Season end: that's a wrap! How did yours go?

[beowulf]

Seems it wasn’t that long ago I was legging up for spring, and yet yesterday I was already performing various winter-prep tasks. The season came and went so fast this year. The final hunt of the year was last weekend, last hunter-pace in my area ran about two weeks ago. Our last recognized event in this area was back in October.

My horses have been groomed, their manes roached, tails bobbed, and put out for the season. I enjoyed a quick season-end hack on the filly yesterday. She and Holden will have the next three months off, give or take an occasional weekend trail-ride if the stars align. Shoes have been pulled and feet painted twice a week with Durasole to prep for the first of our famous “frozen mud-rut” season. The paddock was recently raked and excess mud pulled out by skidsteer - dumped with a fresh load of stone-dust at all the high traffic spots. I’m still sore from raking on Saturday!

All twenty-something poles, cavalettis, and barrels have been pulled from the grass paddock and put to the side. Winter blankets have been pulled out of storage ( ), the tack shed swept and cleaned, coolers and quartersheets pulled out from the tack trunk, all the fly-mask and fly gear folded up and put in a tote. Shampoo, soaps, and other ‘freezeable’ items lugged up to the house. All of the tack got a vigorous cleaning and oiling, with most of the leather-goods being stored for the winter in a climate controlled room. Holden’s show gear was cleaned and brought into the house, and his bridle hook now has a side-pull until next season.

Thinking my horses are pretty spoiled to not be going south for the winter, but I could use a nice vacation to somewhere tropical already and it hasn’t even been that cold yet. What about you, COTHers? How was your season, what are your plans for the next few months. any new projects or events you’re looking forward to for the spring…? Goals to accomplish this winter?

Holden roached and ready for his winter vacation:

The grass field’s poles and cavaletti already put away

Holden getting some slight FOMO while the filly gets ridden:

The filly after her final work of the season:

[Xanthoria]

Well I’m sad the season has ended as we were on a roll! My greenie had a late start to the year, then a confidence setback at her first N in July. We worked hard on that, did three more successfully, and the only thing holding us back is dressage as both jumping phases are double clear and feel easy.

I’d planned to pull shoes so she could go in a bigger pasture with others but the vet and farrier are conspiring to change her angles so she may need to stay shod, in her 1/3 acre area. She’s had a week off and she’s BORED. So am I!

Her winter vacation may just be trail riding 2-3 days a week vs training. Hoping to move up to T at some point next year so the long, slow distance rides will be great.

[LadyB]

My season started with a fall off at the first show, then a splint popped on my 19 year old, to then an abscess caused by high nail. Finally got out again in August, fell off in show jump, another abscess due to high nail. And here we are, 2 months back in work and into winter.

had to be my worst season of life. Lets hope its better next year!

[beowulf]

Oh no!! I am so sorry. I hope you were able to brush off the dust and don’t have your confidence shaken. I will commiserate with you, as I am right there with you at the moment! My gelding pretty much had a summer vacation. We had a great dressage outing in May, followed by him pulling his shoe, followed by him being NQR. Titer came back for Lyme, I gave him 2 months off because he just wasn’t himself. Injected hocks and neck after doxy was done, finally got him going again in September and he got Anaplasmosis. Here’s hoping you kick some butt in 2023!

[LadyB]

ugh! We can definitely commiserate together! I’m sorry for you messy season as well!

[Rnichols]

I am so happy to say I ended my season on a high note! After having back to back falls at events in 2019, I took a brief hiatus from eventing to build my confidence (and my mares) back up. We finally got back out to a rated event last weekend and WOW, was it amazing. I forgot how much FUN this sport can be. It was only BN, but we finished 5th out of 15. We’re eager to get back out there in February.

Also can I just say I feel so fortunate to live in a non-freezing region. I never would’ve thought to have to put wash rack supplies away so they don’t get frozen! Brrrrr.

[RAyers]

I am always grateful that folks finish a season, up or down, with no traumatic injuries or such. Competition is a milestone of training and just another training day from which we learn what we are capable of or how well our current work is going. It is better to say, “Next season!” than to say “We will never go again.”

That said, Peanut, finished the year doing his first prelim. All I wanted was to see if he had the fire within him. And he does. Now for the winter training and jumper shows to get him comfortable and confident over the bigger fences and more complex lines.

[beowulf]

@LadyB Next year will be our year. How is you horse going? Goals for this winter?

@Rnichols Awesome report!! It is not “Only BN” – it is a huge accomplishment to step away, then come back and have fun and finish in the ribbons. Got any pictures from the event? (And yes, you are very lucky to not live in the NE – I’ll send some snow your way if you want )

@RAyers Beautiful pictures! I am blown away by the geography in the second photo, what a nice vista. Peanut looks very game. What’s his story? Have fun winter training and going to jumper shows.

[LadyB]

He’s been going great, although maintenance is showing up a littler earlier than usual, he looks and feels great for 19 though, and I’m grateful to still be able to dream of another season with him! once we get them joints lubed up, we’ll keep working at being straight, sensitive and supple!

Sadly both my coaches leave for Florida, staying motivated is not hard for me, keeping it fresh I struggle with. Hoping with the barn I’m at now, we’ll do mini clinics with having random coaches in!

On to next year for both of us!

[Rnichols]

“Do I have pictures”

Well, considering I’m the queen of begging people to get video, yes! I do have photos. Unfortunately they are all poor quality (screen grabs from videos) - I’m still very patiently waiting for the show photographer to upload show photos. Not quite the beautiful background Reeds photos have

PS, @beowulf my very first post on these forums was asking for opinions on THIS mare I was thinking about picking up from the local track. I remember you providing positive input

[subk]

I had a good year, although we were late getting out to recognized events with my youngest daughters wedding in June. I had two going. Moon, a 6 year old that is not innately bold on XC so I spent the time building his confidence this year at BN going to several area 3 events. By fall he stormed around Tryon’s big xc course. In the lead going into stadium he was a bit tuckered and pulled two poles. Only to be diagnosed later in the week with a very mild suspensory strain.

My 4 year old started his year in Florida with a super young horse trainer. After a few months he came home to me for a couple months then back to the trainer. She rode him in a couple 4 year old YEH outings with very respectable scores–considering from December to October he grew almost 4 inches! They also got a run in a BN and a second run in at Novice. He has big huge athletic gaits, a great brain, and nothing phases him, he just needs to finish growing into himself!

I had planned to move up Moon to Novice at MTPC, but when the diagnosis came back I scratched him and rode Louis in his place. His dressage was ugly, however the judge loved him so much she came out of her box to tell me how lovely she though he was and to tell me that I shouldn’t be discouraged with our score. We chatted at C about him for almost 5 minutes! Then he was foot perfect in show jumping and XC.

We treated Moon pretty aggressively and he responded well and is already back in work. Both horses will likely be going down to Florida without me this winter as I am ending my year with double knee replacement surgery next week. The doc is a bit coy about recovery since it varies so much from patient to patient, but also said it would depend on how much time I spend on the couch and how motivated I am. With two delightful young horses to get back to I assured him I was as motivated as any patient he has. Another daughter’s wedding early this spring so hopefully I’ll be back with both of them shortly after that.

[leighbo009]

I was late getting started this year as well - I moved in March and it took a while to get back into the swing of things with the boys being at a new barn.

But we finished completed 2 starter schooling shows (both at recognized venues), finishing 1st and 2nd before heading to TIP champs in Aiken. We finished in the ribbons in every class, bringing home $$$. 2nd in the starter CT, 4th in the BN CT (1 rail added to dressage score), and also a ribbon in the in hand class. We also took a field trip to school at the Vista before heading home and he was perfect!

From there we finished up with a schooling show at Poplar moving up to BN. My guy is not brave, so we have been working on building his confidence after I blew it last year trying to go BN too soon.

I currently am working on plans for the new year and I hope we get started earlier than we did last year and continue our forward momentum.

[Jealoushe]

A chestnut mare is always a yes! Lovely photos

[Jealoushe]

Let’s do a 1* next year…there is one in Quebec happening!

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

I ended at Pine Top by moving up to a T/N. Dressage was the most rideable test I’ve had (the score was high but The judge was consistently high. I’ll take that). Stadium was…bad. The good points that came out of it was I didn’t give up. My stadium coach actually got to see how my horse can flip from blowing through my hand to sucked 6 ft behind my leg in under 30 seconds. So I am going to get some really awesome homework from that.

Cross country was amazing. He’d never been to that property before and the only place he was not super confident initially was through the water. I knew that was going to happen and we didn’t get a refusal just kept going and walked through it. I’m super happy with my horse and we’re going to keep trucking on. Hopefully next year I qualify for a long format in novice or training!

(Once I get copies of the photos I’ll post them.)

[LadyB]

absolutely, I am in!

[Jealoushe]

YASSS Gotta get my old mare back in shape now hahaa

[MsRidiculous]

This is a really fun thread. I love seeing updates on horses I’ve seen on here over the years and being able to follow their progress from afar!

My season has been interesting. Starting the year in January I had my homebred, who had spent 6 months with a pro the previous year but came back with a bone bruise that required rest until May (which is also when we moved from TX to FL). I spent May and June legging him back up and trying to figure out how to ride him, while also trying to install some of my own preferred buttons. That had mixed success.

In July I finally found a trainer here and we kind of went back to square 1 a bit to re-establish some things that were either missing or he had forgotten. Like… we were trotting crossrails, y’all. The horse had run a couple N’s last year and I ran P on my last horse but it took a hot minute for us to get on the same page. Luckily once things started to click, they clicked fast. He’s a super smart horse and I love riding him, even if there for a few weeks I was having an existential crisis about how clearly I just wasn’t a good enough rider for this horse. It’s fine. This is fine.

We put the work in over the summer, and by October we were declared ready to hit a schooling show at Novice. That went well, so we hit another schooling show at Novice. That also went well, as did a schooling jumper show poking a toe into the 1m height. Trainer declared us ready to tackle a recognized, and chose a venue with a trickier showjumping.

So last weekend we trekked out to Rocking Horse, entered in the ON with all the pros and their nice imports/sale horses (as a rando nobody amateur from Area 5 I still find the Ocala open divisions a little intimidating ). I had no expectations, I just wanted 3 solid phases that felt easy.

Welp, baby boy came to play, laying down a personal best (for both of us) dressage score of 23.6 to lead the division right from the start. Stadium was clear and easy, and he absolutely loped around the XC like an old schoolmaster. We won our first recognized, but most importantly, we really felt like a legitimate TEAM the entire time. That relationship is really clicking into place. And I’m pretty freaking proud of the horse I bred right here in the US, who’s a second generation for me, showing up with his amateur and not only holding his own, but coming out ahead of some really really nice horses. I feel so strongly about supporting the US breeding industry and the fact that we produce really nice horses here as well.

here’s some video https://www.instagram.com/p/ClzFOg8Pi4n/

Prior to last weekend I hadn’t left the start box at a recognized event in 3.5 years. When I decided to back off my Prelim horse (for the sake of his future soundness and longevity) I kind of lost all my fire at the same time. I needed a break, and to be totally honest it took a long time before I actually felt like I missed it. But now? It’s back with a vengeance. This horse is so exciting for me, definitely the best I’ve ever had and I’m kind of obsessed with him. He’s not easy by any means but he does make it easy to look forward to what’s next (which to be specific is a move up to Training next weekend, since this is Florida and the season is really just getting started ).