Goals Check-In

Ummmm so I’ve been awful at tracking these this year. In my defense, I did tell you guys that I wanted to stop setting arbitrary goals for myself. But now I feel like checking in. So sue me.

I’m soooo changeable

So let’s see what I set out to do in January:

• Continue strengthening and advancing our flatwork. This is a solid work in progress. I don’t have any concrete goals to achieve here, but I do think we are continuing to improve and I plan to keep that trajectory going. Will we go 4th level dressage any time soon? No. Do we have a solid understanding of connection, engagement, and adjustability? Certainly more than we did earlier in the year.
• Have a strong season in the 1.10m High Adult division. So far so good! We have a few more shows to round out the season, but the height has proven to be a non-issue. It’s not always perfect, but I’ve been able to walk in the ring and consistently ride the plan to give Frankie a good ride. We’ve enjoyed schooling at the 1.15m-1.20m at home and we’ll see where that takes us.
• Qualify for the USHJA Zone Jumper Championship. We qualified! Finals are coming up very quickly and I can’t wait to report back on how it goes. I have no doubt that Frankie and I will have a blast.
• Take Frankie in an eq class. Thus far, we have focused our efforts in the jumper ring. This is a tentative “maybe” for the last show of the season at the end of September. It turns out that my love for the jumper ring goes even deeper than I thought it did- I don’t really miss the eq ring at all anymore!
• Try riding bridle-less. Not yet! This might be more fun in the off season when Frankie is fat and lazy, but right now he is in fitness show pony mode with a bit more juice in the engine. We’ll take a brief step back after the end of the show season and we can revisit it then.

Overall I think we’re doing well! Frankie is healthy, shiny, happy, and continues to cart my butt around without protest.

I mean, there’s some protest. But it’s quiet.