Advanced level events

(pic is of "Razz", a horse at IEA Zone Finals that reminded me SO much of the Squeaky Tiki!)

For anyone that's read my blog from the beginning, somewhere during the first year, I make some comment about finding the right job for my horse, and I mention something about maybe a "baby, amoeba level" horse trial. Well ... I have wondered lately what it would FEEL like to ride an advanced level course. Make no mistake ... I am a wimp. However ... one can always wonder!

I think for me, even PRETENDING to aim any higher than Training means that I have to buckle down and dedicate myself not only to getting fit, but losing weight, and finding ways to get some more meaningful competition. I have no illusions that Tiki will ever run a Prelim; I honestly don't feel that his front end is good enough. I've seen Ashdale Cruise Master hang his leg now in TWO 4* competitions and turn himself over. I have NO desire to ever experience that. But I can't lie and say that somewhere deep inside me, the urge to gallop out of the start box at an Advanced level event is never there.

ANYWAY! Rode the muffin man bareback (Fleece half pad and Thinline) around his pasture today ... in the halter and leadrope ... after he hadn't been ridden in 5 days ... on an eerily blustery day. Can't decide what I want to do this week. Considering taking the stirrups off my saddles and maybe doing 2 weeks with no stirrups? I need to do that again; even though I was MISERABLE riding sans stirrups for a whole month, that needs to be in my future some time soon.

Planning to FINALLY show my horse 3'; ME show him 3':) There's a farm about an hour from here putting on a hunter/jumper schooling show, and they're offering jumper classes from 18" up to 3'6. Since I haven't done straight jumpers in over a year, I thought this might be a fun thing to go to and take advantage of. That will be May 15, the Saturday before we leave for our yearly vacay. Heading north to Massanutten, VA! Scrapped our epic cross country drive because the gas prices are SO HIGH. So, we headed to our local travel agent and booked a week at a ski resort in the mountains of VA:) We've only stayed in VA once, when we took a 5 day vacay to Williamsburg. Good things, good things!