The Year Ahead: 2017 Goals

Let’s start this out by taking a look back at the goals I set for Frankie and myself this past year:

• Take some more private lessons. Check! We transitioned to private lessons in October and it has been AMAZING for our progress.
• Make it to the High Adult Amateur Jumpers in the next few years. Sending in entries for our new division as soon as weather permits!
• Have a successful show season at 1.0m/Low Adults this year. We absolutely did- we wrapped up our first season strong and that height is very comfortable to us now.
• Compete in a horse trial. Womp womp, fail. Money is TIGHT, so all extra budget is going towards shows.
• Go on a hunter pace or two. See above.
• Learn more first aid skills. Yes and also no. I certainly know more than I used to, but this will be a continuous learning process.
• Keep Frankie shiny. Yes! Even after being clipped he is sleek and shiny and looking really fantastic.
• Get WAY better at polo wraps. Another fail. We didn’t end up using these nearly as often as I anticipated, so I didn’t spend time on this.

Now that I know my horse, my budget, and my own skills a little bit better, here are our goals for 2017:

• Continue strengthening and advancing our flatwork. We have our leg-yields, shoulders-in, and haunches-in installed at all gaits. I’d like to get those even stronger and more tuned into my aids, and start working on our other movements.
• Have a strong season in the 1.10m High Adult division. We’ve been schooling at (or above, as the case would have it) our new division height pretty strongly, and we’re ready to go attack the new show season!
• Qualify for the USHJA Zone Jumper Championship. This is a Nations Cup-style final with individual and team aspects that sounds SUPER fun. We had a junior do the Children’s section of it last year and she had a total blast. It’s set to 1.10m with a 1.15m final round, which sounds like the perfect stretch for us. We just need 20 points to qualify, so we’re hoping to get those points as soon as possible.
• Take Frankie in an eq class. This will depend on quickly we accrue points for Zones. If we can qualify early and then stop chasing points, then I’d like to take Frankie in some of the Adult eq medal classes for a change of pace- I think he’d be really good at it, especially with all the progress we’ve made in the quality of our flatwork!
• Try riding bridle-less. Hey, they can’t all be show goals! I’ve ridden him in just a halter plenty of times, this seems like the logical next step.

We have our first lesson of 2017 tonight, and I can’t wait to get working towards these goals. Cheers to a new year!