Blogging Goals, Or Not

To expand my horizons, I have joined See Jane Write, a local blogging group. The first event of the year was a goal-setting workshop. Content & photos here. I’m in the back corner with grey hair & blue glasses.

Spotted on the ropesWe met at Desert Island Supply Co., a free creative writing and tutoring center for local students. The decor was tres Robinson Crusoe. The place was lovely and welcoming and creative. It made me sad. Wouldn’t it be nice if our schools already included such things? A strong system would not need supplementation. Why are good schools so hard for us, collectively, to get behind? An educated society is in everyone’s best interest. But I digress.

Explicit Lesson: Blogging Goals
Many attendees talked about growing their blogs in order to monetize.

I have no desire to expand. I would love to write an essay along the lines of Whatever: Being Poor or My Friend Teresa Photography: So you’re feeling too fat to be photographed . . .. Aren’t familiar with these? Go read. As for numbers, “Being Poor” was written in 2005. In 2014, it was Scalzi’s second most visited post [Top Ten]. On her About page, Teresa says, “Her blog post ‘So You’re Feeling Too Fat to be Photographed’ has reached over 3 million people (and counting!).” That would be awesome. I would love to see my words ping-ponging to every corner of the Web. Short of being touched by Internet magic, I am comfortable with my rate of posting, the length of my posts, and the effort put into same.

As for monetizing, I’m too small for that to be a realistic choice. From what I have gathered anecdotally, I’d be selling out for nickels. I would need much bigger numbers or a more mainstream subject to be worth the hassle. As for the moral high ground, I haven’t a toehold. Since I started this adventure as a commercial column [Back To Eventing], my position on artistic autonomy versus cash is a matter of record.

I went in knowing most of this. I went to meet local bloggers. Which leads me to …

Implicit lesson: Interpersonal Relations
I need to get out more.

I have completely lost the knack for extemporaneous conversation with strangers. I’m at home a lot. When I get off the farm, I go to horse show or to a LEGO meeting. This automatically gives me a topic of discussion. Plus, I don’t have to explain who I am, what I’m doing, or why I am there. So much is already assumed.

Yes, the attendees had blogging in common. Beyond that, we were all over the map. A fitness & fashion blog: Stellar Fashion and Fitness. A book blog: Fixed Baroque. A cocktail blog: Write, Claire, Write!. When asked about myself, I floundered. About the blog. About my writing. About living in the South. I have no elevator speeches for social situations.

My inner curmudgeon is slowly winning.

Show Report & Tweets: Heathermoor Farm, Jan 2015

Natalie & me waiting for the show to start. Photo by Kathie Mautner
Natalie & me waiting for the show to start.
Photo by Kathie Mautner

Winter Tournament 2
Heathermoor Farm
Leeds, AL
January 10, 2015
Riding & driving with Natalie
Thank you to Ann Stanton and Nicole Hardy

Riding
2. Advanced Horsemanship WTC Adult, 5th of 7
3. Advanced Equitation WTC Adult (Pattern), 1st of 4
8. Pleasure Horse or Pony WTC Adult, 5th of 7

Last month’s success went to my head [Report Rocking S], causing me to forget that Winter Tournament is not Academy. I was swimming with bigger fish. Given that, two fifth places weren’t so bad. At least one of the names ahead of me rides in suit equitation the rest of the year.

Seven riders in the class was not overwhelming. Not at all. Instead, it gave me a chance to practice getting out of the crowd & showing my horse. I did, more so as the day went on. I also tried to keep equitating while riding. I have a habit of doing one or the other. Excuse me, gotta fix something over here. Okay, I’m done. Back to looking pretty.

In the pattern class, I nailed 90% of the moves. Bad news: I blew one of the leads in the canter serpentine. Good news: so did everyone else. Which proves that one keeps fighting for every point, even when all seems lost.

Checking out the cows next door.
Checking out the cows next door.

Driving
24. Academy Driving, 2nd of 2

I attempted a little of the look-ahead-and-plan that I had been doing in the riding classes. Note to self. You are NOT ready to do two things at once in a cart. Natalie trundled on regardless.

She can be an occasional heifer under saddle [Report SSF], but is – at least has been so far – a marvelously steady soul in front of a cart. We even managed to stir in a little sizzle. Not enough to take on Alvin and his driver, but a good effort for us.

Show Tweets

Not so bad. Good clothes. Bright sun.

The 3rd class started with 7 but ended with 6. Hence the different number above.

When do I EVER want to leave a horse show? Once the excitement wore off, I suspect I was tired from being cold all week. The difference between a cold snap in the Southeast and one in New England: in New England the houses are built for it. My heating system has been panting & puffing to keep the house in the mid-60s. Enervating.

WT2 foal

El Palomino Ranch, Guest Photo

Palomino Ranch Hotel
El Remate, Peten, Guatemala

EB Guatemala border

This one comes as a standalone. I think it works without words. Imagine what it would be like to visit there. Imagine what it would be like to keep your horses there.

More international horse culture, courtesy of Ellen:
Nepali Pack Ponies, A Guest Post
Living Digitally: Fundraising Viennese Style, a Guest Post
X-ray
Guest Post: Malealea Lodge & Malealea Development Trust

Show Today: Winter Tournament 2015, Heathermore Farm

Update: Heathermoor Farm.
Not sure what damage would occur if I were to change the title after posting.

RIDING
Mission Directive
Dec 2014 awta streamerMy saddle seat goal for 2015 is a third visit to National Academy. Two years of red ribbons have been awesome [2013] [2014]. Time for a different color. Of course, it is very easy to obtain a color other than red (2nd). Green comes to mind (6th). As does purple (7th). Brown would be new (8th). However, I have a specific non-red color in mind.

Strategy
Changes wrought at the end of last year appear to be sticking. No fundamental position or procedural gaps in evidence. Now, I need to work on overall presentation. Standing out from the crowd. Letting the judge know I am there to win. In other words, time to crank up the ‘tude.

The plan is to ride hard even if the class is soft, i.e. one person. But to do so gradually. To make each show slightly better than the previous. Of course, I want to go charging like I’m at Louisville. I want to fix everything, all at once, immediately. That way lies madness. And last-place ribbons.

Tactics
Therefore, my immediate goal for this show is to keep up my level of riding while also being aware of my surroundings. Who is ahead of me? Where are the rest of the horses? Which way is the judge facing? In other words, start to navigate while I equitate.

Lessons
Becoming savvy about flat classes won’t help me in the other horse activities I might fantasize about doing. However, any discipline would improve with a confident, kick-ass, show ring presence.

DRIVING
Mission Definition, Strategy, Tactics, & Lessons
Have fun. Enjoy learning something new.

DEJA VU
2014 Show Report: Winter Tournament 2, Hartselle AL
2013 Second Saddleseat Show

Rodney’s Exercises as of January 2015

This post is to chart any progress and to give me ideas when I draw a blank.

Easy
From doesn’t faze him to actively builds his confidence

groundwork & trail obstacles
weave poles
360o within a square of poles
wading thru a kiddie pool
cross a “bridge”
standing on a platform
(all in-hand)

mission specific mounted & pre-mounted work
Standing by mounting block (practice couch), in-hand

Medium
Successful but difficult on some level. Mentally taxing.

groundwork & trail obstacles
moving sideways along a pole, in-hand
moving back, sideways, & forward, in-hand
red light, green light (matching the pace of the handler)
weave poles, mounted
lunging

mission specific mounted & pre-mounted work
couch: standing in park with me aboard

pen: walking, mounted
circles: 5-10m at a walk, mounted
lateral work: a mild inclination to shift his weight sideways when asked, mounted
cavaletti: walk over two in a row on lowest setting, in-hand & mounted
jumping: walk over low, very low, crossrail, in hand & mounted
(Milton is usually in the area for the mounted work, providing herd support.)

jump: trot a cross-rail & low vertical, in-hand, actual leaping involved!
(It has been pointed out the exercise meets the criteria for my first New Year’s resolution: jump a horse. Both horse and rider had all feet off the ground, albeit briefly. Granted, that is what I said. I think we can all agree this is not what I meant.)

field walks: small loop, mounted, Milton for moral support, team walk (2 horses, 2 people)
field walks: big loop, in-hand, Milton for moral support, team walk or tandem (2 horses, 1 person)
hill work: in-hand with Milton for moral support, team walk
(Milton is right next to Rodney for these exercises.)

Hard
Causes tension behaviors: jaw crossing, teeth grinding, neck curling, rushing, fussing, putting hooves to his ears and pretending this is all a dream.

groundwork & trail obstacles
long-lining

mission specific mounted & pre-mounted work
riding area: walking around the ring, in-hand

transitions: walk to trot, in-hand
jumping: on a lunge/long-line
(In light of above, he may be better at these.)

field walks: walking anywhere by himself, in-hand
hillwork: walking, mounted, even with moral support

Discussion
As you can see our mounted work has advanced from standing still to creeping along with the enthusiasm of a post-surgical patient being forced to walk the length of a hospital hallway.

Must remind self that progress is progress, no matter how slow.

Any suggestions for specific exercises for us to try?
~~~

Arthur 12 21 14