I ride at Bee Cave Riding Center in southwest Austin. I came there two years ago when I wanted to upgrade the boarding situation for Teaspoon from a trail barn to a place that has lessons and shows. Bee Cave is a no thrills, hard working facility. We don’t have fancy facilities, or rolling green pastures. We do have a really great group of people, including the most patient, sane, and encouraging trainer I’ve ever had the privilege of riding…
It took me a long, long time to get somewhat good at horse showing. Going to a show and getting no satin pretty ribbons (oh ribbons, how I love you… let me count the ways) these days isn’t a huge shocker, because there were many, many shows in my past where I would be happy to come home with one 6th place. Eventually, I did start doing better than 6th and then I won some. There are 3 ribbons in…
I should start off by saying that one of my goals in life is to be a hunter princess. It’s completely selfish and silly, but I want all the smancy tack and clothes and I want to look polished at all times. As of now, I have a bit of a ways to go. The good news is that after years of buying the cheapest stuff possible, I have learned that quality does last. Now I do tons of shopping…
My first fall was not super eventful, but I remember it very clearly. I was 10, maybe 11, and was riding Duchess. Duchess was a rich red buckskin grade mare, and was pretty much a honey. She was a well trained and gentle school horse though, and didn’t contribute to this fall at all. I was just learning to trot, and it was maybe my 6th or so lesson before I was allowed to move from walking, steering, and two…
It feels like it’s been a really busy year for me, but in some ways it’s the quietest year we’ve had in a looooooooong time. We did not move out of the state this year We did not move at all this year We did not buy a house this year I did not change jobs this year I did not get married or engaged this year I haven’t been able to make all of those above statements since 2006…
Being the shamateur photographer that I am, my mantra is the deeper the depth of field… the nicer the photograph 🙂 So I pulled out my 1.8 lens and took some photos of some of my favorite ornaments on the Christmas tree to share with you today. If you look back through any of the posts about my dog, you’ve no doubt seen my Springer Spaniel, Eliot. He’s my baby, and springers in general are such a beautiful breed –…
After I graduated from college, I was riding at a nice barn with a great trainer. Most of the clients did A shows, and the ones who didn’t did C shows. Basically, not a whole lot were in the schooling show circuit I had been doing for years… and I wanted to move up. To make a long story (I’m sure I’ll blog about it later) short, I got a fancy project horse and semi-retired my trusty gelding. Beckett, a…
Today is my birthday! Being that I am a Christmas baby, usually we are traveling or Christmas shopping or doing something along those lines on my birthday. This year we stayed in town for the holidays, so that meant I got to do whatever I wanted… which turned out being totally awesome. After birthday breakfast tacos, we headed to the Austin Zoo. This isn’t your average privately funded zoo – all the animals are rescues from roadside circuses, pets gone wrong,…