Virtual Brush Box

Meet Dr. Margaret

Margaret Smith, PhD, of The Mindside, has been tasked with helping me sort out the screaming vortex that is the inside of my head.

I found The Mindside using stringent search tools, i.e. Google. It was the first hit. Any established and reasonably competent practitioner would have been fine. I am not complicated; nor are my problems.

The founder, Dr. Bhrett McCabe, says on the website:

The Competition does not define the athlete by the result of an event, rather it develops the person behind the athletic event.
Expertise

Compare this to what I gleaned from Coach Courtney during my meltdown at Nationals:

It’s not about the ribbons; it’s about the journey. It’s not about meeting a goal. It’s about what you learn while trying to meet a goal.
Show Report of a Sort

I took this as a good sign. Tomorrow, first appointment & first homework.

Update [First Appointment]
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Top 5 Horse Show Essentials, Academy Division

For the first Saddle Seat Wednesday, a blog hop, originated by the $900 Facebook pony: the adventures of Henry and his human. Original post: Blog Hop: Top 5 Horse Show Essentials.

Since I am riding ASB school horses at shows, other people take care of remembering tack, feed, muck buckets, and other vital equipment. My only job is to present self in suitable condition to ride.

Tie-downs. These are the elastic straps that go under my boots to keep my pant legs from creeping up. Small and easy to forget. They have no parallel in my former riding life.

Helmets. I bring three. Helmet rules differ from show to show. I have extras in case we develop a sudden need. How did I end up with three current helmets? Bought a replacement for one that aged out. Bought a schooling helmet to spare fancy one from regular use. Bought flashy blue one when I wasn’t getting noticed. Ended up changing from flashy to fancy at Nationals [Show Tweets]. On the 3rd Day of Christmas: Three Hard Hats

Glucerna drinks. Meal replacement for a person chronically unable to fend for herself. Someone said I was a stress-starver instead of a stress-eater. Yup, sounds about right. Although I have been know to forget meals on normal days as well.

Peppermints. Saddlebreds run on peppermints. While I maintain that horses are not kids [Rodney’s Mommy?], I have an inkling of grandparental behavior. I do not feed treats to my own horses, unless they have performed a task: come when summoned, open mouth for bit, ears up in a photo session, etc. At the saddle seat barn, I carry peppermints in my grooming box. Here, have a peppermint. Aren’t you cute. Here, have another.

Phone. Phoning home. Finding restaurants. Blog photos. Show tweets.
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Home Team Update, November 2015

So what have Rodney & Milton been up to? Nothing much.

I have been

1) Recovering. After two months of boot camp and three days of showing, some degree of letdown was inevitable. At one point, I rode seven days in a row: 4 days of double-set lessons, the Saturday group lesson, and the fun show on Sunday [Report]. At the show, I rode nine times in 4 days. Wonderful, but exhausting.

B) Exercising. Since I’ve been back, I have exercised most days, either swimming [Spring Fitness] or biking. I guess it’s good for me. I’m still waiting to hear from an endorphin.

Fat Cyclist 2015: Announcing the 2015 100 Miles of Nowhere (Sort Of) & Now Open for Registration: 2015 100 Miles of Nowhere

Rodney’s Saga 2014: 100 Miles To Nowhere & Winners! (Bikes not Horses)

3 or C) Hiding my head in the sand. Despite my brave words earlier [Whither Now?], I am having trouble coming to terms with, on one hand, no desire to ride them, but, on the other hand, no desire let them be pasture ornaments. I respond to the conflict by ignoring it. I need to change this.

My amazing groom has been fiddling with the feed to see if there is more to do with Milton’s diet [Clean Cups!]. Different feeds means one horse eats in the stall. Since this was his idea, he has been shuttling in and out of the stall at meal times. I haven’t even been going to barn to feed.

Not good.

One thing I have learned, again, is how much I get done when I’m not fooling with horses. The barn is a time sink. I know this intellectually. Yet, I am always amazed when I see proof.
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Post #1400
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Appointment Today

This afternoon, I meet with a sports psychologist to start addressing my pre-competition jitters [Whither Now?]. I know the process is supposed to help, but right now it’s making me nervous all over again. I will have to rehash, and thereby relive, everything that makes my stomach hurt. This will probably spill out into the rest of my life. I don’t imagine horse show nerves happen in isolation.

The assist awarded to Tonya Johnston, an Equestrian Mental Skills Coach. I interviewed her a while back [post, clip]. Liked what she said. Ordered her book, Inside Your Ride. Liked what I read, before the book disappeared into my vast To Be Read pile. Her Facebook page has enjoyable & supportive posts. Sadly for me, she lives in California. I considered phone consults, but decided I wanted face-to-face.

I will report further once I discover what level of exposure the sports psych person wants. I have already warned the office that I will be blogging my thoughts. Yes, everything in my life becomes a blog post, sooner or later.

A note on current events: Guilt frequently derails me. Why worry about such petty issues when the world has much bigger problems? Not a helpful question, but one I find unavoidable.

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Peace for Paris
by Jean Jullien

Peace for All
My Facebook feed made a point about uneven public reactions. Do you remember this? I have to admit I didn’t. Kenya attack: 147 dead in Garissa University assault, 3 April 2015, BBC.

Nor did this filter into my happy little bubble: Beirut attacks: Suicide bombers kill dozens in Shia suburb, 12 November 2015, BBC

Sigh. Go hug someone.
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