
2014 Goals Review
There seems to be a bit of a “I didn’t quite hit my goals” this year epidemic in the blog-o-sphere. Add me to that club for sure.
Before going over these in detail, I knew that there was the potential for me to get bummed. However, L. Williams told me that we should never reach all of our goals… that means we’re not reaching high enough. This year, I reached pretty high.
2013 gave me the confidence that I had a nice horse, I was a decent rider and I deserved to reach for the stars. 2014 has taught me that reaching for the stars is great, but it’s not going to be easy to get there. Not easy at all, but worth it one day. Enough philosophical talk… let’s get on with it.
Equestrian Goals for Me
- Post the trot for five minutes without stirrups – Whomp whomp. While I am much stronger than I was last year, I didn’t make this a priority this year and therefore there was no chance of any follow through happening.
- Be able to braid tails well enough for A shows – Ding ding! I’m going to give this a “halfway achieved.” I have practiced braiding tails a bit, and they are way better. I think once Simon’s previously rubbed tail head grows out than I will be able to nail it.
- Make improvements in not getting frustrated with my horse and/or riding – Ding ding! Overall, this is is hugely improved. Last winter, I felt like 75% of my flat by myself days were abysmal. This year I am getting far less frustrated with Simon, and learning to be more patient about our progress on the flat and over fences. I am still overly hard on myself and my riding.
- Compete in the local 2’6″ hunter derby and execute (well) at least one handy or high option – Ding ding! Success! We did two high options, and finished on a score of 62.
- Qualify for the 2’6″ medal at the year end show – Whomp whomp. It became pretty clear to me that this goal had 0 chance of happening. I would have had to show all year in the 2’6″ hunters, and realistically we’re just in the bottom (or out of ) the ribbons in that division now. Is what it is!
Goals for Simon
- Open up his stride and stop doing the ads – Ding ding! Big success here. Though we aren’t perfect all of the time, when I ride properly Simon has really learned that he’s expected to go long from time to time and not always squeeze just one more in. Granted, there is still room for improvement here, but we’ve – forgive the pun – made huge strides this year in this area.
- Reliably get leads over the fence – Whomp whomp. I didn’t work on this enough. Going to keep this as a goal for next year, because it’s going to be key for our hunter derby outings 🙂
- Reduce his anxiety with flatwork – Ding ding! Huge improvement. Flatting is still a source of anxiety for Simon and I, but the anxiety now shows up with lateral work and canter transitions. His trot work is super relaxed and we’ve even been known to have a nice canter to trot transition these days. I now enjoy “dressage days” instead of dread them!
- Make it through a flat class with no explosions – Whomp whomp. Well truthfully I only showed one flat class this year. While it was one of our better ones, he did break from the trot to canter and he also came up lame in the middle of the class. So… I’m not sure I can safely say this was a success.
- Stay sound – Whomp whomp. HAHA. Aren’t I funny?
Personal Goals
- End 2014 with 0 credit card debt – Ding ding! Though currently I have a balance on my card, it’s all carefully budgeted Christmas money. I am really proud of myself in the financial department, because I paid off some big vet bills (full disclosure, my mom helped :)), a new saddle, a vacation and the debt I started the year off with. Ass pats to me. Next year I’ll be able to finally buy some breeches.
- Lose 20 lbs – Whomp whomp. I briefly tried, but I’ve decided that my happiness doesn’t need to be defined by a number on the scale. I want to be healthy and active, but I’m over beating myself up about this. You won’t see this on my goal list ever again.
- Find more balance with riding and “real” life – Mixed success? I’m still pretty hot and cold with horses. Hot and ALL I want to do is ride and show. Cold and I just want to hang out with my husband and watch Netflix. I don’t really know where I stand on trying to find that ideal balance.
- Be more enthusiastic about my real job – I started managing this year, which is cool. Otherwise? Meh.
- Train Pascale as well as I trained Eliot – I trained her to cuddle really well?
- Take more pictures – I started off strong in the photo department, but tapered off. Still want to make this a priority for next year.
Now that I write these out, they aren’t as dramatically bad as I thought they would be. Essentially, I didn’t have the best show year numbers wise… but we all know that shows don’t really define us as equestrians and as people. I came a long way this year in a lot of areas, and still have lots of personal growing to do.
17 thoughts on “2014 Goals Review”
I think given all that happened this year, you should be proud of what you accomplished. And L is right! Keep on reaching for the stars 😀
You really learned a lot about yourself and Simon this year, which I think is a huge plus!
Yes! a lot of self learning going on up in here 🙂
These are awesome goals. I am going to make such a list this year!!
Definitely do! I like having something to keep track of and work towards.
Great write up! You guys really did make some big improvements and next year you’re going to just do amazing things. And glad to hear the weight thing. I know you don’t want to hear it from a “skinny girl” but I struggled with that this year too. This was the first year I noticed the scale numbers escalating and having to move up sizes in clothes and I know it’s just going to keep coming… But I decided as long as I’m trying to be healthy I’m not going to worry about it too much, and I now ignore scales at all costs! Much more important how I feel than some number.
But from watching you guys over the blog I really can see such a huge improvement in your riding and confidence and you should be really proud of yourself!!
Yeah, the scale is kind of an evil thing sometimes. I remember when I was younger, I had a ton of luck just focusing on good food choices and being active. Really going to work towards more of that mentality this year. Just like you said, don’t let it get you down!
you’re doing better than me! I didn’t make any 🙁 lol
I enjoy reading about your personal goal success…great attitude 😉
All the asspats for everyone!
Oh my goodness. Are you kidding?? You did great!!! 2015 is going to be even better for you! 😀
Sounds to me like you accomplished a ton – a pat on the back is deserved, and there’s always next year right! haha
You have inspired me in several meaningful ways this year. So glad you accomplished all that you did – I think you did pretty darn spectacular!
Great goals and a great write up! Congrats on your many accomplishments this year!
woo hoo – well done! i love #3 on your equestrian goals, and the #1 Simon goal. these are both big struggle areas for me too – and it’s so exciting to watch you find success there!! good luck moving forward 🙂
Lots more ding dings than whomp whomps, congrats on meeting so many goals. Fingers crossed 2015 is even better especially that animals and humans stay happy & healthy *hugs*
You did dang good!