Did you know the horse before? And so on.

Rodney [The Horse Next Door]
Milton [Mail-Order Horse]

Update.
Wait For The Jump: That Time I Bought a Paso Fino

Horse Sport Cross-Training. If you have done more than two horse sports/disciplines, what have you learned from X that helped you with Y? The farther apart the sports/disciplines, the better.

“Thirty-four years of grunting around dressage rings gave me hope for a stellar pattern. My riding past is usually an albatross in these classes. It was nice to have it work in my favor.” [Important Questions]

Things Are Looking Up. It’s easy to be a curmudgeon. [Watching Kentucky, Having Opinions & Get Off My Lawn, And Take Your Warmblood With You]

What GOOD changes have you seen in the horse world?

I’m warming to zippered boots, in both fit and looks. [My Heart Is In My Boots]

Back when I was showing Milton, I shopped for a new coat but didn’t buy. Based on my reaction to the new show shirts, I suspect I would like a technical show coat. [Show Shirt Surprise]

Dream Destination I – Spectating. “Every discipline has a high-end horse show as festival: world-class competition, oodles of like-minded folks, old friends from every part of your life, and shopping.” [Peregrinatio]

Have you been? Take us with you.

Rolex, as was. [Lexington post archive, specifically Peregrinatio in Stabilitate & the rest of that week in 2012]

Louisville, not my dream but I recognize the sparkle. [Spotted on the Green Shavings]

Dream Destination II – Riding. Did you ride at one of these mega shows? Do tell.

I should write up my sidesaddle adventures some day. [Dream Rides]

Not quite a mega-show; sure was fun. “Immediately, every dormant competitive instinct sat up & said ‘We’re not dead yet.’ ” [Nationals I Have Known & Nationals I Have Known, As Seen From A Cart]

Dream Destination III – Travel. Shows aren’t everything. (Gasp!) Tell us about your experience with horse culture in countries other than your own. [Riding in Reykjavik, Guest Post & Riding Abroad]

My Other Hobbies. What do you do for fun when you are not at the barn?

I have many, many, way-too-many minor interests, most of which I have managed to wedge into a horse blog. [Stamps, Weaving, Dance, and so on]

A few I have not blogged about, Geocaching being the only one that comes to mind at the moment. I didn’t get out enough for this to be interesting and then 2020.

Of course, if you work in the horse world, these qualify as hobbies rather than other hobbies. Dressage trainer Sara Bradley runs in her spare (?!?) time, Middle Aged Runner: The 10 Commandments of The Boston Marathon.

For All Bloggers

Dream Destination. Every thing has a big thing wherein like-minded folks gather to celebrate that thing. Tell us about yours.

Qualifying in Dream Destination & My Other Hobbies, Been There, Done That: More Blackpool. For background, BTDT: Blackpool & BTDT: Blackpool

Things Are Looking Up. With outrage on every news cycle, it is easy to become pessimistic and defeatist. What are some GOOD changes in society as reflected in your life?

For Non-Equine Bloggers

A Whiff of Horsehair. No matter what you do for work or play, I am willing to bet there is a horse component. Doubt this? Searching horses & space yields, “The 5-year-old horse named Ghost is part of the Bureau of Land Management at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California.” CNN: The Space Force has a new recruit: A wild mustang – CNN.

“Since I currently work as a librarian, I also desired to use this opportunity to highlight the amazing resources housed in libraries.” [Guest Post: Amy Kilkenny on Equine Bookplates]

Blog Hop Posts

[Would You Rather, Horse Edition, Blog Hop] from Anxiety At A 2021
[Horse Sports I Have Known] invitation from me 2021
[Not Rising To The Challenge] from May As Well Event 2020
[Equestrian Blog Hop: Costumes I Have Committed] from Equestrian Bloggers Facebook Group 2017
[Equestrian Bloggers Blog Hop: A Blog Is More Than Words] from Equestrian Bloggers Facebook Group 2017
[What Makes You, You? A Blog Hop] from Thoughtful Equestrian 2017
[10 Little Things About Having Horses At Home] from Peace & Carrots 2016
[Top 5 Horse Show Essentials, Academy Division] from Breed, Ride, Event 2015
[My Best Class: Blog Hop Invitation] from me 2015, includes blog roll
[Loot. A Blog Hop] from me 2014, includes multiple comments
[Living Digitally: RibbonFest Invitation] from me 2014

State of the Blog [archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. UN: World Bicycle Day.

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Losing my enthusiasm for walking elsewhere, even if I am already out running errands.

One. No new walks. If I am simply walking around in circle, I might as well go home.

Because …

Two. I really like to walk at the close of the day.

Except when it rains for entire week. Still trying to keep my knees happy by staying out of slippery conditions. Early in a rain event I can squeak by on the flat area of the pasture. After it gets muddy, I go somewhere else.

Places

Stepping Stone Farm, after loading [October Walks]

Birmingham Zoo [A Walk in the Zoo, A Sprint for Sloths, A Semi-Virtual 5k]

To voting on Tuesday

Corporate office park [Another Lakeside Stroll photo]

Counts

Walking – 22 times in 31 days. Three were Virtual Tevis warm-up walks of one lap, so 19 regular walks of one mile or more. [Different Ways of Walking]

Online Tai Chi – 10 times in 22 weekdays, plus one Saturday morning. Turned out to be the last exercise for a while.

Bike – 2 days.

Exercise days – 24 days. Math is wonky. Some days did two, some days none.

Non-exercises days – 7 days. Horse activities, 3 days. Rain, 1 day. Resting after failing to stick the landing off of a stool, 3 days.

Mileage Logs

Walking [Virtual Mississippi River]

Walking, warm-up laps [Virtual Tevis]

Biking [Virtual Great Ocean Road]

Onwards!
Katherine