Let It Go, January Contest Entries

Random Words

Writing & Writing About Writing

 

 
Contest Past
#GWstorieseverywhere – Let It Go
Entry 1

My morning ritual. No more chasing. I am awake. No more yelling. I am real. No more packing. I am safe. Let it go. #GWstorieseverywhere

Entry 2

Tree farm motto, let it grow.
Meteorology motto, let it blow & snow
Plumbing motto, let it flow
Lightbulb factory motto, let it glow.
#GWstorieseverywhere

Entry 3

We have outsourced our computer department. We let IT go. #GWstorieseverywhere

Process Notes
Didja notice the like on the IT department tweet? That was nice.

External validation, moi? [What Does Success Mean To You]

Anyway.

Although I used the full word count in the first two, I failed to do so in the third entry. Only 11 words. I left 14 on the table. More than enough to develop a storyline that ended with the same punchline. I couldn’t see it. The end of month approached, so I went with what I had. #failureofimagination

Procedure
“Each month we invite you to post a story on Twitter.” #GWSE
Winner, January
Gotham Writers

Contest Present
Submitted my entry to NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. Waiting to hear if I pass to the next round. Since they take 5 of 30, I am doubtful. My story had cute bits, but failed in many important aspects. It read more like a collection of Saturday fragments than an actual story with plot and characters and whatnot.

Whatever happens to my entry, proud of self for submitting. Even if I get bounced after round one, I crossed the finish line, I trotted into line-up, I halted at X.

I will post it once I am out or the contest is over.

Contest Future
The state you’re in
#GWSE, February
Requirements: 25 words, posted on Twitter, end of the month, free
Gotham Writers

Mistakes Were Made
“The year 2020 reminds us of the phrase: Hindsight is 20/20. So we invite you to look back on your life and tell us about something that, in hindsight, you would have done differently.” Mistakes Were Made
Requirements: 20 words, March 1, 2020, free
Gotham Writers

Previous Post
[Overstayed Welcome, December Contest Entries]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Poop, Glorious Poop

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 

💩

One night last week, Rodney had a short bout of feeling punk. It presented as a low fever and a leisurely approach to dinner.

Since lack of interest in food was involved, we immediately hit the colic panic button. Confirmation call to the vet. Shot of Banamine. Heave him into a bare stall with buckets of water.

He felt better immediately. If placebos worked on horses, they would work on Rodney. I swear he started to feel better as soon as he realized we were taking action.

Unfortunately for him, once you get the colic protocol rolling, you have to see it through to the end. So he had a long night in an empty stall with no food. As soon as he produced a pile, he got a small snack.

He’s fine. Either the world’s mildest colic (yay!) or a small bug.

The only upshot is a training one. This was last Wednesday evening. On Tuesday, the day before, we had a brilliant ride. He was quiet, calm, and relaxed. We walked, trotted, and even cantered on the buckle! At least, I hope it was a brilliant ride, not him coming down with something. It didn’t feel that way. Time will tell.

For your amusement, The Oral History Of The Poop Emoji (Or, How Google Brought Poop To America).

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Gotta Hand It To Myself, That Was Stupid

For The Record

Because I’m going to want to remember when this happened.

 

 
On the black diamond ski run …

There was this runaway baby carriage …

Looks down. Mumbles.

I tripped over a curb.

The curb was not flush with the ground on the high side. I failed to clear the slight rise. Since I was coming out of dance class, my legs may have responded more slowly than usual. Stubbed my toe. Tipped over. Had enough time to realize I was falling. Flung my hands out to brace myself, as one does.

Judging by the bumps and bangs, I stopped all forward momentum with that toe. Ouch. Achieved a five-point landing on heels of the hands, knees, and one elbow. A symphony of ouch.

I’m fine. Spent the weekend recovering from the adrenaline surge.

Have you noticed that instantaneous falls are far less fearsome than the ones in which you have time to ponder the fact that you are about to go thump?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Thoroughbred Databases and Playing The Numbers, or not

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 

 
I added Milton and Previous Horse to the Thoroughbred Sport Tracker of the Retired Racehorse Project. I figured, Why not? It’s free, the data might help someone somewhere, and I get a blog post out of it. Turns out I got two posts [Get Off My Lawn, And Take Your Warmblood With You]. Rodney did not race, so he is not eligible.

The hardest part of the whole thing for me was assigning numbers for trainability, flight instinct (reactiveness), jumping talent, and soundness. I ended up electing not to.

For Previous Horse [In Defense of Caesar], I didn’t know which numbers to assign. Trainability? If it was a new activity that he did not like, he would say, ‘No. Not physically possible. No horse in history has ever done what you are asking.’ Two hours later, when we were finally standing in the wash stall, he would give me a look that said, ‘That was easy. Why are you all hot and sweaty?’ And then I never had to ask again. You had to install a lesson with a crowbar, but once he got it, he had it. Is that a 5 = difficult or a 1 = easy?

Jumping talent was a similar conundrum. He was a small, short-strided horse. No Grands Prix for him. OTOH, he was amazingly balanced and athletic. He never took a bad spot. He could jump from anywhere: long, short, whatever. One time, my ground crew rolled out the groundline to encourage a big jump. Caesar put his feet down and bounced the space between the groundline and the jump. Easy. Gymnastics were a waste of time with him. Is that 5 = little talent or 1 = excellent style and scope?

With Milton, I found myself reluctant to wash our dirty laundry in public. Yes, this blog is public, but at least there is context. I’ll let you imagine what numbers I would currently give Milton for trainability or reactivity. Besides, there are people who appear to feel that Milton is not completely irredeemable. That may be me again someday. Do I go in and keep changing numbers as our relationship improves? Like his race record, whatever show record he accumulates can speak for him.
 

 
While I was at it, I added Previous Horse, racename Uncanheara Pindrop, to the Pedigree Online Thoroughbred Database, here. Milton, racename Major Conn, was already there.

Previous Horse ran in 14 races over 3 years, including 4 the year we bought him. Won one. Or a stablemate did. Career winnings of $4,128.

Snaps to the Pedigree people. After I messed up my first attempt, they promptly answered my email and fixed the problem. I did check the FAQ first.

FWIW, my two ex-racehorses now each have an updated digital presence.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Get Off My Lawn, And Take Your Warmblood With You

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 

 
I added Milton and Previous Horse to the Thoroughbred Sport Tracker of the Retired Racehorse Project. The weirdest part of the whole thing for me is the RRP subtitle, “Increasing Demand for Thoroughbreds”

Increasing demand?

When did this happen?

There used to be a place to show Thoroughbreds. It was called the hunter industry. If you wanted a chance with any other breed, you had to wait for the non-Thoroughbred classes. Now it’s the other way around. They have special Thoroughbred-only classes.

I repeat, when did this happen?

The question is rhetorical. I watched it happen. I still don’t understand why it happened.

A while back, I was talking to a young professional about Rodney. I mentioned that his former owners told me he had jumped 5 feet. Whether or not this is a fish tale is not germane. This person said that Thoroughbreds should not jump that high.

Excuse me?????

Thoroughbreds are awesome jumpers. The best.

Do the names Snowbound, Bally Cor, or Touch of Class ring any bells? They are three of the four American Olympic gold medalists in jumping and eventing. Thoroughbreds all. Snowbound and Touch of Class were ex-racehorses. (The fourth, Custom Made, was 1/4 Irish Draught and imported.)

American riders in forward seat on Thoroughbreds. It’s what we do best. Why did we ever move away from that?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott