Calendar Planning
I am compiling a perpetual reference calendar, see below, for major horse shows and events. The specific dates may wobble from year to year, but the placement is usually constant, e.g. the first Sunday in May.
Partly, the goal is to use the list to keep abreast of major happenings in the horse world. First, to feel ever so slightly more connected to the wide, wide world. Second, being every so slightly more connected may help me get back into marketing articles. Third, failing this, perhaps I will get post ideas.
Mostly, it’s a list. Making a list warms my little OCD heart.
What have I missed? Specifically, Haynet & other international readers: Help me redress the US bias of my list. What is the big national show for your breed/discipline in your country?
April
American Invitational show jumping
Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event eventing
May
Kentucky Derby racing
Devon Horse Show hunter/jumper
July
Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show saddlebred
August
Tevis Cup endurance
World’s Championship Horse Show saddlebred
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration®
September
American Eventing Championships (2013 listing)
October
All American Quarter Horse Congress
Pennsylvania National Horse Show hunter/jumper
The Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show®
Washington International Horse Show hunter/jumper
Alltech National Horse Show hunter/jumper
November
National Academy Championship Show saddlebred
US Dressage Finals, new in 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rodney’s Bookstore
How could I resist?
Rodney’s Bookstore
Central Square
Cambridge MA
Yes, I made a special trip just to get this photo (and buy a few books). Yes, it’s a just a coincidence of names. Your point?
Update. [Rodney’s Grand Reopening, Guest Photo]
Not So New Resolution
Let’s harness the power of opensource humiliation:
Say what you want about accepting one’s own body, this is just sloth. Therefore, I am joining the mass of Americans in vowing to use this year to Get In Shape – or at least lose this sucker.
Exercise Plan: Move daily.
Step one – Walk. The shepherd [Dog Walks] has taken the place of the mare [My Two] as my excuse for taking walks around the field. Swim. This has the added advantage of getting me out among the three-dimensional people. Stretch.
Definition of mission success: Close to daily for walks and stretching. Solid on 3x week for swimming.
Step two – Stir in cardio and strength work. Consider finding a sport, an exercise class, a non-couch/computer activity. Sit-ups.
Step always – realize that this is not wasted time. This is an opportunity to live in my body and not just in my head.
Diet Plan: Eat three meals. Don’t eat junk.
Advantages – I have an excellent, in-house chef who is willing to make my breakfast before he goes to work, leave a sandwich for my lunch, and make restaurant-quality dinners when he gets home. Yes, I’m lucky. Insanely so. I tell him that regularly.
I only drink on special occasions or indulge in the occasional half glass of something, usually a beer/wine cooler in the summer. There be lots of calories in booze.
I don’t gorge on chips or dessert. If I snack, I tend to reach for crackers, olives, raisins, nuts. Mostly I don’t snack.
Except …
Disadvantages – My weaknesses are Coca-Cola and chocolate bars, including M&Ms. What I lack in range of vices, I make up for in quantity. This’ll be trouble.
Psychological Tactics: The above picture is going on the fridge.
Caveat: Only a few days ago, I promised that my posts would be at least tangentially equine [Mark II]. This is. I should diet for my health. I should get fit out of respect for myself as a whole person. However, I’m doing it to ride better.
How much does riding motivate your diet &/or exercise?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are days when it’s just too difficult to get out of the chair.
End of the Month Commentary – By the Numbers
Part of me is reluctant to cop to my small numbers, but what is a blog if it isn’t disemboweling yourself publicly?
Rodney’s Saga from December 22, 2011 to December 21, 2012:
366 posts.
9,478 views.
1,120 comments.
92 followers.
69 countries.
Best month: November at 1,151.
Most visits on a single day: 138 views on 4/12/12 [Help Me]. The number of unique visitors for that day is substantially lower, but we have reached the limit of my honesty.
Average per day: 26 in 2012. (19 per day for the few days of 2011.)
Top post: After Home Page, Rodney’s naming contest, above, was second with 212 hits. The memorial to Amy Tryon was 3rd with 188. About & Story So Far were over 100. Everything else was double or single digits.
Country range: US (6717), Canada (438), Austria (343), UK (150), Czech Republic (96), Sweden (32), Australia (26), France (20), India (17), Switzerland (16), Philippines (14), New Zealand (13), Germany (13), Croatia (12). The other 45 countries had single-digit views. I never know if a country with a single hit represents a person – which would be great – or a web-crawling robot. If you are visiting from a country not named here, consider dropping a comment so we can celebrate my international reach. (Statistics as of 2/25/12 because WordPress says so.)
Readers: Some new (Hi there!). Most readers are folks I’ve know for a while, in some cases for quite a long while. I know of another blogger who gets the opposite response. Dunno what that says about either one of us.
Favorite: My favorite post is the breakout one. The one that leads to a book deal and the coining of new literary term, as with Smartwood’s Hint Fiction. Mine hasn’t happened yet.
Of the ones already written, no single post comes to mind. I often go back and find a post about which I had completely forgotten, as hair whorls below. As a great adventurer once said, “You know, sometimes I amaze even myself.” (Of course he shot first. That was the whole point. What good is redemption unless one requires redeeming? But I digress.)
Least Favorite – tie: The above mentioned post on Amy Tryon and a similar remembrance for my friend Etta. I would erase the entire year of posts letter by letter to not have written either one.
Site Stat Oddment: The third leading search term was trichoglyphs (hair whorls), I suppose from the signalment post.
Bloggers: what is your favorite statistic about your blog?
List of posts on blogging.
Horses in Boston
Classic Cab, Cambridge MA
Mane Image, Wakefield MA
Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Whiskeytangofoxtrot4 did a more thorough job with a post from Italy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, debandtoby asked about a better picture, so here is his puppy mug shot. No name yet.
Spotted in Boston
Created in the spirit of Wee Traveling Horse (also here on Facebook) and Flat Stanley, as seen on Third Watch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reason for the trip. Mother-in-law needed a ride to pick up her new dog.
Since I was at the breeder anyway, I picked up one for us.
Photos by John Tait.
Virtual Brush Box 