Equestrians at Sea
I spent the past three days doing some of this.
A lot of this.
And overall relaxing and hanging out with my family.
It was a good, very needed break. Also, my brain is on vacation mode a little bit still, which would explain the overall lack of content for this post. I sat down on the couch when I got home last night to write blog material, but instead it pretty much came out more like “blog good horse things durrr yes.” Not my intention.
I did want to share a small epiphany I had while cruising around the intracoastal waterway with Tim and my brother this weekend – boat lovers are much like equestrians. My brother is a boating and fishing enthusiast, and that is his horse.
First, I thought about the different stereotypes boaters fall into… not that dissimilar to our equestrian groups. Here’s my stab at it, guaranteed to piss at least one person off.
My family for sure falls into the “Hunter Princess” boating group, as we’ve always had saltwater fishing boats. For my brother, the boat is to be kept in pristine condition at all times. He is constantly looking for ways to improve the boat, optimize the boating/fishing experience and of course lusting after an even better boat for the future. I’m sure we can all find some parallels with that to horses!
Boaters also are a fan of logos, embroidery and branding. My family got a slew of “Red Tide” (the new boat name) merchandise embroidered to pass out to friends. My hat is yellow with a horse on the side, and the “Red Tide” logo on the front. All the luxury yachts also embroidery the boat’s name on everything. Boats have colors and a color scheme just like barns do.
You can also usually find a faithful dog (or two) at a boater’s sign. No, they don’t have as many Corgis and Jack Russell Terriers as we do… but Labrador Retrievers reign supreme here.
And I have to admit, my brother’s Lab is a pretty cool boating dog.
So while I was the only one in my family to get a passion for horses, I wasn’t the only one to get a passion at all. I usually only get to the beach with my family once a year, but I enjoy relaxing and seeing their happy place through their perspective.
25 thoughts on “Equestrians at Sea”
You know, I never thought about it, but you’re right. Boaters and equestrians ARE alike. I’d dare to say at any given time my brother’s boat is probably CLEANER than my horse, too!
Great pictures! Looks like you had a lovely time. And that one-shoulder bathing suit is so cute!!
Thanks! Target for the win, because you know… I’m such a fashionista.
I love the brown one-shoulder swimsuit! Gorgeous.
Also – great analogy with the boaters – I’m thinking pontoon-ers are casual trail riders? (at least, that’s what my in-laws would be)
That’s what I was thinking, too! My uncle owns a bunch of pontoon boats and just chills out and enjoys it. Very much like what I do with my horses on our trails!
i grew up on boats of the hunter princess type. my dad was all about his boat and being on the water. funny that he could not fathom my appreciation for horses!
gorgeous pics. makes me miss my time on the best coast. glad you were able to get away for a relaxing weekend!
So you and your brother are both Hunter Princesses, and its totally true.. why else would have have horse shows in the Hamptons and Florida and Lake Placid .
I definitely cackled about the sandbar party endurance folks hahaha
Me toooo!!! And you know what’s funny? That’s TOTALLY Charles’s family!! They have a small boat in South FL and they have this sand bar that they love hanging out at with all all of their friends who also have boats…
Glad you had a relaxing and fun vaca 🙂
Yay vacation! Looks like a good one!
Coming from a Hunter-Princess boating family myself…..
boat dollars and horse dollars are the same too!
For real. I swear my dad’s boat breaks more than my horse, and costs more to fix… although Simon is giving that boat a run for its money lately!
I need to send this to my parents. They have the boating gene (sailing), I ended up with the horse gene. My parents swore I must have been mixed up in the hospital since they really don’t have any interest whatsoever in horses, but maybe there’s some relationship after all!
I totally agree there needs to be a blog hop for things to blog about whilst broke/struggling with lame horses/training issues…. as that seems to be me and just about everyone I’m following right now haha. But you seem to be doing a pretty good job of coming up with stuff- this post was hilarious!
Jet skiing is my favorite out of all of those, and I’m an eventer, so, accurate…
As scary as it sounds – riding is at least the cheaper of the two….
I’ve heard a saying that goes like “a boat is a hole in the water into which you shovel money”… which sounds a little like horses to me. I know I can barely stand shopping anymore unless its a tack shop
Hahaha love it! My dad always equated horses and boating – they’re both a lifestyle more than a hobby, and cost you money just to sit there even if you don’t do anything with them! Looks like a wonderful vacation.
nice vacation – and yes i totally agree with other posters – boats or horses, it’s all $$$$ but boy is it fun!
Literally laughing out loud in my room right now because this is so true. My family’s the same way – dad does fancy offshore fishing boats (and it consumes his life) and mom and I do horses (which obviously is life). And I feel like somewhere between offshore fishing boats and cocktail boats is where you find AQHA riders, so really, it’s all appropriate in the end.
This looks like a ton of fun, the sailboaters definitely seem like the dressage queens of the world, haha!
Very clever!
Bahaha, I love the endurance folk boater stereotype!
Love the boat analogy 🙂